Pandemic restrictions will ease this Friday, but the effects of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis will continue, says ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) CEO, Dr Emma Campbell. She called again for the Federal Government to raise the rates of welfare payments.
“Any easing of restrictions reflects the achievement of the ACT Government, working with many other stakeholders, to ensure that, now, over 95% of Canberrans are vaccinated,” Dr Campbell said.
“We are particularly grateful for the willingness of the ACT Government to partner with the community sector to ensure that our most vulnerable Canberrans have access to health information, testing, and vaccination.”
Continuing cases of COVID-19 would disproportionately affect the ACT’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, Dr Campbell said. Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services and other community-controlled organisations have supported and protected their communities.
During the recent lockdown, 65,000 people in the ACT received at least one disaster payment. Any one of the 65,000 Canberrans who have not regained employment or income will now need to rely on JobSeeker or Youth Allowance for income support as they seek to re-enter the workforce.
The JobSeeker payment is less than half of the COVID-19 disaster payment, at around $320 per week, which is almost $140 per week below the poverty line of $457 for a single adult. During lockdown, the number of people in the ACT receiving JobSeeker or Youth Allowance while looking for work increased by 7.5%.
“The rise in the number of Canberrans relying on JobSeeker and Youth Allowance payments means a rise in poverty in the ACT,” Dr Campbell said.
Last year, when the Federal Government introduced the Coronavirus Supplement of $550 per week for JobSeeker and Youth Allowance recipients, the poverty rate plummeted, even though the number of Canberrans receiving these payments more than doubled, Dr Campbell noted.
The subsequent removal of the supplement saw the poverty rate rise to a level above what it was before COVID; an estimated 38,000 people including 9,000 children live in poverty.
“The increased demand for these payments demonstrates a clear need for the Federal Government to raise the rates of Jobseeker and similar payments to be above the poverty line so that people can afford to keep a roof over their head, food on the table, and their electricity on.”
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