[Greens-Media] Greens introduce new legislation to help single parents

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Media Release

17th November 2014

Greens introduce new legislation to help single parents

The Australian Greens have introduced a new bill in the Senate to boost income support payments to single parents.
 
The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Caring for Single Parents) Bill 2014 would see single parents remain eligible for parenting payments until their youngest child turns 16, rather than the current limit of 8 imposed by the Howard Government’s Welfare to Work regime in 2006, and widened by the former ALP Government. It will also ensure employees who are carers have the right to request flexible working arrangements.

“This bill is an important piece of legislation to properly support single parents by preventing them being dumped onto Newstart Allowance once their youngest child turns 8,” Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on family and community services said today.
 
“It will help to support single parents as they balance their responsibilities raising a family, working and looking for work, but will do so without exposing them to poverty. 
 
“Disadvantage early in life can have significant impacts on children, so by supporting single parents and families, we can help give kids the best possible start in life and help them engage at school and in their communities. This is crucial for ensuring life opportunities in the years ahead.
 
“The current system, which dumps single parents onto Newstart, was implemented by the Howard Government and expanded under Labor under the guise of helping people into work. In reality, it has cut payments to single parents and exposed them to inadequate levels of income support and ineffective job services, making it harder to find secure work and meet essential living costs.

“ACOSS’s Poverty In Australia report found that one in six Australian children live in poverty, as do 38% of sole parent households. These statistics do not reflect the impacts of the last round of parenting cuts, that saw 80,000 single parents moved onto Newstart in January 2013, so current figures are likely to be even worse.
 
“To compound matters, budget documents show that the Government’s proposed social security measures target the poorest people in our community. Cuts to pension indexation, family payments and the Pensioner Education Supplement will make things even tougher for families and expose children to inter-generational disadvantage.
 
“Our Bill also ensures employees who are carers have the right to request flexible working arrangements. Carers do vital work across the community and without them, the burden on government and the not-for-profit sector would be considerably higher. They need to be supported to combine employment with their caring responsibilities,” Senator Siewert concluded.

As of March 2014 there were 259,506 single parents receiving parenting payment single and 89,176 single parents receiving Newstart Allowance.


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For more information, visit:
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/single-parents