Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, we know that millions of Australians are just scraping by on meagre income support payments that are well below the poverty line. How can we call Australia one of the wealthiest countries in the world when one in six children are living in poverty? All children and young people have a universal right to safety, privacy, education, housing, social support, mental and physical health care, regardless of their circumstances.

Make no mistake, poverty is a political choice, and the Labor government is choosing to give $244 billion in the stage 3 tax cuts to the very wealthy, to the billionaires, instead of responding to the cost-of-living crisis for people on starvation wages, on income support, and these choices are failing our children. No child should be forced to go to school hungry. No child should be watching their family make the difficult decision between basic necessities and school supplies. That is why the Greens are fighting for a guaranteed liveable income that would raise all income support payments to at least $88 a day, above the poverty line. This shouldn't be a radical ask; it should be the bare minimum. The government exists to serve the people. It is clear our social safety net is broken, so I urge the government to immediately address this issue and raise the rate of all income support payments above the poverty line. The Greens will continue this fight until this government makes the right choice to make sure that no child is left behind.