Newstart recipients can’t eat or heat

Eighty-four per cent of Newstart recipients skip meals and 66 per cent don’t use heating according to a survey to be released today.

“Australia is the wealthiest country in the world, yet we have people skipping meals...” says Cassandra Goldie, Australian Council of Social Service chief.

Eighty-four per cent of Newstart recipients skip meals and 66 per cent don’t use heating in winter, according to a survey to be released today by the Australian Council of Social Service as Labor and lobby groups ramp up pressure on the government to increase the welfare payment.

The survey of 489 people on Newstart or Youth Allowance found many can’t afford rent, energy, clothing, transport, haircuts, dental care or internet access.

Forty-four per cent said they skipped more than five meals a week, 63 per cent said they couldn’t afford to eat meat and 54 per cent didn’t buy fresh produce.

“I eat one sachet of porridge, one tin of food, and one popper (for vitamin C) a day. Sometimes I can’t afford the porridge,” one survey participant told ACOSS.

Nearly 70 per cent of survey participants said they bought only second-hand clothes and more than half had less than $100 left in their pockets each week after housing costs.

“I only shower about once a week to save on water and electricity costs,” another participant said. “I only flush the toilet when necessary. I am no longer purchasing food that requires refrigeration, so that I can turn the fridge off.”

ACOSS chief Cassandra Goldie said the survey results were a moral wake-up call for the Morrison government.

“Australia is the wealthiest country in the world, yet we have people skipping meals, staying in abusive relationships and showering once a week because they are on the grossly inadequate New­start payment,” Dr Goldie said.

“An urgent increase of $75 a week is the absolute minimum we need after 25 years without a real increase.”

Labor spokeswoman Linda Burney agreed, saying the government was running out of excuses not to boost the payment.

“Newstart is too low — it’s so low that people are being pushed into poverty and it’s preventing them from getting work,” Ms Burney said yesterday.

Scott Morrison has continued to rule out raising the Newstart ­allowance despite several prominent Coalition politicians — including former prime minister John Howard and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce — publicly contradicting the party’s official position and calling for the payment to be increased.

The Nationals have also indicated they are undertaking modelling into the jobs and economic benefits a boost to Newstart would give regional areas.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher yesterday refused to deny reports he intervened to ­remove from a parliamentary ­report a bipartisan recommendation to increase Newstart, when quizzed about his tenure as social services minister.

“We are completely consistent in our position in relation to New­start,” Mr Fletcher told the ABC.

“Our focus when it comes to Newstart, as a government, is on getting people off Newstart and into the workforce as quickly as possible.

“We’ve created 1.3 million new jobs since we came to government. We’re having considerable success in getting people off welfare rolls into work.

“Of course there’s more to do. But Newstart is designed to assist people to make the transition into the workforce.”