By Alesha Capone
A new report has found that the withdrawal of pandemic-related government support has caused widespread problems among the state’s disadvantaged and homeless populations.
Uniting Vic.Tas and Swinburne University’s Centre for Social Impact last week released the report, following the removal of the federal government’s $550 COVID-19 JobSeeker income supplement and the state government’s moratorium of private rental evictions and rent relief earlier this year.
A total of 113 people who accessed Uniting Vic.Tas’ emergency relief and homelessness services at locations including Werribee, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mount Waverley, Ringwood and Wodonga, between May 10 and June 21, participated in surveys which contributed to the report’s findings.
Almost two-thirds of those surveyed said that when the government income support was withdrawn, their mental health suffered.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents said that an end to support impacted upon their ability to “eat well”.
More than 44 per cent of people said that when the supports came to an end, they struggled to pay their rent or mortgage.
About a third of parents found it more difficult to care for their children properly.
Sixteen per cent of those surveyed said the end of the support put them at risk of family violence.
The report said that overall, this data presented “compelling evidence of the positive impact of the income and housing support measures provided during the first year of the pandemic, with life-improving for the majority of consumers”.
Uniting Vic.Tas chief executive Bronwyn Pike wrote a foreword to the report, in which she said: “It is clear that we need a permanent increase in the base rate of JobSeeker and other social security payments.
“These payments should support people so they are above the poverty line and should be benchmarked to wage growth.
“There should be an increase in Rent Assistance so that everyone around the country can live in a decent home.
“The JobSeeker and parenting payments are not handouts; they are about giving people a basic standard of living while they get back on their feet.
“Nobody should have to make a choice between paying the electricity bill and buying necessities like food or medicine.”
