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:
Do you think Julia Banks comments are out of touch?
Top Comments
Can we all just let this go. This Liberal minister, and the Labor minister who last said it, were responding to journalists asking them if they themselves could live on the unemployment benefit. What else could they say?
Also, the ministers are members of a party. They themselves do not set the payment level.
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This is the first thing I thought. So out of touch.
$40 a day to cover food, accommodation, petrol, clothing and any other expenses you might have, like medicine or health care. People can't even have a pet for company anymore. Forget any sort of luxury or treat whatsoever, no entertainment, nothing. What are we doing to people, seriously? There aren't enough jobs, the government isn't doing anything to help unemployment or the housing situation and we punish people for not being able to find work by paying them not enough money to find work or live with dignity. Where are all the jobs and growth we were promised? And the rich continue to be looked after, while the poor is left to suffer. Seriously, working class people, stop voting Liberal. They are elitists and they don't care about you.
Hear hear, totally agree. Time for a change.
Jenny Macklin - LABOR, once said the same thing. Mamamia for some reason won't approve any posts of mine that have links, even factual news articles from the ABC, so you will need to google Jenny Macklin and living on the dole.
On a personal note, I was unemployed and on the dole for fair while during the whole GFC thing, when Rudd gave everyone $900 bonuses. There was only one, just 1, just one group who never got that $900 bonus. The UNEMPLOYED. Elderly people who owned their own homes and had limited expenses/outlays were given the $900. The group who MOST NEEDED the $900, the unemployed, did not get a dead rats behind. Not even a 5 cent piece! They are the group who have (next to the disabled) the most outlays, transport for interviews, rent, car expenses etc. They got NOTHING! The only group out of the entire country. The ONLY group excluded.
Jenny Macklin was the Minister at that time for Social/Human Services under the Rudd (first) government. I personally wrote to her and asked her why. She replied that she thought it more important to put that money into jobs for people. Yes....really. Why not put the money into ageing, into retirement homes and health/respite services then, instead of giving it to the elderly? How did she expect the unemployed to access the 'jobs' she was talking about, if the unemployed couldn't afford good shoes to go to an interview, or even public transport?
So please, don't act like this is a party partisan thing. Labor are as good as, if not better at being elitists who slam the poor and *'working' class.
*I didn't realise until Macklin's elitist and offensive reply that Labor was for workers and ONLY workers - only those with a job. Apparently, if you don't have a job, you are crap in Labor's eyes and worth jack crap. They are right, they represent people who work, and no one else!!
What's the incentive for people to look for work if they can live comfortably with government handouts? Some were talking about having savings. You shouldn't be expecting to have savings on welfare. That's entitled.
Live comfortably on forty dollars a day?
I don't think anyone trying to support themselves on $40/day has savings, but people should always try to have funds set aside for emergencies.