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

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that when the Coronavirus Supplement was first introduced at the rate of $550 a fortnight it had a transformational impact on people's lives and lifted millions out of poverty;

(b) acknowledges that the Government's continued cuts to the Coronavirus Supplement are driving poverty rates up in Australia to above pre-pandemic levels;

(c) recognises that the withdrawal of income support measures is premature and will set back our economic recovery and further entrench poverty;

(d) further acknowledges that the old rate of the Jobseeker Payment meant that people were left with as little as $7 a day after paying rent; and

(e) calls on the Government to announce a permanent and ongoing increase to the Jobseeker Payment and Youth Allowance before the Coronavirus Supplement ends on 31 March 2021 to ensure all Australians can live in dignity and not in poverty.