Today is an extremely distressing day for the 1.5 million people on the JobSeeker and Youth Allowance payments who have now had confirmation that the Morrison Government has made the cruel decision to condemn them to poverty. 
 
$44 a day is not enough to live on. This will mean people going without meals, without medication, without the funds to pay for heating or cooling.
 
This should not be happening in a country as wealthy as Australia.
 
This is an appalling slap in the face for all those people trying to survive on Jobseeker.
 

The Government’s long overdue Evaluation of the CDC in Ceduna, East Kimberley and the Goldfields Region: Consolidated Report has been publicly released over a year and a half after it was due. 
 

The Greens say a so-called employment insurance scheme is an appalling idea and that Mr Morrison is being cruel to people on the Jobseeker payment, drip feeding potential plans for the JobSeeker payment through media leaks.

“This so-called insurance scheme would make an already appalling system worse, further entrenching poverty and homelessness”, Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

“This concept is based on the assumption that has been disproven time and again, that poverty is an incentive to finding work. 

The Greens say Mr Morrison must announce a permanent increase to the Jobseeker payment and guarantee that nobody is worse off under any new system.

“Mr Morrison is once again muddying the waters with a suggestion that the JobSeeker payment could be paid at a flat rate and targeted supplements abolished. A permanent increase to Jobseeker is the highest priority” Australian Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

The Greens say that taking Jobseeker back to $40 a day is cruel and will have devastating impacts on our community. 
 
“Living on $40 a day, well below the poverty line means going without food, it means going without medication and it means finding meaningful work becomes further and further out of reach”, Australian Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 
“Mr Morrison says that the Australian people won't let the virus break our spirit, but taking JobSeeker back to $40 a day is breaking our hearts. 
 

MYEFO shows yet again that the Liberals are locking in inequality and damage from climate change, the Greens say.

“The economy continues to be underpinned by Government spending, with state governments’ investment in social housing and public transport responsible for a lot of the improved outlook," Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

"But wages growth has been revised down following the Government’s announcement that they will reduce public sector wage increases.”

The Greens say that the Medicare Benefits Schedule task force final report is a clear indication that lack of agility and innovation has meant that parts of our Medicare system are no longer fit for purpose. 
 
This report is a wakeup call that our medical system needs to adapt to meet the needs of our population and ensure that it is accessible to everyone and that it is not being exploited by private companies. 
 
Australia prides itself on having a world leading healthcare system, but that won’t be the case if we don't invest in the future. 
 

 
The Greens welcome the announcement by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to down-schedule cannabidiol (CBD) and enable the availability of low-dose CBD over-the-counter (OTC) in pharmacies.
 
"The TGA has scheduled low doses of medicinal cannabis but there are currently no products on the Australian market to meet that purpose", Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 

The Greens are calling on the Government to clearly articulate plans for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Greens have vowed to continue the community campaign to stop income management and the Cashless Debit Card for good.
 
“The campaign to stop the card is not over", Senator Rachel Siewert, Spokesperson on Family and Community Services said. 
 
This campaign has been strengthened with the ALP coming on board after initially supporting income management measures and Senators Lambie and Patrick taking the time to review the evidence and vote against the card last night in the Senate.