Prime minister ducks question on whether he could live on the $277.85 weekly payment, acknowledging it is ‘modest’

Scott Morrison has declared the Coalition will not engage in “unfunded empathy” when it comes to raising the Newstart rate, and has ducked a direct question about whether he could live on the payment.

Amid calls from within his own ranks to boost the benefit, the prime minister was asked in question time on Monday whether he could live on the Newstart rate of $40 a day.

Morrison acknowledged the payment, worth $277.85 a week, was “modest” but said the focus should be getting unemployed people into jobs. The prime minister told parliament he wanted “to commend all those Australians who are on Newstart and looking for a job” and he repeated his regular declaration that “the best form of welfare is a job”.

Morrison said unlike Labor, he would not engage in what he termed “unfunded empathy” about boosting the payment. “I will not go out as the Labor party did at the last election pretending they’re going to do something about Newstart but they won’t tell Australians how much they’re going to increase it by, how much is that going to cost and how are they going to pay for it”.“I won’t do that,” the prime minister said.

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Newstart is tied to inflation, not wages, which means the benefit does not keep pace with other government payments like pensions.

As political support has increased over recent months for increasing the Newstart payment the Australian Council of Social Service has surveyed people on the payment, and 84% of respondents said they had skipped meals to save money. Of the people who reported skipping meals, 30% said they missed between three and four each week. A further 13% went without food at least eight times a week.

A number of Nationals and Liberals have advocated publicly for an increase to the payment post election.

A range of people and groups, from John Howard, to the Business Council of Australia, to welfare organisations like Acoss support increasing the benefit, arguing it is currently low enough to create a barrier for recipients attempting to find work.

The Reserve Bank governor has argued recently increasing Newstart is a decision for government, but noted it would be “good for the economy”.

During the last term in opposition, Labor promised an inquiry with a view to increasing the payment. Post election, Labor has strengthened its position, calling on Morrison and the Coalition to raise the rate.

But Labor is continuing to delay a decision about the dollar figure it will propose for the increase. A boost to the payment of $75 a week would cost the budget about $3bn a year.

Labor says the government should conduct a review to determine how much Newstart needs to be increased by. Last week, Labor, the Greens and the crossbench voted to institute a Senate inquiry into Newstart.