Albanese Govt rules out JobSeeker increase
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has ruled out a lift in unemployment benefits in the October budget.
The Australian Council of Social Service says the JobSeeker payment rate should be lifted from $46 to $70 a day.
The organisation has received the backing of independent senator David Pocock, who argues providing extra money for the unemployed makes more sense than tax cuts for the wealthy.
Rishworth said the government was being “very clear” about JobSeeker.
“At the moment, in the October budget, this is not something that we’re going to proceed with,” she said.
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“We’ll assess it budget by budget.”
However, the minister said she would continue to work with ACOSS and other organisations to get rid of barriers to employment.
She said she looked forward to progressing a number of ideas at this week’s jobs and skills summit in Canberra and the government was committed to the stage three tax cuts due to come into force in 2024.
-AAP
