Australians in ‘acute crisis’ urge PM to ease welfare penalties for working more hours

Angela Finch at home in Hobart. ‘If I lose my healthcare card, I’d be really screwed.’ Photograph: Matthew Newton/The Guardian

For Angela Finch, prime minister Anthony Albanese’s retelling of his story about growing up as the son of a single mother in Sydney’s public housing is wearing thin.

“His mum could not do what she did today, like she just couldn’t,” Finch told Guardian Australia, adding that soaring costs and restrictions on how much she can work before losing her welfare funding were terrifying her.