It isn’t available to the bulk of the unemployed, it isn’t available to people who’ve been on JobKeeper rather than JobSeeker, and employers can overclaim.
Half of the increase could be set aside for spending on training. It might appeal to Coalition members concerned that higher payments would reward people who are out of work.
John Quiggin, The University of Queensland; Elise Klein, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, and Troy Henderson, University of Sydney
As debate grows over what should happen to JobSeeker Payment, a ‘liveable income guarantee’ turns the idea of an unemployment benefit on its head.
Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The Morrison government says the Coronavirus Supplement won’t last forever. This means JobSeeker Payment will need a huge boost to keep people out of poverty.
Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Many temporary residents will be excluded from coronavirus support. In this open letter to the prime minister, 43 leading Australian experts on social policy argue this is in no-one’s interests.
One quarter of Australian workers have no paid sick leave. They are more likely than most to work in service industries, dealing with people face to face.
The government’s retirement incomes review should concentrate on boosting rent assistance and Newstart and fixing the pension assets test. These would achieve more than boosting super.