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

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

That people on Newstart and Youth Allowance do not enjoy the same Christmas spirit as other Australians and struggle during the summer holidays due to the low rates of the payments and the Government's punitive compliance programs.

For many Australians, Christmas and the festive season is a happy time of the year, where people spend time with their loved ones and their family and close friends. But, for a significant proportion of Australians, it is the worst time of year. It's a time of hardship, frustration, loneliness and isolation. Just today I got an email, as I'm sure many of us did, about Roy Morgan's findings predicting pre-Christmas spending and what kids say they want for Christmas. Their list includes Netflix, iPads, iPhones and PlayStations. I'm sure parents among us won't be surprised by that. But those living on Newstart and youth allowance won't be buying their kids these presents. They simply can't afford them. They'll be lucky if they can buy presents for their children.

Today, over three million Australians are living below the poverty line, and one in six Australian children are living in poverty. The Christmas and holiday period is an incredibly difficult time for Australians who are living in poverty and, particularly, for those living on income support payments such as Newstart and youth allowance. There are things that many of us take for granted over Christmas that thousands of people on Newstart won't be able to afford—simple things like having Christmas lunch or dinner, buying gifts and going to, for example, the Boxing Day movie premieres. These things are exceptionally difficult, if not impossible, to do when you are living on less than $40 a day. People in poverty already make difficult choices every day, such as skipping meals, choosing between eating and medication, paying the rent or not turning on the heating. The list of what people on Newstart and youth allowance miss out on is very, very long. The low rates of income support payments mean that people living on Newstart are also excluded from participating in festive activities and events.

We always see a huge demand for charities and food release services over the Christmas period, with millions of Australians needing support. Each year Australian charities get ready for the holiday season by running Christmas appeals, asking for food donations—in fact, asking for gift donations—and putting the call out for volunteers. In recent years more and more charities are saying that they are seeing a rising number of families seeking relief over Christmas. Last year the Salvation Army released findings just before Christmas from a poll. They expected that 15.5 per cent of Australian adults were likely to contact a charity for help with basic necessities such as food, power or other bills that Christmas. They estimated that as many as 3 million Australians were likely to be seeking help from a charity at Christmas. Given that we haven't seen an increase in Newstart this year—and since, in fact, 1994—there's no reason to suggest at all that this situation won't be the same, if not worse, this year.

I'm incredibly worried about the growing number of people reaching out for emergency support over the Christmas period. Typically, more than 300,000 people turn to the Salvation Army alone for support at Christmas, and we know that there are many charities that are supporting people and those in need. They distributed over 100,000 meals. People who access emergency relief services are undergoing severe hardship, as highlighted by the Salvation Army's 2018 national economic and social impact survey. The survey revealed that 95 per cent of all households who access the Salvo's emergency services are living in poverty. The average person is living on just $21 a day after paying for accommodation. It found that 43 per cent have limited social connections and feel isolated most of the time. It found that 67 per cent report that food affordability is their greatest challenge on a day-to-day basis.

But what does it mean to access emergency relief services over Christmas? It means that you're experiencing financial hardship, food insecurity, housing stress and social disconnectedness. Hardship, loneliness, depression and anxiety are already heightened for many people over Christmas. Imagine what this feels like if you are living below the poverty line on Newstart or youth allowance. Social isolation is even worse when you can't afford to access public transport to visit your family or you can't afford to participate in the social activities that many of us take for granted. They can't afford a gift, food for their own meals, food to take to a celebration, or to invite family and friends to their home for a meal. The social isolation and exclusion people feel when they cannot participate in their community or partake in family activities is devastating for their emotional and social wellbeing and sense of being part of the community.

Many parents living on Newstart, especially single parents, feel the added pressure to provide more over the Christmas period. Then they feel shame that their children are missing out. Single-parent families in Australia already experience the lowest standard of living and biggest gap below the poverty line. Imagine trying to provide a normal Christmas experience for your children as a single parent on Newstart. This is the reality for many single parents who experience significant and serious financial hardship. This situation is particularly hard for children, especially the 22 per cent of children already experiencing food insecurity.

Our charities and social services are filling the gap in supporting people at Christmas time while the government continues to dodge its responsibility to look after all Australians. It is not fair that our charities, who are already struggling, are left to pick up the pieces and meet increasing demand for food relief, because people simply can't make ends meets on Newstart and youth allowance. Today I'm urging people in this chamber to think about what it means if you are living on income support payments over Christmas. Think of the impact that it is having on those families.

I would like to finish by sharing what it is really like to experience Christmas on the breadline. At the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart and other income support payments, we have been hearing from many people who are on Newstart. Nigel shared how his experience is so different from the Christmas displayed in the television commercials. He said:

I am on Newstart. It's coming up to the time of year where we will see commercials on television about Christmas. They will show happy people all celebrating, all enjoying each other's company and all sharing gifts with their loved ones. They'll all be in large homes with copious amounts of food for the traditional Christmas dinner. Television commercials are designed to present an ideal. However, they do not represent my reality. I cannot afford to buy all the gifts I am told my loved ones deserve. I cannot buy all the food I am told will make my Christmas the best it can be. This is not unique to Christmas. This is how I live all year round.

At the Perth hearing we heard from Renna about the difficulty of getting ready for Christmas. She said:

I feel exhausted because, on top of all those things, there is the rego once every three months. I lost my pension card because I had to go onto Abstudy when I started uni five months ago—and I can't believe I'm at uni; I never went to high school. It is going to be about $200 per month. Parking is $100 per month. Child care is about $120 per month.

All of this said, Christmas is coming up and I feel really frightened that I can't afford to buy anything for my children. Since moving over to Abstudy from Newstart a few months ago, I've lost my pension card, so I'm no longer eligible for the rebates that I used to get on my utilities, on my registration, on my licence. Essentially all of my costs have gone up greatly, and yet my eligibility for any rebates has gone down.

Those are examples of people's lived reality in this country.

I feel so desperately for those who are struggling to survive already on Newstart and youth allowance. I think about what Christmas means to them. It means stress, anxiety, not being able to share your food, and not being able to properly enjoy Christmas and enjoy your children's Christmas, because, as has been outlined here, people can't afford to buy gifts and put food on the table. Many people isolate themselves or are isolated, because they can't afford to participate. We need to increase Newstart. (Time expired)