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

I rise today to encourage the Senate to support the bill that I've introduced, the Social Security Amendment (COVID-19 Supplement) Bill 2020. This bill introduces some very important changes that would give people on income support payments certainty and hope over the period to Christmas, as well as during the Christmas period and into the new year.

The bill retains the coronavirus supplement at the rate of $550 a fortnight for recipients of the JobSeeker payment, partner payment, widow allowance, youth allowance, Austudy, Abstudy, living allowance, parenting payment, farm household allowance, and special benefit. Importantly, it also extends eligibility for the supplement to people on the disability support pension, carer payment and for age pensioners who are receiving rent assistance. This is to deal with the fact that these groups of people and these payments were omitted from the coronavirus supplement from the beginning. As I have articulated in this place on numerous occasions, people living on the disability support pension or carer payment and age pensioners who receive rent assistance have been struggling to meet the costs of surviving under coronavirus and have had extra costs for food, medication and care. The $550 would be backdated to 25 September and be paid until 28 March 2021 to align the end date with the JobKeeper payments. This should have happened from the get-go. There is no reason to expect that people on the JobSeeker payment were doing it easier than those on the JobKeeper payment. It is appropriate that they be given certainty through to 28 March 2021, the same as those on the JobKeeper payment.

I've introduced this private senator's bill because the government is unwilling to provide people with the certainty they deserve about the future rate of income support payments. At Senate estimates the Minister for Families and Social Services indicated that some form of elevated support is very likely to be in place post 1 January, but we are still in the dark about very important details. How much will payments be increased by? When will people on income support payments find out? Will they find out before Christmas, for example? When will there be a permanent increase? There is less than seven weeks until Christmas, yet people on the JobSeeker payment and youth allowance are being left in the dark about whether their incomes will include the current supplement payment of $250 a fortnight or will drop back to $40 a day or $41 or $42 a day. They have no idea. People should have certainty in these very uncertain times. There are a whole lot of things that we can't be certain about, but you can give people certainty about the payments that they're going to try and live on in the run up to Christmas and New Year and then on to March.

If the government does increase the payment—it was indicated during estimates that it wouldn't be a permanent increase to the JobSeeker but a continuation of the supplement—the legislation for it will have to go through this place. At the time of estimates it wasn't even being drafted, so, yet again, we in this place will be provided with legislation to vote on with very little notice. And we will have to vote on it during the last sitting of the year because we need to ensure that people have payments of more than $40 a day beyond the end of December.

This bill is absolutely necessary. This year has been an incredibly difficult year for the millions of Australians who have found themselves unemployed for the first time and for those who were unemployed before the virus and the recession hit and were trying to struggle on $40 a day. This is reflected in Foodbank's latest Hunger Report, which is a survey of their clients. The survey found from what a percentage of respondents said, and the data shows, that the percentage of Australians experiencing food insecurity doubled from 15 per cent in 2019 to 31 per cent in 2020. Those figures are for Foodbank's clients. That is a significant increase.

The pandemic has made life even more difficult for already vulnerable Australians who were struggling with unemployment before that, and, in fact, for those who are struggling with unemployment for the first time. There are many people now who are interacting with Centrelink for the first time in their lives. The government is predicting that the number of people receiving unemployment payments will go up to 1.8 million in 2021. Clearly, this is not the time to be reducing or withdrawing support for these millions of Australians. As the number of people on JobSeeker and youth allowance increases and the government's support decreases, more people risk being thrown into poverty.

When the coronavirus supplement was originally paid at the rate of $550 a fortnight, people described it as 'life changing' and 'transformational'. People were able to afford essentials for the first time, things that many of us take for granted and things that, in fact, people who weren't on JobSeeker previously did take for granted—for example, prescription glasses, a fridge or other white goods, warm jumpers, and school supplies for their children. One of the biggest outcomes of the coronavirus supplement was that it reduced people's financial stress and anxiety in the middle of the recession, when work was scarce. And it is still scarce. People were able to escape homelessness and family violence situations. Many people had better opportunities to look for work because they could afford public transport or afford to get their car fixed, or go to the dentist—all things that are barriers to work. It is well proven that poverty, in and of itself, is a barrier to work. There is no doubt that JobSeeker increased people's health and wellbeing by enabling people on the payment to afford healthy food and medication, both for themselves and for their children. I've articulated before the evidence we received at the inquiry into Newstart, where people were going without their own medication to ensure that their children had theirs.

