Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Community Affairs References Committee on the extent and nature of poverty in Australia, together with accompanying documents, and I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

In September 2022, I first proposed the idea in this place of a national inquiry into poverty, and today, after nearly 18 months, I'm pleased to present the final report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee's inquiry into poverty. This inquiry was established almost 50 years to the day after the historic Henderson commission of inquiry into poverty, and like the Henderson inquiry, this inquiry investigated poverty at a national level and gathered significant evidence from people, organisations and communities about poverty in Australia. The committee heard from witnesses across the country at nine hearings and a site visit.

I'm incredibly proud that the Greens established this inquiry and I'd like to thank my colleagues for their support and participation in the hearings. I'd also like to thank my fellow committee members for their work on the inquiry—in particular, my deputy chair, Senator Marielle Smith—and, of course, the Community Affairs secretariat for the countless hours of work that they have put into this inquiry and the report over the last 18 months. And most of all, I want to thank everyone who participated in the inquiry, particularly people with direct experience of poverty who shared their testimonies. It can be incredibly difficult to share the traumatic experience of living in poverty, but it is immensely powerful and important for parliamentarians to hear your stories and understand the real impacts of government policies.

What was made clear throughout the inquiry was that in the nearly half a century since the Henderson inquiry, policy failures and inaction from government after government have left Australia even deeper in a poverty crisis. Evidence presented to the committee made clear that while there were many complex and intersecting structural drivers of poverty in Australia, the current crisis is largely reflective of the failures of our social security system. Australia's social security system should provide people with a social safety net; it should ensure that no-one is living in poverty, and everyone has the opportunity to live with dignity. Yet in hearings held across the country and in submissions, the committee heard personal and devastating testimonies from individuals who are trapped in poverty due to the inadequate rates of income support.

Abigail shared:

Energy prices went up, inflation went up and the DSP did not. I had to start making difficult decisions. I couldn't save money, it was just impossible. There were some fortnights where I had to decide whether I was buying myself groceries or paying electricity bills.

Chibo said:

I've never felt so mentally tortured as when I was unemployed, starting with Centrelink treating you like you're the last dirt from the street. Just coming into the whole situation … really impacts on your lifestyle, on your nutrition level, on anything.

Jo told us:

I am 58 years old. I have been waiting for a total hip replacement for 14 months. I get $683.40 per fortnight on JobSeeker. It should be more than that, but Centrelink have not recognised my new lease that I have uploaded three times or answered my calls … I am going to lose this tooth because I can't afford to see a dentist.

And Genevieve said:

I have registered for public and social housing. The local housing organisation tells me that the waitlist is 15 years. There's no transitional or priority housing available. They also told me on several occasions that my son and I will be homeless … apparently there are mums and babies, mums and young children, living in cars in Australia, in this affluent country. I don't have any family or friends to stay with, so our situation is dire. I'm under enormous stress. I'm both physically and mentally exhausted.

It is completely unacceptable that in one of the wealthiest countries in the world people like Abigail, Chibo, Jo and Genevieve and so many others are having to live in poverty. Urgent and transformative change is needed.

The inquiry's interim report that was tabled before the budget last year centred on the experiences of Australians living in poverty and examined the extent and human impact of poverty and its relationship with income support payments. This final report focuses on Australia's social security system, the impacts of poverty on First Nations people and children, and policy mechanisms to alleviate poverty.

In response to the evidence presented, the committee makes 14 important recommendations to the government. These include recommendations for the government to take urgent action so that Australians are not living in poverty by considering the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the income support system. There are also specific recommendations regarding changes to the disability support pension, Commonwealth rent assistance, mutual obligations and the employment services system.

Other recommendations include actions to reduce the disproportionate impact of poverty on First Nations communities, including committing to the principle of a First Nations led co-design of all First Nations employment services; asking the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee to review the adequacy of the remote area allowance and to continue to reform income management with a view to replace compulsory income management schemes; and measures to reduce child poverty, including significant investment to ensure children have access to quality early education, a review of all student payments and the child support scheme.

These recommendations are from a majority report of the committee. I, as chair, and the Labor senators on the committee are supportive of these recommendations. The Liberal senators are putting in a dissenting report, so it's unclear to me as to whether they support these recommendations. But the reality is that the agreed recommendations still fall far short of the transformative action needed to eradicate poverty in Australia.

As a member of the Greens and chair of this inquiry, I have put forward a suite of additional recommendations which would seriously address the poverty crisis that we face. Throughout the inquiry there was clear evidence that the simplest, most effective and most urgent step to reduce poverty was to raise the rate of all income support payments significantly. Yet sadly, I note that this is not a recommendation of this report. Another glaring omission in the main report is the lack of any recommendation calling on the government to develop a national poverty measure. Overwhelmingly, the committee heard evidence of the importance of national poverty measures and targets to eradicate poverty. Having no committee report recommendations on a national poverty measure, or anything specific on raising the rate, reveals the lack of willingness by the two major parties to fully acknowledge this and take the serious action that's needed to address the poverty crisis.

In response to the limitations of the committee recommendations, I, as chair, put forward a suite of additional recommendations that would effectively transform the social security system, target entrenched disadvantage and build on the work of the Henderson inquiry. Notably, these include clear actions for the government: to lift the base rate of all income support payment to $88 a day; to ensure that poverty alleviation, including developing a national measure of poverty, is a key focus of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee; to make a national commitment to reduce child poverty; and to abolish all mutual obligations immediately. Further recommendations are to review the adequacy, effectiveness and culture of Services Australia and the Department of Social Services, and to take critical steps to target the high rates of poverty in First Nations communities by increasing the rate of remote area allowance, expanding access to Services Australia services in remote areas and abolishing all forms of compulsory income management.

My recommendations also address other issues, including the age of independence, the disability support pension, parenting payment and Commonwealth rent assistance. These recommendations build on the work of advocates, organisations and researchers who have been advocating tirelessly for an end to poverty in Australia. They also reflect longstanding calls by the Australian Greens. Unlike the Labor and Liberal parties, the Greens have consistently called for a significant increase in income support and for a fairer social security system. We believe that a socially just, democratic and sustainable society rests on the provision of an unconditional liveable income, complemented by the provision of universal social services.

Before the election, Prime Minister Albanese made a promise to leave no-one behind. But since Labor came into government we have seen them implement a series of centre-right policies that benefit big corporates and the well-off, and leave people living in poverty without access to essential health services and struggling to access affordable housing. This inquiry has laid bare the depth and breadth of the poverty crisis in Australia. The Labor government cannot just dismiss this evidence, as they and so many governments before them have done with the Henderson inquiry. Australians cannot afford another 50 years of meaningless rhetoric and policies that trap people in poverty. For the sake of the wellbeing of our entire community, I call on the Labor government to implement both the recommendations of the main committee report and my chair's recommendations in the upcoming federal budget.