Mum’s heartbreaking plea amid cost-of-living crisis

“I never pictured myself being in this situation, ever. But here I am, just scraping by,” Emma said.

3 min read

July 3, 2024 - 9:39AM

Dad earning $125k struggling to provide for family, amid cost-of-living crisis

Family Life

Don't miss out on the headlines from Family Life. Followed categories will be added to My News.

An Australian mother is pleading with the government to do more for families amid the cost-of-living crisis, which she says is forcing her family to barely “scrape by”.

Emma Robertson and her partner currently rent two rooms at her parents’ house, where they raise their 15-month-old son Atlan.

Together, they work full-time jobs, working upwards of 40 hours per week, and live on strict budgets, yet they’re finding it exceedingly difficult to stay afloat financially.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Emma and her partner are struggling trying to keep up. Picture: A Current Affair

Family “struggles” to keep up financially despite tax cuts

The young mother explained that the government’s recent tax cuts aren’t doing much to offset the ever-increasing cost of living.

Speaking to A Current Affair, she said they “pretty much do nothing at all”.

“The tax cuts come in, but everything else goes up, so it’s not justifiable,” she said.

One of the most significant price hikes she’s witnessed is in childcare. “We got an email saying our daily rate was increasing by $17 a day, which is quite a lot, realistically,” Emma explained.

“When you think about everything else that's gone up, like car insurance, food prices, fuel, rent, rates, all of that type of stuff ... this is not where I saw my life, unfortunately, but it is where we are.”

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Despite Emma working 40 hours a week and her partner working up to 50 hours, the money they earn is “not enough” to survive. “It's a struggle,” she said. “We do everything we can to cut where we can, just to survive, to put food on the table.”

They currently live with Emma’s parents, renting two rooms while they struggle to save. “At the moment, we just can't save and get on top of everything. It's just too hard,” Emma told ACA.

The mum-of-one said if she didn’t have her parents’ support, her family would “essentially be homeless”.

“You know, as a small family, we do want our own privacy, our own space,” she said. “But it's something we just can't achieve at the moment.”

With no visible light at the end of the tunnel yet, Emma said she enters each new week fearing the worst. “Every single day, I wake up, and I go, ‘What is going to happen this week? What is going to go up today?’” she asked.

“It’s horrible. I never pictured myself being in this situation, ever, but here I am, just scraping by.”

"We need that help from the government." Picture: A Current Affair

Australian mum urges government to “step up”

The Australian mum has urged the Albanese government to do more for families like hers, pleading for them to “step up” and assist those who are struggling in the cost-of-living crisis.

“We need that help from the government,” she said.

Under the new tax cuts, 13.6 million taxpayers will receive a tax cut, with 11.5 million receiving a larger tax cut than under the proposed changes in 2019 by the Morrison government.

Under these new tax cuts, an Australian earning $50,00 would save $929 a year, making them $804 better off than the previous plan.

Someone earning $90,000 would save $1929 a year, up from $1125 formerly promised.

Australians earning between $18,201 and $45,000 will pay 16 per cent tax, as opposed to 19 per cent as per the original stage 3 plan.

Those who earn between $45,000 to $135,000 will pay 30 per cent tax, down from the original 32.5 per cent.

People earning between $135,000 and $190,000 will pay a 37 per cent tax, meaning the top tax bracket now begins at $190,000 per year instead of $180,000.