Australians need the coronavirus supplement to continue at the full rate so they can keep paying their rent or mortgage, put food on the table and look after their health and their family's health. Apart from these excellent reasons, retaining the rate of $550 a fortnight would also generate the economic stimulus we so desperately need, by increasing the incomes of over 2.3 million Australians. When you're on a low income, you spend all your money. That is, in fact, what people on the coronavirus supplement were doing.

I think I should bust some of the myths that are constantly being repeated about unemployment benefits. Recently the government started dusting off their old narrative around a higher income-support payment acting as a disincentive to work. The same old tropes are coming out yet again. I'm yet to see any hard data or evidence supporting this argument. At Senate estimates, I asked the Minister for Families and Social Services if she had any hard data or actual proof of these claims. The minister said:

There is not a specific statistical body of evidence in relation to this specific issue.

She did, I will acknowledge, take it on notice to provide the committee with further information. Of course, that was just a week or two ago, and I haven't seen that evidence as yet. Instead of using data and evidence to inform decisions that will impact millions of Australians, the government is relying on anecdotal evidence in the form of, for example, emails from businesses. The government doesn't have evidence to back up these claims. In contrast, there is evidence to show that inadequate income support payments don't increase labour force participation and can act, and do act, as a barrier to finding work.

By reducing the JobSeeker payment back to below the poverty line, people are being pushed into poverty instead of being supported into work. We know that the main driver of unemployment doesn't have anything to do with people's unwillingness to work; it has everything to do with a lack of available jobs.

This crisis isn't over. Our economy is certainly not out of the woods yet. People are still unemployed or in precarious work. The number of hours worked is not significantly increasing, so we are still seeing a lot of unemployment. People are still likely to lose their homes because they can't afford the rent. If you're living in Perth in my home state of Western Australia at the moment, there is no affordable accommodation. So people in the coming months unable to afford the rent can't simply move to a cheaper, more affordable rental, because they are not there. They will be moving out to homelessness.

The government aren't interested in looking at new ways of doing things. This pandemic had two ways of going. The government could have chosen to take a new path. They acknowledged that unemployment benefits, JobSeeker, was too low. They could have chosen to not demonise people who are unemployed, but they're returning to their old ways. We can see that by the quick return of mutual obligations and debt recovery, with debt recovery processes restarting on 7 December, with debts to be recovered by February. Mutual obligations have started, and around 75,000 people have already been suspended from payments. I will acknowledge that the government know that's wrong because, come December, people are going to get 48 hours warning. So the government know it's wrong, yet they have gone ahead and reintroduced the old punitive system that has so far imposed penalties such that 75,000 people have had their payments suspended.

The government are missing an opportunity coming out of the recession and the pandemic and that is to embrace a longer term vision and to put in place systemic changes to our social security system so people are supported—not demonised and not punished—to find work and improve their wellbeing and lives. The pandemic has demonstrated that Australians want government to play a key role in providing a strong and fair social security system—yet people receiving the coronavirus supplement have been left in the dark about the future rate of income support payments. The government are keeping people in the dark in the run-up to Christmas, when so many Australians are looking forward to Christmas this year. They don't know whether they're going to be able to put food on the table for Christmas. It is unfair. The ongoing uncertainty around the payment rates is cruel and it's damaging people's mental health and wellbeing. Australians have a right to certainty and clarity about the future of income support payments in this country, especially into the lead-up to Christmas and the new year. You can guarantee that, unless people know what those payments are going to be and that those payments are adequate, they will not be spending in the run-up to Christmas.

I urge the opposition and the government to get behind this bill so that we can provide Australians with a liveable income above the poverty line through the early months of 2021. Increase the supplement and keep it going until March 2021 and, in that time, make sure that you are putting in place a permanent increase to the JobSeeker payment. People cannot live on $40 a day. It is not possible. That was amply demonstrated prior to the pandemic, and the government knows that itself because it put in place the coronavirus supplement. Dropping people back onto payments below the poverty line is not fair and it's counterproductive. It's not fair on people and it's counterproductive for our economy. Please support this bill.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I speak to the Social Security Amendment (COVID-19 Supplement) Bill 2020. The fact is that the Morrison government have managed this economic crisis better than most countries in the Western world, and we've done it in a way that brings all Australians along with us. We've demonstrated care and compassion for workers and for the disadvantaged, like the disabled and those on pensions. We've provided unprecedented support to businesses and we've prepared Australia for the steady recovery that we're already beginning to see. We've already extended the coronavirus supplement for an additional period of three months until the end of December, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation and respond to the economic circumstances and, in particular, the labour market.

