How long should single parents receive welfare payments? Until their child is 16? That’s how it is now. Or until their child turns eight? That’s how it will be soon.
Raiding single parent payments might have been the last thing you’d expect from a Labor Government, but then, nothing about this Government has been exactly run-of-the-mill.
And so, balancing that delicate budget has come to this: removing the single parent pension from mothers or fathers who don’t work, once their youngest child turns eight. Currently, the payment allows single parents to receive $648.50 a fortnight until their youngest child is 16.
It’ll save Treasurer Wayne Swan some $700 million as he strips the budget bare, but how much will it cost families?
Undoubtedly there are those single parents who could work once their children hit school. Many do and have over the past years and decades. But sweeping changes like these – set to affect 100,000 single parents – inevitably punish some who genuinely have no other option. They get caught in the ‘tough love’ net of governments who never seem to be able to decide whether they’re buying votes or showing voters they can be harsh and economical.
Maybe these jobless parents really can’t find work. Maybe they can’t get to work because they live regionally and can’t afford a car. Or petrol.
Those who lose the parenting payment can, of course, jump on the dole (the Newstart Allowance) but they’ll end up with $118.70 less per fortnight which might not sound like a lot but when you’re already trying to make ends meet, it just drags those ends a little further apart.
The Government, for it’s part, has protected parents of children with special needs and disabilities from the new measure but has told us all the mums and dads in work will be great for the economy.
No doubt. But it might not be great for single parents.
What do you think, is this a reasonable move or is it going too far?
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I am a widow and a therefore a single mother so obviously I don't get any child support. I was working full time until i was recently made redundant. Working full time and being a single mum was absolutely exhausting and my son was missing out on play dates and I never got to meet his teacher. Now I am looking for a part time job so that i can spend more time with my son. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find part-time work that pays well? I'm sure many single parents would be happy to work if more flexible and part-time jobs were available.
I don't think it's unfair for the government to expect its citizens to work.
Married or not, we all have to work to support our children, should we choose to have them. What would happen if everyone decided not to work when they have children, because staying at home is more important?
Yes, I'm sure it is hard going it alone, but these things happen. Your relationships broke down, and I'm sure both parties played a role in that. Now it's time to move on and support yourselves.
I am actually shocked by the number of mothers commenting who have little to no skills, experience or training. It bothers me to think that a large group of women out there are relying on men to support them.
Hopefully your daughters will be taught to get an education and develop a career for themselves, not to get married and be financially supported by someone else.
While many of your points seem very logical (eg. no, it's not unfair for a government to expect its citizens to work), they are unrelated to reality. Many single parents do, indeed, have skills (I have three degrees) but are still unable to get work. In fact, the more skills you have, often the harder it is to get work. Unfortunately, once a person (any person) loses contact with the workforce, it's almost impossible to get back in. Having the care of children with limited support means that you're even more restricted in what jobs you can accept. How do you do night shift as a single mother if you have no-one to care for your children over night, or worse if you end up having to pay somebody to care for them. The chances are the babysitter will just take any money you've earned.
The point is that there should be a safety net; that's why *all* of us (even hopeless single mothers) pay tax at those points in our lives when we're fortunate enough to have work.
Judgemental attitudes help nobody. It's a short and slippery step from your sentiments, to sentiments prohibiting divorce, taking the children of single mothers, etc. Surely it's about time the conversation became a little more intelligent. There should be no logical reason why a mother shouldn't be able to access the resources that she needs to raise a child, and yet, it's becoming increasingly difficult to do so.