1st Aug 2023, 12:20 PM – Senate Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Safety Net) Bill 2023 - Second Reading - Call for more action on poverty

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). Because this vote was unsuccessful, the text set out below won't be added to the motion. The amendment was introduced by ACT Senator David Pocock (Independent).

Note that these types of amendments don't make any legal changes, but instead are politically influential as they represent the will of the Senate.

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the expert Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee (EIAC) found that the rates of social security payments for working age Australians are seriously inadequate and are creating barriers to paid work,

(ii) the EIAC recommended the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance and other related payments be raised to 90 per cent of the aged pension to restore a previous relativity between the payments, reduce financial stress in the community and improve the wellbeing and security of the most vulnerable Australians,

(iii) the Albanese Government has rejected the expert advice of the EIAC and has chosen to raise the rates of income support by just $2.85 a day, before the payments are indexed,

(iv) the Albanese Government has decided not to remove the Activity Test for the Child Care Subsidy, despite recommendations to do so by the EIAC and the Women's Economic Equality Taskforce given findings that it is perversely reducing economic inclusion, especially for women, and causing hardship for children,

(v) the Albanese Government has chosen not to raise the age of eligibility for Parenting Payment (Single) to when a parent's youngest child turns 16 years-of-age, leaving over 18,000 single parents without access to the payment,

(vi) by the time changes to Parenting Payment (Single) commence, over 5,000 single parents will have been needlessly removed from the payment and will need to reapply,

(vii) we are in a housing affordability crisis and the EIAC found the current rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) to be inadequate,

(viii) at a time of rapidly rising rents, the 1.3 million Australian households receiving CRA are at greater risk of financial stress and poverty,

(ix) the EIAC recommended the Government commit to increase CRA and reform its indexation to better reflect rent paid, and

(x) the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme reported that politicians need to 'lead a change in social attitudes to people receiving welfare payments' and change the narrative of 'taxpayer versus welfare recipient'; and

(b) is of the opinion that the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Safety Net) Bill 2023 will not do enough to reduce poverty in the community and provide all Australians with a strong social safety net; and

(c) calls on the Albanese Government to:

(i) change eligibility for Parenting Payment (Single) to support parents to continue on the payment until their youngest child turns 16,

(ii) raise the rates of working age payments to at least 90 per cent of the aged care pension, as recommended by the EIAC,

(iii) scrap the Activity Test for the Child Care Subsidy,

(iv) significantly increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance, and

(v) commit to the development of a modern measure of poverty in Australia to guide future policy making in social services.