If the coronavirus supplement is required after December, it will be continued. The government is focused on responding to the situation as it unfolds and will make further decisions around the extension of the coronavirus supplement as the year draws to an end. These are unprecedented times, and we will not pre-empt the circumstances we may find ourselves in later. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide appropriate support.

From the outset, this supplement was a temporary measure to provide additional support for allowance recipients in recognition of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has directly impeded people's ability to find and retain paid work. The economy was disrupted due to health restrictions earlier this year. In response to this sudden and unexpected situation we provided the supplement as well as expanded access to the payment through the waiver of waiting periods and changes to eligibility criteria. We've put in place a comprehensive economic response—JobKeeper, enhancements right across the income support system, early access to super, HomeBuilder, and cash flow support to business—which is providing unprecedented support to Australians. Our response to date is close to 16 per cent of GDP. That measure is estimated to increase real GDP by around 4.25 per cent in 2021. Since the budget, we've benefited from updated labour force figures, weekly payroll jobs figures and a clearer sense of how health restrictions are relaxing, especially in Victoria. We'll make a decision before the end of the year and communicate that to the Australian people.

While there've been encouraging jobs figures in recent months, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. As the government has continually demonstrated, we will be flexible, monitor the economic situation and respond as the situation evolves. We will ensure that Australians who are accessing JobSeeker and any related payments receive notice about any changes to their rates. But right now, the path is clear: we are providing an additional level of support while encouraging and helping people to get back into the workforce. We understand that the jobs market is shallow at the moment, but there are still jobs out there. We have to strike the right balance between temporary enhanced support and incentives to work. They may not be full-time, and they may be in different industries, but we have heard from business groups and businesses through the jobs in demand survey that an increasing number of employers are naming a lack of applicants as the reason they're struggling to employ. That's why, from 25 September, we increased the income-free area for the JobSeeker payment, which means that people can earn $300 without affecting any of their Centrelink payments. We want people to get out there and take up job opportunities, because we know people who report earnings to Centrelink are twice as likely to get off their payment within a year.

We're focused on the issue at hand, which is providing Australians additional support to get us through to the other side of the pandemic. It would not be reasonable for the government to make long-term structural changes to our payment system in the middle of a very fluid health and economic situation, especially when it's unclear what the new normal on the other side might even look like. We're committed to our values: a targeted, sustainable welfare system that encourages participation in the workforce and provides a safety net, rather than a wage replacement, to people as they transition into employment. These values served us well before the crisis and will continue to underpin our social safety net in the new normal on the other side.

Before this crisis, we had created 1.5 million jobs, and the proportion of working aged people relying on welfare was the lowest it had been in more than 30 years. In addition to payments, there are many other welfare benefits available to help reduce the cost of living. For example, everyone who receives the JobSeeker payment is eligible for some form of additional assistance from the welfare system, such as rent assistance of up to $185.36 a fortnight for families with three or more children, and family tax benefit part A, of up to $246.54 a fortnight per child for children aged between 13 and 19 years, and part B, of up to $161.14 a fortnight per child for children under five years. There are also the pharmaceutical allowance and telephone and energy supplements.

Few countries have provided the strong safety net that we enjoy. Few countries provide a non-contributory taxpayer funded payment that provides help for people while they search for work. We recognise there are times when people need a safety net to help them, when they're down on their luck and looking for work, but JobSeeker is funded by the Australian taxpayer and it needs to be managed responsibly. This responsibility extends to future generations, who will have to meet the cost of the system in decades to come. Our focus going forward will be on people getting back to jobs, businesses reopening and seeing Australians move into a new COVID-safe world, where protections are in place that maximise the amount of activity that they can undertake.

The Morrison government has a history of delivering job opportunities, providing pathways and breaking down barriers for people on welfare. There were 330,000 fewer working age recipients on income support payments between June 2014 and June 2019. The JobSeeker base rate payment is $565. In March, the government made the decision to introduce a temporary supplement to deal with the unprecedented health and economic crisis we were facing. What we did through the supplement and through JobKeeper was to throw a blanket over all Australians, at a time when health restrictions required an effective lockdown not just of the economy but, in fact, of everything. We said at the time, and we've continued to say since then, that those measures were temporary. We've not increased the base rate of JobSeeker, because we never intended for the coronavirus supplement to be permanent.

Our core principles of the role of JobSeeker payment have not changed. It's a safety net payment that provides Australians with support as they look for work, because we expect all Australians of working age who can work to do so. It is not a wage replacement. The payment, though, is not time limited. It doesn't require a contribution and the rate of payment is not based on prior work history, as is the case in many other countries. It's a safety net that's available to all Australians, should they need it. For these reasons, it must be sustainable and it must not distort work-seeking behaviour.

