Talking Point: Lock in higher Newstart to fight poverty

TENNILLE MURTAGH: Welfare bonus is welcome, but hungry, cold families need commitment

HURTING: Bridgewater has more than its share of people doing it tough. Picture: JAMES KERR

THE special one-off payment of $750, plus the temporary doubling of the JobSeeker or Newstart Allowance for six months, announced by Prime Minister Morrison as part of the Federal Government’s coronavirus packages is welcome news, but a permanent increase is needed to combat long-term poverty and associated social ills.

The social and health challenges of the Brighton municipality, especially people in Bridgewater and Gagebrook have been well documented and while Brighton Council, government authorities and community groups work earnestly to improve the situation, a glaring factor remains unresolved.

Despite the temporary coronavirus payments, inadequacy of the Newstart Allowance remains. This forces recipients and their families to exist in poverty, with little chance of ending the heartbreaking cycle of poverty. That is why Brighton Council has become the first council in the state to call on the Federal Government to urgently increase Newstart.

Bringing the allowance up to the level of the Henderson Poverty line must be the first step in alleviating poverty and its associated disadvantages, not only in our community, but in similar communities throughout Australia.

The Poverty Line was established in 1973 by the independent Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics under Professor Ronald Henderson following the Federal Government’s Commission of Inquiry into Poverty in Australia. It is updated quarterly and now stands at an income of $858.80 per fortnight for singles, significantly above the Newstart Allowance of $559.

While raising the level of Newstart is the responsibility of the Federal Government, Council has a role to play in lobbying other tiers of government. Brighton has a history of making a stand on state or national issues that have a major impact on its community. Our stand calling for poker machine reform is a strong example.

The Brighton community has a particularly high rate of disadvantage, disability and unemployment. The links between financial poverty and issues such as physical and mental health, crime, domestic violence and, indeed, unemployment are very clear.

The reality is that Newstart is insufficient to cover the rising costs of living and this is hurting residents who live in Brighton and in municipalities with similar demographics.

Undoubtedly, the low level of Newstart payments is contributing to an increase in poverty, poor health and homelessness for recipients in Brighton and beyond.

It is a travesty that people who rely on the allowance are being forced to live below the poverty line with virtually no money to see them through an entire fortnight once rent and other essentials are taken out.

Many of our people are living on literally no money and it impacts everything they do. They are having to make choices in winter between heating and eating. If they choose to heat instead of eat, they risk a poor diet and sickness by not receiving enough nutrition to maintain a healthy immune system and fight off illness. If they choose to eat instead of heat in winter, they risk becoming ill with respiratory infections such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia or worse.

A 2015 Australian Council of Social Service survey of 600 Newstart recipients reported about 20 per cent do not have enough money for essentials like housing, food and electricity. The facts are that nutrition often does not enter the thinking of a Newstart recipient when he or she does the grocery shopping, but cost always does. So less healthy, processed options are chosen above fresh fruit and vegetables. It also impacts on social issues such as childcare, transport, education, and seeking employment.

Permanently raising the Newstart Allowance will be a significant step in eradicating poverty for many families.

Tennille Murtagh is a Brighton councillor.