Despite repeated calls to increase the dole, Social Services Minister Anne Ruston refuses to admit that Newstart is not enough to live off, according to 9News.
In a Sky News interview on Sunday, Senator Ruston avoided the question repeatedly when political editor David Speers pressured her to answer whether or not she believed the current Newstart cheque as enough to survive through winter.
As it currently stands, a single adult without children receives a maximum payout of $555.70 per fortnight under the current Newstart agreement. Considering the average fortnightly rent for people on Newstart is $456.45, that leaves you with less than $50 per week for everything else you need to live. That’s not a lot.
But when asked the question we all know the answer to, Senator Ruston refused to give a straight answer.
“I have not said that it will be easy to live on Newstart,” she answered.
When Speers asked her again whether she believed that Newstart provided enough money to live off, she repeated: “As I said, it wouldn’t be easy.”
“It’s a safety net payment, it never was meant to be a replacement for a wage or a salary. It is there as a safety net to assist people while they haven’t got a job,” she added.
The question went back and forth throughout the interview like they were playing tennis with the lives of Australia’s most vulnerable people.
“I have answered the question and I absolutely remain totally committed to helping anybody that is on Newstart who wants a job to get a job,” she concluded.
Obviously there are people that absolutely rort the system, but I think it’s a little out of line to pretend that everyone on Newstart is just a dole bludger who isn’t trying hard enough to get a job.
It’s hard enough to even get approved for Centrelink payments in the first place. Heck, good luck getting any sort of government assistance through uni if you don’t have a gap year.
When asked whether the government planned to increase Newstart payments, Senator Ruston gave the following reply.
“The prime minister has made it very clear that currently we are not considering an increase in Newstart. What we are doing is focused on getting people into work.”
If you talk to anyone who is on Newstart, they’ll probably give you the same story. Most of them would much prefer to have jobs that can support them. A life on less than $50 per week isn’t exactly fun. But sometimes, due to dire circumstances, health conditions or your socioeconomic background, people find themselves on Newstart. It’s rare that you’ll meet someone who wants to or plans to stay on it forever. But sometimes you have no choice.
As someone who has thankfully never needed government assistance, I understand that it’s not quite something I can fully understand. I can limit myself to $50 per week but that doesn’t erase the benefits I’m given due to the privilege I frankly didn’t earn. And I don’t think politicians on over $100k per year are able to comprehend what it’s like to live on $50 it either. So why are they the ones who get to decide whether or not to increase it?
Some people are born into or brought up in a position of privilege, and others have to work really hard to get the same opportunities. Rather than trying to convince people that they’re not trying hard enough in life, we should level out the playing field a little bit to give people a fair chance at making a life for themselves.
Until you’re on Newstart, you’re not going to understand how insanely difficult it is to survive on less than $50 per week. It’s not sustainable. And it’s sure as hell not going to be easy to go out and job hunt when you’re barely able to afford a nutritious meal.
Maybe if we increase Newstart to a level that actually allows recipients to shower, eat nutritious meals and maybe even chuck the heater on for a few hours on a cold night, they’ll have an easier time finding work.
Someone on over $100,000 per year shouldn’t be able to tell someone on less than $50 per week that they’re simply not trying hard enough.
