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Down but not out after the election, Jessica Harrison vows to continue her campaign for those living in poverty on the Newstart allowance.
By Jessica Harrison
What result were you hoping for as an advocate for an increase in the Newstart allowance?
I was hoping for an increase in the ALP/Greens influence in Parliament. The Greens have already agreed to raising Newstart and the ALP policy was to review the Newstart rate as soon as possible after the election, if they were successful.
What was your immediate response to the election result?
Despair. How could people have such short memories of all the destructive policies of Morrison and co? How could a last-minute fear campaign convince the population to vote against their own interests? It takes only a few minutes to vote – but the long-term result of a few marks on a ballot paper means grinding poverty will continue for those of us living below the poverty line.
What have your thoughts been in the two weeks since then?
I have become accustomed to despairing of governments on many issues close to my heart – after all, the Newstart rate has been kept low for 25 years by Labor and Liberal governments alike.
Will you continue your advocacy work or do you see it as a lost cause?
We are determined to redouble our efforts to work together to make our lives bearable in the years to come. As well as organising together, rent strikes, squatting, bin-dipping and free food kitchens are some of many collective responses to daily poverty.
When I was in the streets of Wonthaggi getting signatures to the "Raise Newstart" petition for the Council, I met many people who signed after realising it was an issue that affected their lives. We need to achieve small victories and inspire each other for larger ones.
Will the result change your approach?
No. Lobbying governments is only one part of the campaign. Cassandra Goldie of the Australian Council for Social Services (ACOSS) has been a consistent advocate for raising Newstart. ACOSS is not going anywhere. Neither are the municipal councils that have already supported Newstart being raised, the Australian Local Government Association, the Business Council of Australia, KPMG, former PM John Howard, former opposition leader John Hewson AM, churches and welfare groups.
Deloitte Access Economics found raising Newstart would have a range of “prosperity effects” and lead to 12,000 more people being employed by the 2020-21 financial year.
The Morrison government needs to stop punishing the poor and scapegoating us for the woes of capitalism.
Jessica Harrison is a member of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union. In March she successfully lobbied Bass Coast Shire Council to support an increase in the Newstart allowance.
What result were you hoping for as an advocate for an increase in the Newstart allowance?
I was hoping for an increase in the ALP/Greens influence in Parliament. The Greens have already agreed to raising Newstart and the ALP policy was to review the Newstart rate as soon as possible after the election, if they were successful.
What was your immediate response to the election result?
Despair. How could people have such short memories of all the destructive policies of Morrison and co? How could a last-minute fear campaign convince the population to vote against their own interests? It takes only a few minutes to vote – but the long-term result of a few marks on a ballot paper means grinding poverty will continue for those of us living below the poverty line.
What have your thoughts been in the two weeks since then?
I have become accustomed to despairing of governments on many issues close to my heart – after all, the Newstart rate has been kept low for 25 years by Labor and Liberal governments alike.
Will you continue your advocacy work or do you see it as a lost cause?
We are determined to redouble our efforts to work together to make our lives bearable in the years to come. As well as organising together, rent strikes, squatting, bin-dipping and free food kitchens are some of many collective responses to daily poverty.
When I was in the streets of Wonthaggi getting signatures to the "Raise Newstart" petition for the Council, I met many people who signed after realising it was an issue that affected their lives. We need to achieve small victories and inspire each other for larger ones.
Will the result change your approach?
No. Lobbying governments is only one part of the campaign. Cassandra Goldie of the Australian Council for Social Services (ACOSS) has been a consistent advocate for raising Newstart. ACOSS is not going anywhere. Neither are the municipal councils that have already supported Newstart being raised, the Australian Local Government Association, the Business Council of Australia, KPMG, former PM John Howard, former opposition leader John Hewson AM, churches and welfare groups.
Deloitte Access Economics found raising Newstart would have a range of “prosperity effects” and lead to 12,000 more people being employed by the 2020-21 financial year.
The Morrison government needs to stop punishing the poor and scapegoating us for the woes of capitalism.
Jessica Harrison is a member of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union. In March she successfully lobbied Bass Coast Shire Council to support an increase in the Newstart allowance.
Comments are closed.
People I know on Newstart are struggling to pay basic essentials so I can't how see an allowance increase would set them off to spend more at the hairdressers or at a cafe. And how exactly will it deliver new jobs? Perhaps more money for a job applicant's internet services, to email more job applications, to obtain a job quicker? It's a long bow.
The Newstart allowance is called "new start" and is just that: to assist needy people on their way to a new start - find a new job.
I think we can just say that an increase in the Newstart allowance is well overdue to help people who need it during a difficult period of their lives.
The non-change of government might facilitate expansion of the cashless Welfare Debit Card. This card is being trialled in places like Ceduna, to ensure recipients only spend their meagre financial support on a 'acceptable' items.
Across all trial sites, but most recently the Hinkler site, people are struggling as mental health declines, while anxiety, stress, depression, sense of worthlessness, increases as people are stigmatised when using the card - public comments when people are seen using the card like " oh that's one of those cards for druggies and alcoholics etc, oh that's that druggy card" etc. When the majority of people forced onto this card have no such problems.
We need to ensure that these trails are stopped, not encouraged. And we don't want them trialled here. Our people have a right to spend their money as they chose to.
I was made redundant, for cost saving reasons, at the age of 62 and it was embarrassing going to Centrelink because I had worked all my life. Instead of campaigning for people to stay on welfare how about campaigning Local Councils and State Government for more jobs.
Sadly, quite a few of those on the Newstart allowance have never had the experience of having a job and being independent to do whatever they want to do. It's a hard rut to get out of, I'm sure, and the best way to help those on Newstart is to create more jobs and opportunities. Decentralisation, for example. Of course, it's easier to simply demand more money.