Morrison Government doubles down on plan to make JobSeekers wait six months

The Morrison Government has confirmed that it plans to press ahead with legislation to make Australians applying for the unemployment payments wait up to 26 weeks.
 
This comes after the Prime Minister announced the re-introduction of a 13 week Liquid Assets Waiting Period from 25 September.
 
The Liquid Assets Waiting Period means those with $11,500 in the bank will have to wait 13 weeks to receive support.
 
Despite the Coronavirus crisis, the Prime Minister wants to double the maximum Liquid Asset Waiting Period to 26 weeks – or six months.
 
“The Government should delay the return of the Liquid Asset Waiting Period and dump their plan to double it,” Linda Burney said.
 
“The number of Australians receiving unemployment payments has more than doubled to 1.6 million.
 
“Now is not the time to introduce more uncertainty and make it more difficult for Australians who have lost work to get support.
 
“The harsh reality is that there are now 13 JobSeekers for every one job vacancy in Australia – and the Prime Minister needs to show more understanding.
 
“The Morrison Government wants Australians who have lost work to eat through their savings before they can receive help. 
 
“If people are forced to run down every last dollar, they will have no buffer for bills and emergencies like a broken car or fridge – making it harder for people to get back on their feet.”
 
THURSDAY, 20 AUGUST 2020