comments

        There is a huge price to pay for continuing social inequality and poverty. Over the past 15 years there has been a significant increase in income inequality in Australia. 10% of poor households have reported that they had gone without meals in the past 12 months due to cash flow problems. To address entrenched unemployment we will need to provide multiple supports and investment in local infrastructure in disadvantaged communities. Newstart is only one aspect and growing poverty and inequality continue to manifest in our health, education and justice system. A much broader vision is needed by our political leaders if we are to arrest growing inequality and an entrenched underclass in this country.    

    Commenter
        youthprojects
    Location
        Glenroy
    Date and time
        September 10, 2012,

        then even if so as the government lies , it means the minumum wage is insufficient too.
        prior to the early 70's a single 'bloke' could support a family on the minimum wage.
        so despite the substantial productivity increases, the benefits have acrrued, you guessed it, to the elites who own the machines - and partly throughout the globe. machine owners like Gina Rhinhardt who wants $2/hour wages and, presumably, lots of prisons and poor houses (with user pays of course). these sad and stingy people won't feel complete until everyone else is sad and stingy too, which accounts for the local government election results I suppose (and a swing to the 'right').    

    Commenter
        peterg
    Location
        NSW
    Date and time
        September 10, 2012,

        Governments favour pensioners over the unemployed for several reasons,
        there being more votes with the former being one of them.

        Our society also has a vested interest in provisions for the elderl,y which will
        probably become obsessive as the baby boomers reach their dotage.

        By any meaningful measure the dole payments are inadequate and should
        be rebalance at least some way towards the previous levels of comparison
        with pensions.    

    Commenter
        SteveH.
    Location
    Date and time
        September 10, 2012,

            Well put.    

        Commenter
            bratman
        Location
        Date and time
            September 10, 2012,

        I've been on and off the dole for nearly 20 years and it was hard enough at the start of that process; I would hate to have to rely on it for all my living expenses now. Aside from having to “rob Peter to pay Paul” every time you get a bill for anything, the worst problem is that you can't save anything. If you are lucky to get some work, and you come off the payments for a while, when you go back on you are forced to spend all your saved money before you receive any assistance. This leaves you with no reserves to fall back on if anything happens; like illness, injury or a personal crisis of some kind.

        Another problem arises if you are a mature-age student trying to survive on Austudy. I undertook tertiary study five years ago (at age 50) in order to improve my chances of finding gainful employment. For all of that time I survived on limited part-time work and/or Austudy. Austudy is even less that Newstart and there were times when I seriously considered living in a tent to save money!

        While I know it may be difficult, there needs to be an increase in the Newstart amount as well as provision for mature-age students like myself who do not have the “live-with-Mum-and-Dad” option available. Gaining a decent education is one way of getting yourself out of the poverty trap that unemployment inevitably leaves you in.    

    Commenter
        Tanukisan
    Location
    Date and time
        September 10, 2012,


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/acoss-push-for-dole-increase-20120909-25meg.html#ixzz266M2XGLs