"What am I going to do?”: Centrelink mother points out crucial flaw in new budget policy for parents
An unemployed mother who relies on Centrelink benefits has broken down while noting a fatal flaw in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ Federal Budget promises to parents.
Jessica Blowers told ABC’s Q&A program that she will be forced off the Single Parent Payment when her daughter turns eight in August, leaving her unable to afford the rent increases.
Currently, single parents can claim the Parenting Payment of $949.30 a fortnight until their youngest child turns eight. By September 2023, the age limit for the pay rise to when the youngest child is 14, as part of Chalmers’ budget.
Ms Blowers is one of many copping the brunt of it as her daughter’s 8th birthday is four weeks before the new rules begin.
She will also see a rent increase during that period from $900 a fortnight to $960.
“What am I going to do? What is my choice, other than I am doing my best to get a job so that I can keep a house over my daughter's head,” she stressed to the treasurer.
“When I'm applying for the jobs, I am faced with being told that more than 100 other candidates have applied for the same jobs - I'm not sure how I am supposed to compete against 100 other people for one job.”
Ms Blowers added she “would like to know what measures the government has in place to bridge the gap that I and other parents in similar situations will find ourselves in”.
“I don't have anywhere to go because I am paying my entire pension in rent. Everywhere else in Sydney is comparable to that.”
Although sympathetic to her situation, Chalmers said those suffering like Ms Blowers were “the reason why we are lifting the age from eight to 14”.
“This is something we were really keen to do in the Budget because we recognise the pressure that you are under as a single mum,” he explained.
However, Chalmers was adamant that the new system could not be introduced any earlier than September 20, 2023.
“We've tried to do is bring that change in as soon as possible. We think September is the soonest that we can do it,” he said.
“I understand that that means a few weeks for you going from the current payment onto JobSeeker and (then) back onto the single parenting payment.
“I would love to avoid that if we could, but what we're trying to do is provide this extra assistance ... that you need and deserve. If we could avoid those couple of weeks, we would, but September is the best we can do.”
In total, some 57,000 single parents, 90 per cent of whom are women, will benefit from the new scheme.
Previously they would have been moved onto the lower JobSeeker rate when their youngest child turned eight.
“By age 14, children have typically settled into high school and need less parental supervision, and single parents are in a much stronger position to take on paid work," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said when the policy was announced.
Historically, the single parent payment was eligible for singles with children aged up to 16.
But former prime minister John Howard, later supported by Julia Gillard, cut the age to eight in an attempt to encourage parents back into the workforce.
Two advisory bodies have called for the government to extend the payment and the eligibility criteria.
It is understood mutual obligation requirements will remain in order to continue encouraging parents to go back to work.
Speaking to Nova radio in Perth, Mr Albanese explained he knew “firsthand what it's like to grow up with a single mum doing it tough”.
“We want to look after single parents because we know that the role that they play in raising their children is such a priority for them and they’re deserving of more support,” he said.
Image credit: ABC Q&A