The Morrison government has provided special additional payments for those receiving disability support pensions and for those receiving carer payments. Pension payments, including the disability support pension and carer payments, are long-term payments that are paid at the highest rate in the income support system, because recipients are not generally expected to work to support themselves. The coronavirus supplement is temporary, while pension payments, including DSP and carer payments, will be paid at a higher rate. The additional support that's been provided to disability support pensions and carer payment recipients are further evidence of how the Morrison government is helping to support the disadvantaged during this health crisis.

Eligible pensioners, including DSP and carer allowance recipients, have received two economic payments of $750. The first payment was automatically paid by Services Australia between March and April this year, with the second payment paid to eligible pensioners from 13 July 2020. These payments will help support confidence and domestic demand in the economy, and pension recipients do not need to contact Centrelink to receive these payments. Two additional economic support payments of $250 will be provided to income support recipients, including carer payment and DSP recipients, this month and in March 2021. People receiving a pension payment who were also working may be eligible for the $1,500 per fortnight JobKeeper payment.

Earlier this year, the government announced the commitment of a $90.7 million boost to support Australians with disability who are at risk, amid the coronavirus outbreak, to help them with employment and other support services. Spending includes the Carer Gateway, which is an information service for carers providing practical information and advice to help carers navigate the system of support and services. Services include support planning, targeted financial support packages, counselling, peer support, information and advice and, where necessary, access to emergency and short-term respite. The range of payments provided to workers, jobseekers, business owners, pensioners and the disabled have provided support to millions of Australians during this crisis. Those payments will mean that Australia will be well positioned to make a strong economic recovery.

Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Reconciliation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Security Amendment (COVID-19 Supplement) Bill 2020. It is important that the Senate debates this bill, because it addresses important issues about the government's response to the recession and it calls on the government to do more for those who have been forgotten or left behind, including those who rely solely on social security payments—the unemployed, Australians with disabilities and carers.

Unlike the government, Labor acknowledges that age pensioners, disability pensioners and carers have endured increasing costs in relation to protecting their health during this pandemic. Unlike the government, Labor acknowledges that Australians on unemployment support require certainty about the level of support they are receiving during this uncertain and difficult time. Labor moved amendments in the House to the government's coronavirus measures bill to expand support to age pensioners, disability pensioners, carers and Australians on unemployment support. Labor's amendments called for the government to continue the coronavirus supplement beyond December, instead of delivering a cruel Christmas cut to $2.2 million Australians; to provide increased support for pensioners, including age pensioners, disability support pensioners and those receiving carer payments to reflect the increased cost that people have faced in protecting their health; and to announce a permanent increase to the base rate of the JobSeeker payment.

Ultimately, only the government has the power to improve these supports. Everyone in this parliament knows this. This is why during the last sitting period Labor sought to be constructive and pragmatic by proposing these amendments, amendments that were reasonable and responsible. Labor was willing to work with the government to make these measures a reality, but the government used their numbers to vote the amendments down in the House. Unless the government supports these measures in the House of Representatives, they simply cannot be a reality—it's great to control the treasury bench. The Prime Minister said, 'We're all in this together,' and yet our pensioners and carers have been left behind. He said, 'We're all in this together,' but the 1.8 million Australians who are expected to be on unemployment support by the end of this year have no certainty as to what level of support will be available to them.

When the government introduced the coronavirus supplement in April, it was an admission that, for Australians out of work, payments were simply far too low to live on. The old Newstart rate was trapping people in poverty and acting as a barrier to getting work. People couldn't afford the basics or the clothes, transport, training and tools they needed. For many, including single parents, the increase in the payment meant they could finally pay overdue bills, buy fresh food, get new shoes and fix the car. In remote stores, there were increases in the fresh food, whitegoods, clothes and shoes that people were able to purchase. This is why it is unacceptable that the government plans to reduce the rate of unemployment payments all the way back down to the old rate of Newstart, around $40 or so a day for many people.

In a country like Australia, people should not be forced to live in poverty. Poverty and disadvantage are not inevitable. What the corona supplement has shown is that it is a policy choice; we choose for people live in poverty rather than create constructive measures for them to prosper.

It was revealed in the latest round of Senate estimates that 1.8 million Australians are expected to be on unemployment support by the end of the year. That is one million more people than were relying on unemployment payments at the end of 2019. The simple fact is that this recession has more than doubled the number of people who are unemployed and need to access social security.

