Morrison Govt's cuts to Newstart: If there's family illness, there'll be nothing to fall back on
Linda Burney on 6PR Perth Live with Oliver Peterson - Wednesday, 6 November 2019
OLIVER PETERSON: The Shadow Social Services Minister is Linda Burney. Linda, good afternoon.
LINDA BURNEY, SHADOW MINISTER FOR FAMILIES AND SOCIAL SERVICES, MEMBER FOR BARTON: Good afternoon Oliver, how are you?
PETERSON: I’m well, thank you very much. The Senate inquiry into Newstart has held its first hearing today in Perth. What have we heard?
BURNEY: We’ve heard some very disturbing things in the Senate inquiry being held in Perth today. What we’ve heard is that in Western Australia, there’s been a 39 per cent increase in the proportion of charities where people are seeking food and food relief, since 2017. We’ve also heard that the rental affordability snapshot in WA is just shocking, where people who are on Newstart were not able to find any affordable or appropriate rental properties, anywhere in the whole state.
PETERSON: Yeah, that’s really disturbing. There was also a story as well I believe we heard from Wendy Morgan. What can you tell us about that?
BURNEY: Well, Wendy Morgan told her story at the Adelaide Hearing. And she’s a woman in her 40s and on Newstart. She’s had experience in the workforce. She’s also got tertiary qualifications. And she is applying for 100 jobs a week. Now, you know, someone with those qualifications – and unfortunately, we’re seeing it – there’s a lot of – that half the people on Newstart are now over the age of 45. So it’s a very different cohort to what people typically think of, people on Newstart.
PETERSON: Yeah, it is. And many of my listeners would be nodding their heads saying, ‘well I fall into that category at the moment, and I’ve been applying for jobs for months and months, if not years, and there’s nobody giving me a call back.’
BURNEY: Well, there’s nobody giving them a call back and there’s also not enough jobs. That’s basically what we’re seeing. And of course, a quarter of the people on Newstart are actually over the age of 55. And you’ve got the combination of people that have been in an industry for a long time – and I’m using the car industry in South Australia as a typical one – where the government has in front of it at the moment legislation in front of the parliament that’s going to make people who have a small redundancy payment in the bank – run that down, before they can actually apply for Newstart through the doubling of the waiting time for a thing called the Liquid Assets. And it just is unbelievably cruel. I mean that is the only thing standing between people whose car may blow up; or they may need white goods; or if there is, heaven forbid, an illness in the family, they’ve got nothing back to fall back on.
PETERSON: Ok, so the Liquid Assets Wait Time at the moment – how much money do you have to have in the bank before the wait time …
BURNEY: So the Liquid Assets Wait Time at the moment, it’s 13 weeks. And if you’re single with $18,000 in the bank, the government wants you to wait six months – so doubling 13 weeks to 26 weeks, if you’re a single and have got $18,000 in the bank.
PETERSON: So we’re asking people to live off $18,000 over six months?
BURNEY: That’s correct, if you’re single. And if you’re a couple, I think it’s $32,000 …
PETERSON: Right.
BURNEY: Or something along those lines.
PETERSON: Ok.
BURNEY: And you know, that’s not a lot of money, particularly if something goes really really wrong.
PETERSON: So we’re talking here, not only about the wait time blowing out, but also the push at the moment – I’m sure this is part of your call here Linda, to increase Newstart Allowance.
BURNEY: That’s right. Yes.
PETERSON: What would you like to see it go to?
BURNEY: I don’t have in my mind a actual figure, Oliver. A lot of people are saying, certainly ACOSS and WACOSS, and organisations like that. And I met with the Unemployed Workers Union today, and they’re talking $75 a week. But Labor agrees it needs to increase. We haven’t set an amount. And we’ll wait to see what the fiscal climate is like, closer to the next election before we do that.
PETERSON: Well, do you think the Government will act before the next election?
BURNEY: Well, there’s certainly an enormous incentive for them to act, apart from the fact that you know, Newstart is so low. It’s actually acting as a barrier for people to get a job. It doesn’t help people get a job. We know that people are literally – and we heard this today in WA – literally going without medications, for example, for diabetes. They’re going without food, without – skipping meals; not heating their place during winter. There are people who are absolutely got nothing …
PETERSON: On their bare bones.
BURNEY: Absolutely on their bones; and there’s an urgent need for an increase. Apart from the fact that there are many economists Oliver, that are saying that an increase in Newstart would be a fantastic stimulus for a very sluggish economy.
PETERSON: Well, as you say, one in four people over the age of 55 now make up a Newstart recipient. And if there are charities, and the work of WACOSS for example, that’ve seen an increase of 39% in that proportion of charities reporting an increase in the number of people seeking food, then we’ve got a big problem in our society.
BURNEY: We have a huge problem in our society. I couldn’t agree with you more. And the fact that we are – you don’t think this is Australia that we’re talking about, when you hear about, you know, the terrible situation that so many people find themselves in. And the fact that people are feeling quite terrorised by Centrelink, especially with the Robodebt numbers, the way that they are.
PETERSON: Linda Burney, appreciate your time. These hearings will continue.
BURNEY: Thank you.
ENDS
TRANSCRIPT
LINDA BURNEY - WEDNESDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2019