14th Oct 2015, 3:51 PM – Senate Motions - Anti-Poverty Week - Address poverty

The majority voted against this motion, which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the week beginning 11 October 2015 is Anti-Poverty Week,

(ii) the main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to strengthen public understanding, and encourage research, discussion and action to address these problems, and

(iii) poverty and severe hardship affect more than a million Australians;

(b) acknowledges the very important work undertaken by a large number of organisations across Australia in providing crucial services, such as food-banks, housing, social services, counselling and legal support among others, which make an invaluable contribution to Australian society; and

(c) calls on the government to:

(i) increase Newstart and youth allowance payments by at least $50 a week,

(ii) provide adequate support to people struggling with poverty, including young people accessing income support,

(iii) provide appropriate support to service delivery agencies, including stable and adequate funding, and

(iv) develop a national anti-poverty plan with clear targets and measures to address poverty in Australia.