This is the first time many families have needed to rely on unemployment support. It is going to be a very, very anxious Christmas for these Australians. They have no certainty about what level of support will be available to them beyond December. As far as we know, the government is scheduled to cut unemployment support to the old base rate of $40 a day. These Australians who have lost their jobs cannot plan their finances or household budgets because they simply don't know what level of support they will be provided. Many are worried about how they will afford essentials, cover rent and pay bills.

With more jobseekers than job vacancies, there are simply not enough jobs for everyone who needs one. It is even more difficult to find jobs out in the regions—the result of the government's failure to deliver a job program for our regions. In fact, Anglicare's recent job snapshot found that there are almost 100 people who are unemployed for every entry-level job. Yet, for some reason, our Prime Minister and the government seem intent on blaming Australians for losing their jobs or demonising those Australians who are doing it tough.

It seems everyone except the Prime Minister and the Treasurer acknowledges that the old base rate of JobSeeker is not appropriate. Labor has called on the Morrison government to deliver a permanent increase to JobSeeker. The government could give certainty to millions of Australians on unemployment simply by providing a permanent increase to JobSeeker. Not only is this a compassionate response; it's also good for our economy and jobs.

We know that Australians receiving social security spend on local and small businesses. It means local and small businesses have more to spend on jobs and wages. Unemployment support is economic support. When you cut unemployment support, you jeopardise jobs. The question for the government is: how many jobs will be lost when you cut the unemployment support in December? We've heard Senator Siewert raise many questions in relation to that. What's the figure going to be? The government simply do not know. Labor has asked them, but the government don't know the economic impact of their decision. Deloitte Access Economics has some idea, though. They estimated that 145,000 Australian jobs will be lost as a result of the government's scheduled unemployment cuts in December.

I will turn now to the impact of the pandemic and the recession on people with disability and carers. We know these people have been among the worst hit. People with disability are disproportionately vulnerable to serious infection from coronavirus, due to their pre-existing health conditions and their reliance on support workers. According to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, people with disability have experienced increased costs directly as a result of the onset of the pandemic in Australia, including higher grocery costs—the cheapest brands sold out with panic buying—increased costs in private transport, higher utility bills and shipping and delivery charges.

It is important to note that people with disability were already experiencing high rates of unemployment and poverty during pre-pandemic times. People with Disability Australia says that Australians with disability have the second-highest relative risk amongst the OECD nations of living in poverty. Prior to the pandemic, people with disability were already struggling with the cost of accessing the health services they needed. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in the People with disability in Australia 2020 report, three in 10 people with disability can't afford to see a dentist; one in 13 delay seeing a GP, because they can't afford to; one in 22 don't see a specialist; and one in 28 can't go to hospital. The onset of the pandemic only exacerbated these issues.

In a survey by Children and Young People with Disability Australia, 64 per cent of respondents were unable to buy essential supplies, including specialty dietary products and hygiene products; one in five were unable to purchase essential medications; one-third had NDIS services cancelled; and one in five experienced the loss of income. According to the survey, financial insecurity was a constant theme, with some households having to make some tricky decisions on how they would prioritise spending.

In June we saw the release of a survey from People with Disability Australia, which found that nine in 10 people with disability experienced increased expenses due to the ongoing pandemic, 31 per cent reported increased spending on health care and one in five reported increased spending on sanitiser and hygiene products. The government's freeze of the pension in September impacted three-quarters of a million Australians on the disability support pension and almost 300,000 Australians on carer payments. The freeze came at the worst possible time, in the middle of Australia's most severe economic contraction in a century.

We know that older Australians, like people with disability, have a particularly high risk of serious infection from coronavirus. We have seen the devastating impacts this virus has had as a result of the government's failure to protect our aged-care system. This has meant that pensioners have had to take extra precautions to remain safe and protect their health during this time. It has meant buying more hand sanitiser and protective wear such as masks. It has meant added transport costs and paying premiums to have groceries delivered. Our pensioners have done the right thing. They have worked hard all their lives. They have contributed. They deserve our respect.

Pensioners were doing it tough under this government prior to the pandemic. They have been facing rising health, dental, energy and grocery bills for years. These rising costs have only been exacerbated by the pandemic, and they continue to be exacerbated by the government through a combination of three factors: the pension freeze, the unrealistic inflated pension deeming rates and the inflated interest rates charging pensioners just to access equity in the ownership of their homes. (Time expired)

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to contribute to the debate on the Social Security Amendment (COVID-19 Supplement) Bill 2020, proposed by the Australian Greens. This year, 2020, has been a year like no other. Who would have predicted that when we were experiencing bushfires, floods and droughts at the start of the year things could get any worse? But they did. As with each of these other challenges, Australians and, particularly, the Australian government have responded.

