‘Stronger Incentives’: Opposition Pushes for More Inducements Instead of Upping Welfare

People are seen shopping at the South Melbourne Market in Melbourne, Australia, on June 18, 2021. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The federal Opposition is calling for more incentives to work rather than just increasing welfare benefits.

On July 31, the Liberal-National Coalition unveiled its proposal in contrast to the Labor government’s pledge to raise the JobSeeker rate by $40 per fortnight, which will rise to $52 after indexation to accommodate the rising cost of living.

The package is set to cost the taxpayer $4.9 billion (US$3.27 billion).

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has committed to scrapping the $40 increase and, instead, allowing welfare recipients to earn $300 a fortnight without being removed from the scheme.

“There are over 800,000 people who are on JobSeeker; on average, they’ve been on JobSeeker for more than five years. What we want to do is give people in that situation a stronger incentive to do some part-time work without losing their benefits,” said Minister of Opposition Business Paul Fletcher in an interview with Sky News Australia.

Paul Fletcher, former minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, speaks at the Museum of Contemporary Art prior to the Cathy Freeman projection event on September 25, 2020, in Sydney, Australia. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

“We want to increase the so-called income-free threshold or the threshold beyond which you’re benefit starts to get reduced, from $150 per fortnight to $300 per fortnight, so a $250 increase, and that is good for people who get the chance to go and do some work,” he said.

The Nationals leader David Littleproud said the Opposition would still support the welfare increase, however, if the current proposal does not get support.

“It’s $150 and does not charge the Australian taxpayer. You can actually get business to be part of this,” he told Sky News Australia. “They‘ll contribute, they’ll pay the wage, but they'll get productivity out of it, which is what the [Reserve Bank of Australia] governor is asking [the] government to look at in their policy levers to make sure we’re getting productivity.”

“We'll put this alternative, we hope the government will consider, it doesn’t look like they will, and if they don’t, then we’re going to be pragmatic and will support the $40 going through the Senate.”

Response from Government, Greens

In response, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth claimed it would do nothing for the 77 percent of JobSeeker recipients who do not use the current income-free threshold.

“Our conservative estimates are that with a doubling of the income-free area, there would be an additional 50,000 people who would become eligible for JobSeeker overnight because the thresholds at which they are cut off would increase,” she said.

“This measure could actually encourage a longer-term reliance on casual work and JobSeeker rather than a transition into the workforce.”

While the Australian Greens have gone in a completely different direction to the Liberal-Nationals, saying JobSeeker needs to be raised.

“It works out to be around $4 a day, which is hardly enough to get a cup of coffee, and it won’t help anyone pay their rent,” she told ABC Radio.

“We will definitely not stand in the way of this increase, but we know that it’s not enough.

“The government must increase JobSeeker to above the poverty line in this cost of living crisis [because] so many people are being hurt and harmed, people are really struggling to put food on the table.”