Advocacy groups call for immediate changes to Australia's welfare system in the face of COVID-19
As unemployment surges in the face of Covid-19, advocacy groups are calling for Government to respond by raising the rate of all welfare payments and put an end to the Cashless Debit Card trial. Yesterday the Accountable Income Management Network and the Australian Unemployed Workers Union issued a joint Media Release outlining their calls to the Federal Government. Below are their demands:
In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic and associated impacts on the Australian public and economy, the Accountable Income Management Network and the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union (AUWU) reiterate our calls for some immediate changes to the welfare system to mitigate the effects of the crisis.
The Federal Government’s commitment yesterday to effectively double the current rate of Jobseeker payments was a hugely significant move towards the provision of equitable social security support. However, we recognise this as the first step in a raft of changes that will both support people receiving welfare payments in Australia to weather the pandemic, and lead to lasting positive changes with regards to the national distribution of poverty and standard of living.
We call on the Federal Government to act on the following concerns:
1. Raise the rate of all welfare payments.
While we welcome the Government’s announcement that it will be effectively doubling the current rate of Newstart/Jobseeker payments, we are concerned about the lack of increase in some other welfare payment categories. This includes the Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment, Age Pension, and Austudy and ABSTUDY. We call for an immediate increase to all welfare payments proportionate to the increase for the Jobseeker payment, and for these increases to be made permanent. We also call for the immediate provision of social security to all those who have been deemed ineligible for Centrelink payments despite experiencing significant hardship and need, including refugees and asylum seekers.
2. Stop the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) trial.
In addition to our broad concerns about income management related to welfare justice and consumer choice, the fact that there has been no suspension of the CDC trials during the COVID-19 pandemic is highly concerning. Considering the scarcity of essential consumer goods due to mass panic-buying, it is unreasonable to expect that cardholders will be able to access vital products with 80% of their payments restricted to electronic transactions only. We call for an immediate end to the CDC across all trial sites. We also call for the Government to develop a plan to phase out other forms of compulsory income management across Australia as a matter of urgency.
3. Stop the proposed roll-out of the CDC in the Northern Territory.
We endorse the joint statement made today by NATSILS, AMSANT, Central Land Council, NTCOSS, ACOSS, NAAJA NT, Aboriginal Housing NT calling for the proposed roll-out of the CDC across the Northern Territory to be immediately abandoned. Besides concerns regarding a lack of Aboriginal community consultation and consent to the trials, it is practically infeasible for the Government to proceed with any attempts to roll out 2 the relevant infrastructure during a global pandemic. This is particularly significant considering the closure of the Northern Territory’s borders to interstate arrivals from Tuesday the 24th of March.
4. Suspend all mutual obligations requirements for the duration of the crisis.
We commend Minister Ken Wyatt’s announcement that face-to-face and online requirements for Community Development Programme Work-For-The-Dole participants will respectively be removed and made voluntary, with no job seeker compliance action. We strongly urge Services Australia to follow Minister Wyatt’s lead and make online job search requirements either voluntary or unnecessary for all welfare recipients subject to mutual obligation requirements. No one subject to mutual obligation requirements under the targeted compliance framework should face sanctions for the duration of the pandemic.
These are achievable changes that can be implemented immediately to alleviate some of the severe projected social and economic impacts of COVID-19.
“These are unprecedented times, and the AUWU acknowledges that mutual obligations have been reduced,” AUWU National President Hayden Patterson said.
“However, we feel that mutual obligations should be suspended entirely to support the financial measures in place allowing jobseekers to self-isolate and adapt to overwhelmed employment services with limited employment opportunities.”
Moderator: Celia Green