As part of that response, the Morrison government introduced the coronavirus supplement, which has provided additional support for Australians affected by this year's coronavirus pandemic. It was paid to those who receive an eligible income payment, such as JobSeeker, partner allowance, widow allowance, Austudy, parenting payment and farm household allowance, and it will continue to be paid until 31 December this year. The coronavirus supplement is a fortnightly payment that has been added on top of eligible income support payments. This supplement was initially paid at $550 per fortnight and was scheduled to cease on 24 September. Although there were some positive signs of recovery within the economy at that time, and with Victoria still in lockdown, the Australian government extended payment of the supplement, at the reduced rate of $250, until the end of the year with a further review to be undertaken as relevant data became available.

Senator Siewert's private senator's bill to increase the supplement back to the $550 rate fails to consider that this supplement was always intended as a temporary measure. It was introduced at a time when many people had lost their jobs, businesses were closed, and states and territories were locked down to suppress the spread of coronavirus. The coronavirus supplement has already been extended until the end of this year, which is an additional three months. It would not be reasonable for the Australian government to make long-term structural changes to our payment systems while we are still dealing with the impact of a health pandemic and the economic response to that situation. This situation is very fluid, and we are still not clear on what the new normal is going to look like on the other side.

We are still committed to our values of providing a targeted, sustainable welfare system that encourages participation in the workforce. Our welfare system provides a safety net rather than a wage replacement to people as they transition into employment. These values served us well before the coronavirus crisis and will continue to underpin our social safety net as we emerge on the other side of the pandemic. Before this pandemic, we had created 1½ million jobs and the proportion of working-age people who were reliant on welfare was the lowest it had been in more than 30 years. There were 330,000 fewer working-age income support recipients between June 2014 and June 2019. This government has a strong history of delivering job opportunities, providing pathways and breaking down barriers for people on welfare. The aim of the coronavirus supplement was to provide additional support for income support recipients, in recognition of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, in the knowledge that the situation affected people's ability to find and retain paid employment. At that time, the Australian economy was substantially disrupted due to the important health restrictions introduced earlier this year to keep us all safe.

The government also expanded access to payments by waiving waiting periods and changing eligibility criteria. As the Australian government has already indicated, many times, we will continue to closely monitor the economic impact of this pandemic and, in particular, the response of the labour market. We've already made the commitment that if the coronavirus supplement is still required after December it will be continued. It is not realistic to pre-empt the circumstances we may find ourselves in tomorrow, next week or even next month. Since the budget announcement last month, we have had the benefit of updated labour force figures, weekly payroll jobs figures and a clearer sense of how health restrictions are relaxing, especially in Victoria. Right now, the government is focused on continuing to respond to the situation as it unfolds, which means any further decisions around the extension of the supplement will not be made until later in the year.

As mentioned earlier by Senator Hughes, the Australian government's economic response was comprehensive. It included JobKeeper payments, enhancements across the entire income support system, early access to super, HomeBuilder, and cash flow support to businesses. These economic solutions provided unprecedented support to the Australian community. This economic response accounts for close to 16 per cent of Australia's GDP, but this investment is estimated to increase real GDP by around 4.25 per cent in 2020-21.

Positives from our economic response to this health pandemic can already be seen. Economies around the country have already started to bounce back. Indeed, business indicator data released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in October shows few businesses reported a revenue decrease in October compared to July and almost three-quarters of businesses had not sought additional funds over the past six months. The same dataset showed approximately one in five medium and large businesses and six per cent of small businesses reported an increase in the number of employees. However, while there have been encouraging job figures over recent months, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We know there are many people who are still hurting as a result of the measures put in place during the pandemic. As the government have continually demonstrated, we will be flexible and are committed to monitoring the economic situation and responding as the situation evolves.

Right now the plan is clear till the end of the year. That plan is to provide an additional level of support while encouraging and helping people to get back into the workforce. We understand that the jobs market remains weak, but we also know that there are still jobs out there. In my home state of Tasmania I know that farmers are crying out for fruit pickers, as the spring-summer picking season starts. Last week the Tasmanian government's Harvest Trail website had more than 2,000 agricultural jobs available. They may not be full-time jobs and they may be in different industries to what people are used to or prefer, but business groups and businesses have told us through the jobs-in-demand survey that an increasing number of employers are citing a lack of applicants as the reason they are struggling to employ.

