PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has stared down criticism from Wyndham welfare groups who say ‘‘tough love’’ cuts to single parenting benefits have plunged people into poverty.
UnitingCare Werribee Support and Housing and Wyndham City Salvation Army say a grim picture of disadvantage is emerging following the controversial decision to force single parents on to the dole when their youngest child turns eight.
From January 1, about 84,000 single parents were moved to the lower-paying Newstart allowance, losing between $60 and $110 a week. Ms Gillard, who is the member for Lalor, said the change was achieving its main aim.
“More people are in work and combining work with being a parent,” she said. “The statistics are unambiguous.’’
Ms Gillard said encouraging single parents to work was crucial in Wyndham because the area had pockets of social disadvantage and inter-generational unemployment.
But critics say there aren’t enough jobs on offer, particularly within school hours, and that single parents are facing severe hardship.
Carol, a 42-year-old single mother-of-four from Tarneit, had her income reduced when she was moved to Newstart this year.
She has fallen far behind on her rent and had to keep her children at home last week because she couldn’t afford their lunches.
“Now I get $1300 a fortnight, and I’m only left with $140 a week by the time I have to pay rent and bills,” said Carol, who did not want her surname published.
After working for decades, she was forced out of a job last year due to workplace bullying that brought on anxiety and depression. She is seeking to rejoin the workforce through a local job agency but is struggling to find work within school hours.
“The kids shouldn’t have to deal with my stress,” she said. “It’s hard when you live on pasta with tomato paste and garlic every day, and bread and milk.”
Werribee Support and Housing chief executive Carol Muir said a recent survey of single-parent clients showed most wanted to find work, but there were not enough suitable jobs available. Some clients earning about $36,000 a year in part-time work were “trapped” on welfare, Ms Muir said, because if they earned $10 more a fortnight, they would lose $100 a fortnight in family tax benefits.
“For smaller families, where their income is less, people are saying they can’t afford to rent any more, because it’s taking up 70 to 80 per cent of their income,” she said.
While she supported the push to get more single parents into work, Ms Muir said policy needed to go “hand in hand with what’s happening in our community”. “We need the government to work collaboratively with business in regard to job creation,” she said. “The opportunities need to be there.”
