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One in six children in Australia live in poverty.
Join us to fix the system that supports them.
One in six children in Australia live in poverty[1]. We all want to live in a more caring and equal society, but Labor’s cuts are making things worse.
Families rallied across the country today against the latest cuts to payments for single parents that have reduced their already meagre weekly budget by more than $60 a week. We were proud to join them.
Sam Seymour, a single mum to twin girls, is one of the parents I met at the rally in Canberra today. The payment cuts means that it’s now a daily struggle to figure out how to make sure her kids both get to school and have enough food in their lunchboxes. For another mum, the cuts mean she can no longer afford the rent on their home and might need to move.
The Greens are the only party that opposed forcing single parents and their children onto the lower Newstart payment in Parliament.
Living on Newstart is next to impossible. My colleague Adam Bandt and I had a small taste of what it’s like when we spent a week living on $35 a day.
I don’t know how families are expected to survive. Single parents now are being forced to skip meals, go into debt, draw on the generosity of others or stop paying their bills.
For these families, this is urgent. Please, join our call today to:
- Boost Newstart & Youth Allowance by $50 a week and fix the payments system.
- Stop cutting vital support to single parents.
- Deliver better job services and education supports to help people into stable employment.
This week, we’re taking the next step in this long campaign: I’m introducing a Bill into Parliament on Thursday to increase Newstart by $50 a week. This will help reduce the poverty that single parents, job seekers and young people face when trying to survive on Newstart or Youth Allowance.
Take the next step with us. We’ve been building support behind this call for years; now, it’s time to demonstrate that thousands of Australians will stand up for vulnerable families.
With gratitude,
Rachel Siewert
P.S. Greens MPs joined the Single Parent Action Group rallies in every city. You can see and share their photos from the rallies here.
[1] Poverty in Australia 2012, Australian Council of Social Services. http://www.acoss.org.au/media/release/one_in_eight_people_living_in_pove...
Authorised by Christine Cunningham & Ben Spies-Butcher, Australian Greens, 8-10 Hobart Pl, Canberra 2600.