[Greens-Media] Greens call on Government to commit to anti-poverty strategy

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Media Release 
Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on family and community services

17th October 2014
Greens call on Government to commit to anti-poverty strategy 

The Australian Greens have marked International Anti-Poverty Day, calling on the Federal Government to prioritise a National Anti-Poverty Strategy and to abandon cruel cuts to social security and income support.

"Australia is a wealthy nation with a strong economy, but too many people are being left behind and ignored," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson for families and community services said today.

"ACOSS's latest report shows 2.5 million people live below the poverty line, while research from the Curtin Economics Centre has found that over a million Australians are in severe income poverty, with a household income less than 30% of the national median, and that more than 310,000 children live in households experiencing severe poverty.

"In the year since the last election, Tony Abbott has taken Australia backwards, introducing a regime of deep cuts, guided by a flawed ideology about what it means to be trapped in poverty. Poverty can't be tackled at a time when efforts are underway to rip holes in our social safety net.

"Young jobseekers face being denied income support, pensions and family payments will be cut and some people with disability face losing their entitlement to the DSP, despite the reality that 40.1% of people receiving social security payments already live below the poverty line, including 55.1% of all those on Newstart and 48% of people accessing the DSP.

"The Government needs to abandon its cruel regime and commit to the development of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy, which acts on the recommendations of a wide range of social justice and welfare organisations.

"A National Anti-Poverty Strategy should address the underlying causes of poverty and include adequate income support payments and address issues such as the adequacy of income support payments, provision of affordable housing, access to quality food, public transport, employment and health services. 

"To reduce poverty we must address the factors that are contributing to it and exacerbating it. This means moving away from the Government's regime of cuts and committing to a new approach. The policies being put forward by the Government will only worsen poverty, not reduce it, " Senator Siewert concluded.