UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Dole hike strikes the right balance

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 5 : 10-May-23

The federal government’s 2023 budget includes some $4.9bn worth of measures for people who are unemployed. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced that welfare payments such as JobSeeker will rise by $40 a fortnight, which equates to an increase of less than six per cent. In contrast, the government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee had recommended a 40 per cent increase. The government will also reduce the age threshold for older unemployed Australians to qualify for a higher JobSeeker payment from 60 to 55; Chalmers notes that many people aged 55+ struggle to find work, with women in particular being over-represented in this age group.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Coalition’s $50 JobSeeker rise more generous than Labor’s proposal, Pocock says

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Original article by Amy Remeikis, Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 3-May-23

The federal government is under scrutiny over reports that an increase in the JobSeeker payment in the 9 May budget will be restricted to people aged 55+. Independent senator David Pocock has called for an across-the-board increase in unemployment benefits and the youth allowance, saying it appears that younger people are being "left behind". Pocock adds that Labor risks being unfavourably compared to the former Coalition government, which increased JobSeeker and other support payments by $50 a fortnight in April 2021. Liberal MP Bridget Archer and teal MPs have also called for an increase in JobSeeker for all recipients.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Burying a $34bn budget bomb

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Geoff Chambers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Apr-23

The federal government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has made 37 recommendations in a report that has been released ahead of the budget on 9 May. The Treasury’s modelling suggests that implementing all of the recommendations would cost more than $34bn over the forward estimates period. This includes $24bn for the committee’s proposal to increase the JobSeeker allowance to 90 per cent of the age pension. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the government will consider some of the recommendations, but he has downplayed the prospect of a large increase in JobSeeker amid the need for fiscal restraint. However, he says the budget will include measures to address disadvantage.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Pressure on PM for permanent dole rise

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Jul-20

The coronavirus supplement for JobSeeker recipients will be reduced from $550 per fortnight to $250 from 25 September. This will reduce the maximum unemployment benefit for a single person to about $800 a fortnight. The revised JobSeeker allowance will apply until the end of 2020, although the federal government has signalled that it is likely to be extended for a further three months. Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Goldie has called for a permanent increase in JobSeeker when the coronavirus supplement ends. The requirement that JobSeeker recipients must apply for at least four jobs per month will be reinstated from 4 August.

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AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Business in push to fast-track tax cuts

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jul-20

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has used its pre-budget submission to call for comprehensive tax reform, including bringing forward legislated personal income tax cuts. The ACCI also advocates a gradual reduction in the JobSeeker allowance to pre-coronavirus levels, while it says the domestic economy will be vulnerable to further shocks for several years due to the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, a Menzies Research Centre paper argues that all of the national cabinet’s decisions on coronavirus lockdowns measures should be subject to a cost-benefit analysis. The report by economists Henry Ergas and Joe Branigan was written before the new virus outbreaks in Melbourne and Sydney.

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AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE MENZIES RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED

JobSeeker’s $200 boost could cost $4 billion for six months

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 3-Jul-20

The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre’s director, Alan Duncan, says the JobSeeker payment should be increased when the coronavirus supplement ends in September. Duncan contends that the unemployment benefit was insufficient prior to the pandemic, and he has suggested that it could be increased by $200 a fortnight; he estimates that this would cost about $3.8bn over six months. Duncan adds that the JobSeeker payment must be scaled back in order to provide people with an incentive to seek work.

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BANKWEST CURTIN ECONOMICS CENTRE

JobKeeper too costly to keep

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 24 : 29-Jun-20

A quarterly survey of economists shows that there is general consensus that while the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme has been effective, it needs to have an end date. JobKeeper is slated to end in late September, and Warren Hogan from the University of Technology, Sydney says the increase in the JobSeeker payment could be extended by six months to accommodate JobKeeper recipients who have not returned to work when the scheme ends. The survey has also found that economists expect the Australian economy to contract by four per cent in 2020, while the unemployment rate will peak at eight per cent by the end of the year.

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UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

JobSeeker’s block on work to be scrutinised

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 22-May-20

The federal government’s decision to double the JobSeeker allowance will be scrutinised as part of its forthcoming review of the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme. There are concerns that increasing the unemployment benefit to $550 a week has prompted some casual workers to quit their jobs, as they are of the view that they are financially better off by going on the dole. Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy stresses that JobKeeper and the increased JobKeeper payment are temporary. However, he has flagged the possibility that they may be phased out gradually.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Budget impact may be lessened by quicker recovery

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 29-Apr-20

The federal government is hopeful that Australia’s success in containing the coronavirus will result in the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme costing far less than the $130bn that has been budgeted. The government had expected about six million workers to access the payment; Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has told a parliamentary inquiry that there have been 540,000 applications from employers to date, covering about 3.3 million workers. The cost of the JobSeeker package for the unemployed may also end up being less than forecast.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Government relents on Newstart

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Mar-20

The second phase of the federal government’s stimulus package will include an increase in the Newstart allowance for people who are currently unemployed. The Coalition had previously flagged a higher income payment than Newstart for workers who lose their job due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, it has long opposed an increase in unemployment benefits, arguing that getting a job is the best form of welfare. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has conceded that getting people off Newstart and into the labour market will be difficult over the next six months due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET