Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Workforce Incentive) Bill 2022. The changes made by this bill are welcome, and I want to echo the comments made by my colleague Senator Rice. It makes sense that older Australians who want to work more should not be penalised for doing so. I acknowledge that many of my colleagues have already spoken to the benefits of this bill succinctly, so, while I wish to speak to this bill, I want to highlight further amendments that we should be considering.

If we are extending the number of hours pension holders can work, then why are we not extending the number of hours that those receiving JobSeeker or the disability support pension can work before being penalised? If we are increasing the number of hours that pensioners can work, it makes no sense to exclude other members of society. This exclusion is particularly stark when we know that JobSeeker and the disability support pension both fail to support Australians stay above the poverty line. The $48 a day that jobseekers receive is not enough. They are income support payments that still fall below the poverty line and must be increased to $88 a day. We must raise the rate. This increase in the rate of income support is one of the most important changes that we can make to alleviate poverty in this country, because, let's be clear, poverty is a political choice.

There are people in my community throughout Central Queensland who are at breaking point because of the inadequate levels of government support payments. For these people, yes, it's the rate of pay that is too low, but it's also the paperwork, the extreme administrative burden, the waiting periods and the punitive punishments for slight breaches of mutual obligations. As Senator Rice foreshadowed, there will be substantive amendments put to this bill, and each one is an opportunity for us, collectively as a parliament, to make people's lives better. It's that simple.

During the initial waves of COVID the government doubled the rate of JobSeeker. This lifted people out of poverty and, quite literally, saved lives. It also showed that it is possible to meaningfully reduce poverty in this country. This government could make choices to scrap policies such as the stage 3 tax cuts. These tax cuts are going to cost us $244 billion. These tax cuts only further benefit the rich in this country, rather than taking this money and making sure that this government's income payments are above the poverty line.

Lifting people out of poverty is only a matter of political will. We need to make and pass these additional amendments to ensure that social services in this country are more equitable and just, and prioritise improving people's lives.