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Liberal MP Julia Banks says she could live on $40 a day. Yeah... right.

 

Welcome to the latest edition of out of touch politicians saying silly things on the radio.

On Wednesday, Liberal MP Julia Banks told ABC Radio she could live on $40 per a day.

She’s obviously never heard of avocado on toast or like, basic living expenses ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

You see, people on the Newstart Allowance currently receive $40 per day.

The maximum fortnightly payment for a person on Newstart is $545.80 for someone who is single, and $590.40 for someone with a dependant.

The allowance has not been increased in real terms since 1994 and leading economist Chris Richardson is calling for an increase of $50 a week.

But Banks believes this move would be unnecessary.

“I could live on 40 bucks a day knowing that the government is supporting me with Newstart looking for employment,” Banks told ABC radio.

Um… really? We’d like to see that.

When asked whether she was out of touch, Banks responded that she is… not.

“I speak to constituents every day and all I can say is the dignity of having a job and finding work is what our policy is about,” she explained.

Twitter, however, has a different opinion:

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Do you think Julia Banks comments are out of touch?