Labour market economist Professor Jeff Borland has told the senate inquiry looking into the JobSeeker COVID supplement rate that the higher rate of JobSeeker doesn’t impact on the rates of people seeking employment. 
 
Rather than relying on anecdotal claims that unemployed people aren’t looking for work because of the rates of the coronavirus supplement, Professor Borland has looked at the market figures which show there has been no decrease in the number of people moving from unemployment to employment once the economy started reopening again, Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

The Greens say that the HILDA survey showing a steep increase in single parent families living in poverty is a shocking outcome and a clear indication that the Parenting Payment Single must be reinstated until the youngest child turns 16.
 
“There is a direct correlation between the increase in the poverty rate of single parents and the Howard and Gillard Governments chucking single parents off the Parenting Payment onto Newstart when their youngest child turned eight,” Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services said. 
 

October unemployment figures clearly show that it is untenable to return Jobseeker back to $40 a day in March and that the further cut to the coronavirus supplement in December will drop more people below the poverty line. 
 
It’s just excuse after excuse with this Government when it comes to the Jobseeker payment, Greens spokesperson on Family and Community and Services, Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 
Jobseeker was too low before this pandemic, so the “wait to see the economic conditions” excuse doesn't stand up. 
 

The Greens have tabled a dissenting report to the inquiry into the Government’s Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020 saying that there isn’t evidence to justify the use of the card, that in fact the process adversely impacts people and should be abandoned.
 

The Greens say that it is imperative that the Commonwealth learn the hard lesson from the Victorian aged care COVID outbreak and take leadership before it is too late. 
 
"All providers must be focused on preventing the entry and spread of Covid-19 in aged care facilities", Greens spokesperson on Ageing Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 
What we learnt from the Victorian experience is that aged care providers cannot wait to act once an outbreak occurs. 
 

The Greens have welcomed the Productivity Commission report into Mental Health and say that it has provided a clear way forward for the Government in reforming Australia’s mental health system.
 
“It is a great shame that this report has not been released earlier and that the Government didn’t take the opportunity in the recent budget to start the process of reform that is so urgently needed.

The Greens welcome the settlement of $1.2billion in the Robodebt Class Action including that the Commonwealth must pay $112 million in compensation to approximately 400,000 eligible individual Group Members, including legal costs. 
 
"I am very pleased for the victims of robodebt today. This is yet another indictment on the abominable actions of the Government who went after the most vulnerable in our community to make savings", Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 

The Greens say the Government are giving with one hand and taking with the other on Jobseeker.

The Senate will this morning debate a Greens private members bill to reinstate the original rate of the Coronavirus Supplement to $550 a fortnight for people on Youth Allowance, JobSeeker and extend it to the Disability Support Pension and Carers. 
 
This is the sixth bill to increase JobSeeker - formerly Newstart - that has been introduced by Senator Rachel Siewert to the Parliament. 
 

In less than thirty days of mutual obligations being re-instated after they were suspended due to the covid pandemic 74,434 payments have been suspended by Centrelink. 
 
Estimates has revealed that 12,137 First Nations peoples, 6,334 single parents, 13,169 disabled people 9,100 homeless people and 12,135 culturally and linguistically diverse people are among those that have had a payment suspended within the first month of mutual obligations returning.