Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to just some of the litany of issues that plague the social security system in this country. Firstly, I want to talk about the punitive partner income test for the disability support pension, a test that traps disabled people in abusive relationships by forcing them into a situation of financial dependency where they can lose access to their own income. It's a test that also prevents members of the community from getting married, out of fear of losing their disability support pensions. I hear time and time again from participants and constituents who are exhausted from dealing with a social security system that punishes instead of uplifts. Participants should not be punished for pursuing relationships; it's regressive and undermines marriage equality.

This is on top of the already dismal rate of income support that we have in this country. Today there are more than three million Australians living in poverty, including one in six children. Despite Australia's being one of the wealthiest countries on earth, successive Labor and coalition governments have made deliberate policy choices that keep people in poverty. I urge the government to get their priorities in order. Tax breaks for property investors and giving hundreds of billions of dollars to billionaires and big corporations, including fossil fuel corporations, doesn't help the average Australian get through this cost-of-living crisis and it certainly does absolutely nothing for the millions of people struggling to survive on Centrelink poverty payments.

Poverty is a policy choice, and the Greens are fighting for a strong social safety net and a liveable wage that would raise all Centrelink payments above the poverty line.