Updated
A $75-a-week rise in Centrelink unemployment benefits
would be roughly equivalent to the annual cost of buying a submarine, a
South Australian social services group has said.
South Australian
Council of Social Service (SACOSS) has used the comparison to call on
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall to join with business leaders,
unions, community groups and councils who are lobbying Malcolm Turnbull
for an increase in Centrelink's Newstart payments.Currently, the Newstart unemployment payment for a single person is $273 a week, equivalent to less than $40 a day.
SACOSS chief executive Ross Womersley said the Newstart payments were "inadequate", with the value of the payments going backwards both in real terms and in comparison to the incomes of other Australians.
"While Newstart is a Federal Government payment, we are calling on Premier Marshall to represent the needs and interests of SA's poorest households and add his government's voice to the chorus of public calls to increase Newstart," Mr Womersley said.
"This chorus includes business leaders, trade unions, community groups, 11 SA local councils and an ex-Liberal Prime Minister — and of course, the voices of the unemployed themselves.
"It should include our State Government."
Mr Marshall has not responded to questions on whether he will support the campaign.
Cost 'equivalent to a submarine'
The call for Mr Marshall to push for an increase in the amount paid under Newstart comes as SACOSS released its latest Cost of Living Report, which found the value of the unemployment payment had declined in comparison to the general standard of living, with unemployed people receiving 24 per cent of the average wage in South Australia in 1998, to 19 per cent in 2018.
A $75-a-week increase in the Newstart payment and other allowances would inject $222 million a year into the state's economy, which was equivalent to a little more than the annualised cost of buying a submarine, SACOSS said.
"The submarines are expected to have 20 years of service, so at $4.16 billion per vessel, the annualised expenditure on the purchase of one submarine is $208 million per year (plus maintenance)," SACOSS' report said.
"This is a straight division, not adjusting for inflation or allowing for potential differing costs between submarines, but the proposed increase in Newstart in South Australia represents just bit more than the annualised purchase cost of one submarine."
Mr Womersley said raising the Newstart rate was "the right thing to do for our poorest people".
"It will relieve pressure on State Government anti-poverty services, and it will provide an economic stimulus to low income regions in our state," he said.
'My children eat while I don't'
The SACOSS report includes four case studies, looking at the cost of living and basic expenses of five people aged between 20 and 60.Their weekly budgets showed all five were scraping by, with little to no money remaining once essential expenses were accounted for.
The money that remained was quickly used up by unexpected expenses such as car registration and medical bills, SACOSS said.
"I cannot afford to feed myself, or the cost associated with study," Tanya said in the report.
"There's no such thing as entertainment, can't afford to get sick … my children eat while I don't."
Household weekly budgets of five Newstart recipients
| Item | Tracey | Wendy | Jai | Marie | Tanya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 years old, single Newstart with some casual work, public housing | 50s, single Newstart with some casual work, private rental | Early 20s, single Newstart, private rental | 60, single Newstart, public housing | 50s, single Abstudy, part-care 2 children, community housing | |
| Rent | 89.43 | 190 | 150 | 80.30 | 115 |
| Groceries | 50 | 20 | 60 | 50 | 50 |
| Power | 35 | 17.50 | 35 | 50 | |
| Phone/internet | 21.25 | 15 | 27.50 | 5 | 15 |
| Insurance | 21.25 | ||||
| Pets | 37.50 | ||||
| Medications | 4 | 10 | |||
| Metrocard | 10 | ||||
| Vehicle | 30 | 36 | |||
| Centrelink deduct | 24.25 | 10 | |||
| Debt repayment | 85 | 12.50 | |||
| Fines | 15 | ||||
| Saving for bed | 12.50 | ||||
| Total expenditure | 262.43 | 381.75 | 292.50 | 240.30 | 252.50 |
| Income | 357.70 | 345.25 | 320 | 245 | 270 |
| Difference | 95.28 | -36.50 | 27.50 | 4.70 | 17.50 |
Calls for a $75-a-week rise
A national "raise the rate" campaign led by the Australian Council of Social Service is calling for a $75-a-week increase, which would be a 27 per cent increase in the current base rate.The last real increase in unemployment benefits occurred more than 20 years ago.
In May former Prime Minister John Howard joined leading business figures in calling for Newstart payments to be increased, after the federal budget delivered no extra benefits for the unemployed and jobseekers.
Other business and political figures to throw their support behind a raise in Newstart payment rates include Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott, economist Chris Richardson, and federal crossbenchers Derryn Hinch and Tim Storer.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the unemployment rate was 5.4 per cent in June, with around 719,000 Australians out of work.
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