AUSTRALIA : LEADERS ASK GOVERNMENT TO HELP UNEMPLOYED

Leaders Urge Govt to Increase Dole by $50 pw
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
27 Aug 2012

Many unemployed don't have the resources to fund their search for work

Australian households where unemployed benefits are the only income are being forced into poverty with single mothers and those living alone suffering the greatest financial hardship, a report commissioned by Catholic Social Services (CSS) and other major church providers, has found.
Entitled "Going Without: Financial Hardship in Australia" the report prepared by Ben Philips, Principal Research Fellow and Dr Binod Nepal, Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) was released at Parliament House and urges the Government to increase unemployment benefits by a minimum of $50 per week.
The Newstart Allowance has not been increased by the Government since 1994 and today represents just 40% of Australia's minimum wage.
The 2009 Henry Review recommended job seeker allowances be raised. There have also been frequent recommendations and submissions from church welfare agencies such as CSS, the Salvation Army, the Uniting Church and Anglicare, for unemployment benefits for Newstart and job seeker Youth Allowances to be urgently increased. All of the agencies came together to commission today's NATSEM Report. However the Government has refused to increase these benefits, arguing that low payments are a powerful incentive for people to get a job and get back into the workforce.
But for many of those struggling to survive it is not that simple or that easy.

Jobs increasingly part-time or casual

The Report found that households relying on unemployment benefits as their main or only source of income were five times more likely to be living in poverty. The researchers also found that once basic expenditure items such as shelter, food, electricity and health costs were taken into account, they are left with just $22 a day to cover travel, job hunting and other expenses such as suitable clothes for an interview.
"While it is important such payments provide an incentive to return to work, it is also important recipients have enough resources to fund their job search activities and to make a decent living," the Report said.
For many the struggle to keep their heads above water means cutting costs anyway they can, even if this means forgoing heating, letting their insurance payments lapse and when times are really tough, going without food.
As of June 2012, Australia had 663,000 people either on Newstart Allowances or job seeker Youth Allowances.

Collecting the dole is demoralising and many lose confidence and their self esteemand difficult

According to the Report, a single person without children on a Newstart Allowance receives a benefit of $244.95 per week which equates to $12,766 pa while an away from home Youth Allowance job seeker receives even less at $201.35 a week or $10,500 pa.
Both payments are considerably less than the single aged pension of $377.75 per week or the average weekly earnings for an Australian male which currently averages $1298 per week.
"There is an urgent need to increase the basic allowance by at least $50 per week and for realistic indexation," Paul O'Callaghan, Executive Director of CSS said today. "Far from providing an incentive to find work, the current inadequate level of payment prevents many people from seeking work and is adding to long term and intergenerational disadvantage."
While the Australian economy has prospered in recent years, the unemployed had fallen behind, he said.
At the launch of the NATSEM Report into Financial Hardship, Major Brad Halse of the Salvation Army pointed out that in an environment of close to full employment most of those who did not have jobs were living with long term and complex barriers to unemployment.
"There is a need for intensive support at a very basic level for long periods of time," he said.

CEO of Catholic Social Services Paul O'Callaghan

Lin Hatfield Dodds, National Director of United Care agreed, adding that today's unemployed were facing an environment that was inaccessible and even hostile.
"Work is increasingly part-time and causal, and employers are looking for skills and experience these people don't have."
However the four church groups at today's launch at Parliament House agreed that with the right support, along with commitment from Federal and State governments, business and communities, and individuals, employment was still an achievable goal.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY