Employment Minister Eric Abetz has defended unpopular changes to the Newstart allowance, by urging young, unemployed adults to take up fruit picking in Tasmania.
I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. Mr Abetz, you sir, are a genius.
The modifications to Newstart allowance were announced as part of the 2014 Budget earlier this month, with changes forcing people under the age of 30 to wait six months before being able to receive any unemployment benefits.
Senator Abetz has stated that young people who were able to work had no right to rely on their fellow Australians to subsidise them.
“There is no right to demand from your fellow Australians that just because you don’t want to do a bread delivery or a taxi run or a stint as a farmhand that you should therefore be able to rely on your fellow Australian to subsidise you,” he said.
I’m not entirely sure if Senator Abetz gave himself a huge pat on the back for coming up with a solution that would solve the dramatic rise of Australia’s youth unemployment rates, with his highly original and innovative ideas.
But I do think he may have missed the point.
With his generalisations, Senator Abetz is alluding to the fact that young Australians are choosing to go on government benefits and relying on fellow Aussies to ‘subsidise’ them – stereotyping young Australian adults into a ‘lazy dole bludger’ cliche.
He assumes young people are not actively searching for employment, or are thinking they are too entitled to do something such as a ‘bread delivery’ or ‘taxi-run’ as he did as a young man while attending university.
The average income for a young adult – assuming they are single and with no children – on the Newstart Allowance is $510.50 a fortnight. Breaking this down, it means a young Australian adult on Newstart is earning $255.25 a week.
Do you want to know what it’s like trying to live on $255.25 a week and trying to sustain a comfortable life? It’s pretty freakin’ hard.
After I graduated last year, I was on Newstart until I moved to Sydney. Was it because I wanted to be? Absolutely not. Was it because I thought it was an easy way out and I could make some awesome dollars being ‘subsidised’ by my fellow Australians? Definitely not.
There was a severe shortage of jobs in the city I was living; even transient jobs in retail and customer service had fierce competition. As a university graduate, living away from home and trying to support myself, Newstart was a lifesaver. However, when you’re looking to cover things such as rent, groceries, transport and other living expenses, the allowance barely covers it.
Is Newstart helpful to young Australians who are unemployed and looking for employment as a means to get by? Absolutely. Is it a means of living comfortably instead of going out to try and find a job? Absolutely not. In my opinion, being on Newstart is actually the best motivation for any young Australian trying to find a job.
Changing the rules for Newstart Allowance and denying it to young adults for six months is, in short, problematic. While Senator Abetz suggestion may be a quick fix, there is still no long-term suggestion or plan being put into place for the staggering rise of unemployment rates for youth.
Abetz has not only angered students and unemployed youth with his suggestion; Tasmanian farmers have also hit out at the Employment Minister saying their industry should not be a ‘dumping ground’ for young people facing a six-month wait to receive Newstart payments. Besides, let’s not forget, fruit-picking is actually a seasonal, short-term job – which is mainly why backpackers and tourists are such a great fit and solution.
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews has dismissed criticisms of the Newstart changes, telling Fairfax Media that young, unemployed people facing no dole for six months should simply take a job they do not really want to do or do a course.
“They could do a further training program whilst they are looking for work (or) many people take a job which is not the job they really want, just to get a job and get going.”
Ingenious idea Mr. Andrews. I’m sure that thought never crossed the mind of any graduates struggling to make ends meet.
The suggestions from our leaders are still short-term solutions to a larger issue at hand. While a young person could get a job within a field they aren’t pursuing to make ends meet, there’s no saying if they’ll be able to obtain any kind of employment straight away after finishing their studies – once again proving the changes to Newstart Allowance will perhaps hinder young Australians instead of ultimately benefiting them.
What are your thoughts on Senator Abetz’s comments? Do you think the changes to Newstart Allowance will benefit or hinder young Australians?
Top Comments
Herr Abetz is a typical "economic rationalist" from Stuttgart in Germany. He has no idea how the younger generation lives. Typical self-satisfied, smug greedy "baby boomer" ('Bobo' in Alt Europa) in the pockets of "Royalist" bankers. Fruit picking isn't even 'economically viable' for the younger backpackers (ironically from Herr Abetz's beloved Deutschland) anymore, especially when the 32% tax rate begins to bite from July 2016 and plus the falling Australian Dollar (AKA The Pacific Peso).
What else would anyone expect from this horrible "Neo Liberal" Government?
No young person wants to be on the dole. But no young person wants to work for "nothing" either!
Get the refugees to do this work and pay them at least a proper basic wage, but OHHHHHH NOOOO! Don't anyone here, hold your breaths on this turd faced Liberal Govt, of offering a "basic living wage". Look at what happened to the Taxi Industry- my Pommy mate Thommo used to drive cabs and was forced to leave after Mr Peter Costello's (Neo-Liberal Treasurer) "wonderful" GST imposed on Taxi drivers and now this same horrible Govt expects the Uber drivers to pay tax (but it won't happen Mr Abetz or Mr Morrison !).
My mate Thommo, said, post GST, all he was left after a 12 hour shift and GST (Net takings)- a lousy $50 !!
Even pensioners are better off and most pensioners these days live well below the "poverty line".
Again the "Economic Royalists" and The Rationalists- win again!
I'm an 18 year old university student, living away from my family home (my hometown didn't offer my course) in a sharehouse. For the first few months living at my house, I was reliant on Newstart as Centrelink had me classed as a jobseeker (since I had not officially begun university yet - admittedly, this was partially due to a mistake on Centrelink's part). This was just after Christmas hiring, and so, in spite of my best efforts, I was unable to find a job.
There was actually one memorable fortnight in this time period where I received my $500, and immediately had to put it towards rent, bills and the costs associated with starting up a new house. I ended up with $12 in my bank account (and no cash), which had to last me more than 10 days. Obviously this wasn't even enough to buy food. It proved really humiliating for me. Fortunately, a good friend supported me during this time, sharing meals with me and offering moral support as I tried to work out how to fund my own living.
Newstart was barely enough for me, and if it hadn't been for this friend, I would have been in serious trouble. I currently receive Youth Allowance and work 3 jobs to support myself, but am still struggling financially (my fortnightly income is still only about $550). By the time I pay rent and bills, then put my money towards food for my sharehouse, I really have no spending money left. This meant that it took me about a month to save up to buy a new pair of closed-in shoes, even though my only pair were covered in holes.
The thing is, Newstart is barely enough at the moment. Taking it away for 6 months is going to be incredibly detrimental to young people - and those who will have to support them. Jobs aren't as easy to find as Abetz seems to think - and even if one finds a job, who is to say this will be enough to actually cover all of their living costs?