It is our responsibility to ensure that the rate of JobSeeker does not become a deterrent or a disincentive for those receiving it to seek out and accept work when it is available. Again, as Senator Hughes mentioned earlier, from 25 September we increased the income-free area for the JobSeeker payment, which means people can earn up to $300 per fortnight without it affecting their income support payments. We have to strike the right balance between temporary enhanced support and incentives to work. We want people to get out there and take up the job opportunities that are available because we know that people who report earnings to Centrelink are twice as likely to no longer need an income support payment within a year.

As this additional coronavirus support is available for those who would generally be expected to participate in the labour market, such as those receiving JobSeeker, the Greens' call for the government to extend the supplement to those receiving disability support pension and carer payments is not appropriate. Pension payments are long-term payments that are paid at the highest rate in the income support system. They are paid at this higher rate because recipients are generally not expected to work to support themselves.

Senator Hughes mentioned in her contribution that, in recognition of the economic impact of the coronavirus, eligible pensioners, including those receiving disability support pension and carer payments, received two economic support payments of $750. That first payment was automatically paid by Centrelink between 31 March and 17 April. The second payment was made from 13 July. In addition they will receive two further economic support payments of $250 in November 2020 and March 2021.

While very few countries provide the strong safety net that Australia enjoys, we need to remember that these welfare payments are funded by taxpayers and we need to ensure this is managed responsibly. This responsibility extends to our future generations, our children, who will have to meet the costs of the system in the decades to come. Our focus is now on getting people back into jobs, businesses reopening and Australians moving to a COVID-safe world where protections are in place.

When Australia and the rest of the world were in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic in March the Australian government made the decision to introduce a temporary supplement to help those who needed extra support deal with the health and economic impacts we were facing. This support protected Australians at a time when health restrictions affected their ability to look for work, but it was never a permanent solution. The Australian government have already committed to continue monitoring the economic situation in relation to this pandemic and have said that we will extend the supplement again if needed, but we do not need to commit to a permanent supplement.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the work of the Greens in bringing forward the Social Security Amendment (COVID-19 Supplement) Bill 2020, which is before the chamber, in their private members time. We know that when the Morrison government introduced the coronavirus supplement back in April it was an admission from the government—an admission that took far, far too long; an admission to Australians out of work who were reliant on income support—that JobSeeker payments are simply too low to live on. It's a real shame that it took until then for the government to recognise this. We've had many debates in this chamber about the low rate of Newstart, now JobSeeker, payment. In the debates, we've seen the government simply paper over the issue in its rhetoric because it hasn't wanted to recognise the impossibility of living on Newstart, or JobSeeker. We've known for too long that JobSeeker payments are too low to live on and certainly too low to give someone enough resources to find a job.

In past Senate hearings into the rate of Newstart, we heard stories of people who are homeless, of people needing to choose between purchasing their antidepressant medication or food, of people choosing between their medication or their rent and of people whose experiences of mental illness were caused by their experience of unemployment and living on a low income. We heard stories of families living in unsafe share housing simply because it was all that they could afford. So it's somewhat ironic that during an economic and health catastrophe like coronavirus the supplement granted by the government has lifted people out of poverty. They can afford food, they can afford rent and they can afford medication.

I'm cynical about the fact that the government chose this time to increase the rate of JobSeeker. You'd think the government, while concerned about stimulus in the broader economy to keep consumption up, would have also been deeply electorally concerned about the idea of a million more people—a million more voters—being subjected to an impossibly low income. Many people who are now reliant on JobSeeker are unemployed for the first time in their lives, and they still have life's obligations of rents, mortgages, car loans and school fees. The fall in the rate with the reduction in the supplement, as we know, has already hit households hard. The supplement lifted the payment to about the same rate as a full-time cleaner working in this building for a 38-hour week—the current rate plus the coronavirus supplement with rent assistance. It's worth noting, as Senator Askew highlighted, that you can work part time without losing your eligibility for the supplement until you reach the minimum wage.

