Australia’s unemployment payments are hundreds of dollars a week below the poverty line and were not increased in the federal budget.
The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee recently recommended that jobseeker payments should be lifted to 90% of the age pension. Experts say that without change the gap between jobseeker and pension payments is only going to widen.
The budget did increase commonwealth rent assistance by 10% and extended the eligibility for the highest rate of jobseeker payments for about 4,700 people. All Australians will also receive a $300 energy bill rebate.
