The committee received form letters in relation to the bill through an online campaign by the Tomorrow Movement. Form letters were received in five distinct versions detailed below, with minor variations, from 223 individuals.
Box : Version 1 – 137 signatories
Recommendation 1: Do not cut the rate below the poverty line
I am opposed to the proposed cuts to Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and related income support payments. $44 a day on Jobseeker and $36 on Youth Allowance is not enough to live a healthy life. People will be forced to make impossible choices like whether to pay rent or purchase vital medicine or regular meals.
I call on the government to legislate a permanent raise to above the poverty line, and return the rate to $80 a day.
People who lived on this higher rate with the Coronavirus Supplement report being about to buy groceries, new clothing for themselves and their children and plan ahead for a future for the first time. The government should immediately return the base rate to $550 a week or $80 a day.
Recommendation 2: Abolish Mutual Obligations
There is no evidence to suggest that mutual obligations help people to find stable employment. Instead they make it harder for people to stay on the payments, pushing people back into poverty when they fail to perform unreasonable and unnecessary tasks.
Making it harder to live on the payments won’t make it easier for people to get a job that doesn’t exist.
Recommendation 3: Create jobs by committing to a Climate Jobs Guarantee
Cutting income support doesn’t do anything to improve the job market. There are 11 Jobseekers for every job advertised on Seek. The youth unemployment rate is 13.9% - double the general rate.
Instead of punishing people who are looking for work the government could create jobs solving the problems faced by our communities. Transitioning our energy system and preparing our cities and towns to withstand the impacts of climate change could create thousands of jobs. The Australian Government should commit to a Climate Jobs Guarantee and invest resources into solving the biggest crises of our time.
Read more here: https://tomorrowmovement.com/climate-jobs-guarantee/.
Box : Version 2 – 74 signatories
I am opposed to the proposed cuts to Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and related income support payments. $44 a day on Jobseeker and $36 on Youth Allowance is not enough to live a healthy life. People will be forced to make impossible choices like whether to pay rent or purchase vital medicine or regular meals.
I call on the government to legislate a permanent raise to above the poverty line, and return the rate to $80 a day.
People who lived on this higher rate with the Coronavirus Supplement report being about to buy groceries, new clothing for themselves and their children and plan ahead for a future for the first time. The government should immediately return the base rate to $550 a week or $80 a day.
Box : Version 3 – 5 signatories
Cutting income support doesn’t do anything to improve the job market. There are 11 Jobseekers for every job advertised on Seek. The youth unemployment rate is 13.9% - double the general rate.
Instead of punishing people who are looking for work the government could create jobs solving the problems faced by our communities. Transitioning our energy system and preparing our cities and towns to withstand the impacts of climate change could create thousands of jobs. The Australian Government should commit to a Climate Jobs Guarantee and invest resources into solving the biggest crises of our time.
Box : Version 4 – 3 signatories
I am opposed to the proposed cuts to Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and related income support payments. $44 a day on Jobseeker and $36 on Youth Allowance is not enough to live a healthy life. People will be forced to make impossible choices like whether to pay rent or purchase vital medicine or regular meals.
I call on the government to legislate a permanent raise to above the poverty line, and return the rate to $80 a day.
People who lived on this higher rate with the Coronavirus Supplement report being about to buy groceries, new clothing for themselves and their children and plan ahead for a future for the first time. The government should immediately return the base rate to $550 a week or $80 a day.
Cutting income support doesn’t do anything to improve the job market. There are 11 Jobseekers for every job advertised on Seek. The youth unemployment rate is 13.9% - double the general rate.
Instead of punishing people who are looking for work the government could create jobs solving the problems faced by our communities. Transitioning our energy system and preparing our cities and towns to withstand the impacts of climate change could create thousands of jobs. The Australian Government should commit to a Climate Jobs Guarantee and invest resources into solving the biggest crises of our time.
Box : Version 5 – 4 signatories
I am opposed to the proposed cuts to Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and related income support payments. $44 a day on Jobseeker and $36 on Youth Allowance is not enough to live a healthy life. People will be forced to make impossible choices like whether to pay rent or purchase vital medicine or regular meals.
I call on the government to legislate a permanent raise to above the poverty line, and return the rate to $80 a day.