It's telling that the government say that they want to keep a focus on motivating people to take the work that is out there equally while they have really failed to address how terribly low the minimum wage is in Australia. I'm not here to say that, at this point in time in the economic cycle, the supplement is too high, but it is a very telling sign of the stagnation of wages in Australia. As we talk about the supplement now, and later this morning when we talk about JobMaker and JobKeeper, we really need to keep in mind the interrelationship of all these payments and the fact that people need a viable income to live on. We know, based on the very real evidence from people's lived experience, that the old rate of Newstart or JobSeeker was trapping people in poverty and acting as a very real barrier to getting work. So while the government asks us to take comfort in the fact that it has not yet ripped away the coronavirus supplement there's nothing that this government has done that gives any comfort to people as they look forward to trying to come out of unemployment and trying to maintain their household income. There's nothing that says that they can rely on a decision from government that won't abandon them on the low rate of $40 a day, a rate under which people couldn't afford the basics. They couldn't afford clothes, transport, training or the basic kinds of tools they needed.

I know from many people I have spoken to—including single parents and students—that the increase in payment meant they were able to pay overdue bills and pay debt. They were able to get fresh food more regularly. They were able to get their children a pair of shoes that fit and that weren't overly worn. They were able to get the car fixed. They were able to replace old and inefficient whitegoods like fridges with more efficient ones and to replace worn furniture and mattresses. I note that they haven't been able to do all of these things in the time that they've experienced this income boost, just some of them. It was a little bit of capacity to catch up. For many people, it gave them a new capacity to actually look for work, because they were able to afford the train fare, to have the car fixed, to eat breakfast or to wear something decent and respectable. It was also a boost to people's mental health and sense of wellbeing instead of a loss of a sense of control over their lives. They realise it's not because there's something innately wrong with or chaotic about them. It's the simple fact of having to make do with nothing that makes life impossible to stay on top of.

It's quite telling to me that we've seen a boost in the consumption of basic goods, such as fruit and vegetables and whitegoods, in Australia's remote community stores. No-one should really be surprised that that has been the case. In many of these communities you have some people with part-time work, some people with CDP payments that supplement their income and some people on ranger income, but you also have people who, in the main, are reliant on their social security payments. That means at this time we have seen a massive boost to and lift in the income within those communities.

So it is simply unacceptable at this point in time that the only indication we get from government is that they will continue the coronavirus supplement for as long as it is needed but that they have a view to returning to the old rate of Newstart or JobSeeker, as it is now known, of $40 a day. We return to the debate that we've had in this chamber where Senator Ruston had been up on her feet saying, 'The best form of income support is a job.' And, indeed, it is. However, in Australia we have the highest rate of unemployment that we have known in a long time. We are in recession. There will be parts of Australia and parts of the economy that are much more adversely affected by the ongoing effects of COVID; for example, our international tourism destinations. Even when domestic parts of the economy are really moving again, in these communities there'll be huge levels of dislocation that can't simply be papered over with: 'The best form of welfare is a job.'

We know that having only $40 a day prevented people from being able to access the work that was there, but there's a deeper question than this. In a country like Australia people should not be forced to live in poverty in this way. Any child should not be living in poverty in our nation. I recall back in the 1980s our much loved Prime Minister Bob Hawke saying no child in Australia 'will need to live in poverty'. He named a year. I can't remember whether it was by 1990. He was, frankly, lampooned for having made that commitment, but the simple fact is that Bob Hawke, in saying no child should live in poverty, put in place key policies that boosted the household incomes of Australia's most impoverished families. As a result of that, we saw a 30 per cent decline in child poverty in this nation. Statistics today will tell you that much of that gain, in reducing child poverty, has now been whittled away by the fact that unemployment payments to disadvantaged families have fallen dramatically and are no longer relative to other household incomes.

Poverty and disadvantage are not inevitable. The coronavirus supplement has shown that there is a policy choice in our nation. Labor have called on the government to raise the rate. We recognise that the rate is manifestly inadequate. We recognise disability pensioners have been left out. We also recognise that the government is failing pensioners at this point in time by not adjusting the deeming rate and not properly indexing the pension. Labor recognises that the JobSeeker rate is simply too low. This government can and should act, irrespective of what this chamber does. This chamber is very limited in its capacity because, frankly, there's a lot of money in this bill. We'd like to be able to pass these bills in the Senate and assert our right to do so; however, the practical reality is that we rely on the government, with the numbers in the lower house, to make this policy change so that it can be implemented by our parliament.

Now that the government have lifted people out of poverty, they should reflect on what it would mean to simply push people back down, back into poverty, because they have given no indication that they are seeking to avoid the very low rate of JobSeeker payment that is simply unviable to live on. It's all very well for the government to say that the best form of welfare is a job, but the simple fact is that the rate of JobSeeker was too low to support people in finding work, in having stable housing and in being able to buy fresh food and medication, all of which are absolute prerequisites for work in our community.

Debate interrupted.