‘Haven’t done enough’: Albanese government urged to ‘go much further’ in welfare payment boost as increased Centrelink payments take effect


SkyNews.com.au
January 1 2023

Calls for government to go 'much further'

Almost one million Centrelink recipients will see a six per cent boost to their payments from today. Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Goldie says there's "no doubt" every dollar will help people. "But it does not get these key payments to the level that will lift people out of poverty," she told Sky News Australia. "Our cost of living research towards the end of now-last year showed people relying on these kinds of payments were going without food; they were going without heating and cooling. "So we want to see action - we do want the government to go much further with its approach to tackling cost of living, particularly for people on the very lowest incomes."
Almost a million Australians will benefit from increases to their welfare benefits in 2024, but the Albanese government is being urged to “go much further”.

More than 930,000 will see their Centrelink payments rise by $20 per week from January 1 – a six per cent increase – with Youth Allowance, Austudy, the Disability Support Pension, and others all set to increase.

However Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) chief executive Cassandra Goldie said the government “haven’t done enough” to assist those struggling with cost of living pressures.   

“Every dollar was going to help people; there's no question about that. But it does not get these key payments to the level that will lift people out of poverty,” Dr Goldie told Sky News Australia on Monday.

“I mean, our cost of living research towards the end of last year showed that people relying on these kinds of payments were going without food, they were going without heating and cooling. And we've got extreme weather all over the country now.   

“So we want to see action. We want the government to go much further with its approach to tackling cost of living, particularly for people in the very lowest incomes.”

More than 930,000 Australians will benefit from higher Centrelink payments from January 1, but the government is being urged to "go much further" to assist those struggling with cost of living pressures.

The ACOSS chief executive said the government needed to take the advice of the Independent Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee – of which she is a member – which last year  recommended substantial increases to Jobseeker and Youth Allowance.

“They recommended that the payment should be lifted to at least 90 per cent of the pension rate, which would bring it from where it is now at $54 per day up to $70 per day,” she said.

“We need the government now to do the right thing because the cost of living costs is real for people on low incomes.

“This is not a question of how many coffees can I have this week. It's a question of whether people can afford to keep the roof over their head or face homelessness, whether they are able to eat eight three meals a day or just one.”   

Australian Council of Social Service CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie, said that people relying on Centrelink payments were going without food and decided not to cool or heat their homes to make ends meet.

The changes that have taken effect from New Year's Day mean that Youth Allowance payments will increase between $19.10 and $41.40 a fortnight, while Austudy will rise by between $32.40 and $41.40. The disability support pension for people without children aged 21 and under will increase by between $31.10 and 44.90.

The welfare payment boost is among a series of changes that will aid people doing it tough, including changes to the amount working seniors and veterans can earn without impacting their pension, and changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) – all of which have come taken effect from January 1.

A permanent increase to the Work Bonus limit means the new maximum income for pension recipients has risen to $11,800.


Single pensioners can now earn $204 per fortnight before income is counted under the pension income test, while couples can earn $360.

In addition, the added $300 per fortnight Work Bonus means a single aged pensioner could earn up to $504 a fortnight and still receive the maximum rate of pension in 2024.

Changes to the PBS will also see the cost of prescriptions on the scheme fall by 29 per cent.

Government money is an incentive that should be directed at

Rewarding more of the behaviour we wish to see increase

We definitely do not want to see an increase in people on welfare
So it is important not to incentivise this behavior

We certainly do want to see an increase in people earning 100,000 plus
So it is important that we do incentivize this behavior

Buy encouraging success we are becoming more like Singapore
An awesome multicultural regional powerhouse

Buy encouraging welfare recipients we are becoming more like North Korea
A country where people eat a bowl of dirt a day supplemented by a little grass


It is so so important that the government back the winners
And it is fairly obvious who the winners are

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/31/from-medicare-to-preschoo...



Increased land tax in Victoria

The Victorian government has also introduced a temporary land tax surcharge for the next 10 years.

This means there will be a new $500 surcharge for landholdings that are valued between $50,000 and $100,000.

For land valued between $100,000 and $300,000, the surcharge will be $975, and landholdings valued over $300,00 will be charged $975 plus 0.1% of the taxable value.

Family homes remain exempt from the land tax, while there is also an increased penalty for land that is left vacant for longer than a year.

John Smith wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2024 at 6:38am:



Not me - I no longer rent.
I bought another place.
I feel sorry for all people who are renting.

John Smith wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2024 at 6:46am:



Property hoarders will pass on the new tax to their tenants as of today.

John Smith wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2024 at 6:53am:



Poor people vote for Labor because Labor pretends to care about them.
They really got sucked in this time.   

Both Govt parties encouraged property hoarding and
members of parliament got in on it too.
They also supported mass immigration creating a housing shortage.

There has been a $1000 % increase in property values since 1999
thanks to their policies.
People who had their own house and owned a rental property too back in 1999
have become millionaires out of it -
even if it was an old fibro dump that was unsafe to live in.

Bobby. wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2024 at 7:13am:



who told you that? Lots of stupid poor people that vote for the libs.
Besides, would you prefer they do nothing?

Like I said earlier, you cry when they don't do something to try to stop hoarders, you cry when they do something. Lets face it, it wouldn't matter what they did, you'd whinge. Why? Because you're a moron, thats why.

I spent a lot of money on car repairs and the like. I was out of pocket a few thousand dollars for a second-hand engine. My bank account was at its lowest since ten years ago. But, in the last 6 months, I seem to have found money available more than I thought in my account. Not only am I getting more from my Centrelink, the job I have seems to be paying generously.