ACOSS calls on Macklin to 'please do your job'

Date
    January 3, 2013


AUSTRALIA'S leading social service agency yesterday called for Families Minister Jenny Macklin to ''please do your job'', as the furore over Ms Macklin's performance grew.    

Ms Macklin - who earns $903 a day - told reporters on Tuesday that she could live on the Newstart Allowance of $35 a day, the same day that more than 80,000 single parents were shifted from the parenting payment to the lower Newstart payment.

Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie said the changes would leave vulnerable people - the majority of them women - $60 to $110 a week worse off. 

Acting Greens leader Adam Bandt, whose Melbourne electorate has the highest proportion of people in public housing in the country, said he would spend a week living on $35 a day in February. And he called for Jenny Macklin to back her claim that she could live on the Newstart Allowance by joining him.


''There has been inquiry after inquiry, report after report saying this is an income that's below the poverty line, it's not really an income at all,'' Mr Bandt said.    

''I think perhaps the minister needs some firsthand experience of it and maybe that will change her mind.''

But Dr Goldie was lukewarm when asked about Mr Bandt's challenge to Ms Macklin.

''Well, look, there's a lot of people out there challenging the minister today to endeavour to live on $35 a day, [but] you can't replicate that experience if you are a senior member of government.

''We're saying to the minister, please do your job. Please look at the evidence; there are three parliamentary committees that have all expressed concern about the adequacy of the Newstart Allowance, we have the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the OECD and the Henry tax panel all saying this unemployment payment is too low.''    

She called on the government to boost the single rate of the unemployment benefit by $50 in its May budget.    

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Ms Macklin said the minister would not be commenting further on the matter. She said questions about raising the dole were a matter for Employment Minister Bill Shorten. A spokesman for Mr Shorten, who is on leave, directed Fairfax to Mr Shorten's comments in November, when he said there was ''no doubt in my mind that $249, being the Newstart Allowance, is incredibly low and would be very difficult to live on''. However, he said, the government would maintain the dole at its current rate ''for the time being''.

ACOSS says more than 90 per cent of single parents who have lost income are women.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/acoss-calls-on-macklin-to-please-do-your-job-20130102-2c5mt.html#ixzz2Gqwlz3eV

If they are in public life in any capacity and arrogant enough to be saying and doing things that fail the decency test and constitute crimes against the poor, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, then its a pretty fair bet that someone, somewhere has a file with their name on it and is documenting everything they say and do....

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Good call Dr Goldie.

Yes Cods very true, we have had more reports and inquiries than we know what to do with.  Thankyou Cassandra Goldie, the evidence is very clear.  Newstart is far too low, and should be increased $50 a week.