news, federal-politics, newstart, newstart payments, rachel siewert, anthony albanese, scott morrison, newstart bill

As more and more MPs from both sides of Parliament call for the rate of Newstart to be increased, Greens senator Rachel Siewert is calling for them to stand by their convictions this week when she introduces another bill to increase the payment. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said on Friday the payment should be increased and it wasn't enough to live on, echoing former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Labor backbenchers, who made their views known throughout the week. Senator Siewert, the Greens' spokeswoman on family and community services, will on Monday introduce her fifth bill to the Senate to increase the unemployment payment, which for a single person with no dependents is $555.70 a fortnight. New figures show the average value of all extra supplements received by people on Newstart, not including family tax benefits or rent assistance, is $14.64 a fortnight. The Greens, along with the Australian Council of Social Service, the Business Council of Australia, the Reserve Bank governor and economists have called for the unemployment allowance to be increased. "We'll see whether they're prepared and brave enough to stand by their convictions that the payment is too low," Senator Siewert said. She urged those who had said in the media that the rate was too low to make the case in their party rooms. "I'm really pleased people are starting to break ranks and hopefully they'll be putting pressure on their parties to change their position." The Greens senator said calls for a review of the payment level were too late, and the change must be made soon, with a mechanism introduced to decide future increases, including the possibility of an independent approach. "That can come after we've dealt with the most immediate crisis, because this is a crisis, and that is the low level of Newstart. There's a lot of evidence on the table for the $75 a week increase from UNSW. "Let's get that that done and then let's look at a more sensible process for establishing the levels of income support payments." READ MORE: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dismissed calls for the increase, saying more than 90 per cent of people on the payment receive another payment on top. Senator Siewert said the Prime Minister was being "misleading" because most recipients were receiving an energy supplement of $8.80 a fortnight, or rent assistance with a maximum payment of $137.20 a fortnight, with the payments still not going far enough with increasing housing prices. She also labelled Mr Morrison's claim the payment went up every six months as "ludicrous". While the payment is indexed in line with the consumer price index twice a year, it has not increased in real terms since 1994. The aged pension rises with CPI and is also benchmarked against male total average weekly earnings, meaning the payment has kept up with the cost of living in a way the unemployment allowance has not. The aged pension received a $30 a week increase in 2009.

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