Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says cost-of-living measures will still be in the federal budget despite speculation the JobSeeker payment will not be raised.
Multiple government backbenchers have signed an open letter calling for the welfare payment to be increased after the government’s economic inclusion committee recommended a substantial rise.
Senator Gallagher has not confirmed plans for JobSeeker in the budget, instead indicating there are difficult decisions to be made when the fiscal statement is handed down in less than two weeks.
“We are focused on making sure we can do the right thing for those that are doing it tough but within an environment where there are a lot of demands on the budget in a lot of areas,” she told ABC Radio on Thursday.
“The budget … tries to find a way of accommodating that support for vulnerable people within the broader context and within a budget that’s really strained and has pressures that are coming faster at it than they are declining.”
The minister said the government had been listening to the concerns of backbench MPs who broke ranks in calling for JobSeeker to be increased.
The rate for JobSeeker currently sits at $49.50 a day, with the economic advisory committee calling for a rise of $90 a week.
“We’ve said from opposition that we would look and review payments in every budget, that’s what Labor governments do, and we’ve done it,” Senator Gallagher said.
“You’ll see a good Labor budget which focuses on cost-of-living relief for vulnerable Australians.”
The government is set to increase the eligibility for single-parent payments to when their youngest child reaches the age of 14.
The current threshold is reached when an eligible parent’s youngest child turns eight.
Senator Gallagher, who previously lived on the single-parent payment, said the government was considering recommendations on what the eligibility criteria should be.
The women’s economic equality taskforce has called for the payment to be restored to the previous cutoff of a child turning 16.
The minister said the government had received a range of recommendations about appropriate changes to the payment.
“I 100 per cent understand the importance of these payments. They are life-changing and so important … children don’t just stop needing their parents,” she said.
By Andrew Brown in Canberra
