Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the impacts that the low rate of Newstart is having on the mental and physical health of those accessing our social safety net. According to Mental Health Australia:

People receiving income support payments are more likely than the general population to be living with a mental illness or experiencing severe psychological distress. Nearly half (48%) of Newstart recipients report experiencing a 'mental or behavioural problem'.

Poverty is one of the social determinants of health, as it relates to the availability of resources to meet people's daily needs. Newstart is so low that it is not enabling people to meet their daily needs. Therefore, alleviating poverty is one of the essential parts of improving health outcomes for people stuck on Newstart. This is Anti-Poverty Week. Let's get real about what is making people ill while they're on Newstart. There is strong evidence that income support recipients have higher rates of mental illness compared to the general population and that financial hardship is a key determinant of an individual's mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health Australia said in their submission to the robo-debt inquiry:

Consideration of the impacts of mental illness should be central in the design and delivery of Centrelink services, given experience of mental illness is very common amongst Centrelink customers.

Cohealth, one of Australia's largest not-for-profit community health services, said that their clients:

… describe the significant impacts on their physical and mental health stemming from the low rate of Newstart …

Cohealth also said they:

The stress of living on the low rate of Newstart can both exacerbate mental health issues and be a factor in the development of mental health issues. Data from ANU shows that around one-fifth of the increased risk of mental health issues for Newstart recipients could be directly attributed to their experience of financial hardship. People who have recently experienced financial hardship are 22 per cent more likely to experience decreased mental health in the next year, and people experiencing severe psychological distress are 89 per cent more likely to experience financial hardship in the next year.

This government, by refusing to increase Newstart, is literally contributing to making people sick. Their policies are keeping people in poverty. Policies like robo-debt and the targeted compliance framework are contributing to people's ill health. They make people anxious and desperate. They are living in constant fear that they'll be hit by a debt or have to go through the process of having to prove they don't owe one, when they are already living with significant challenges, given that they are living in poverty. Living on $40 a day keeps people in poverty. A high-functioning social security system would be fair, easy to access and navigate, and would avoid exacerbating known health conditions whenever possible. The Newstart program, youth allowance and the way the government implements its compliance regime have moved Australians further away from this goal. Our harsh compliance system causes severe stress for people already experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage.

Some people experiencing mental illness may be particularly vulnerable, as they may not have the capacity to acknowledge a robo-debt, to fully understand their rights and options for a review or to negotiate repayment. It cannot be overemphasised how distressing the process of receiving a compliance notice is for so many people. The government's approach is humiliating, stigmatising and demonising to people on income support. In a country as wealthy as Australia we really need to ask why we are failing so spectacularly at delivering social services and what the impact of our failing income support system is on our communities' economic equality, mental health and quality of life. When people are living below the poverty line, we cannot say we have a functional income support system or social safety net. We need to be increasing Newstart and youth allowance. (Time expired)