Contributed by Jim Hayes

January this year, began with many Australians without a job with just $51.20 a day to get by. This was because of the cut to JobSeeker. This means having to cut corners. Not pay bills to eat. Cut back on basic necessities and often medicine.

JobKeeper and JobSeeker cuts will be “devastating” for Aussies

Video from news.com.au

Australians need more support. It is a basic human right to have a decent life. The very least that should be done is to restore last year’s JobSeeper rate, which enabled the unemployed to get their heads above water for the first time.

The return to an inadequate and punitive system that victimises Australia’s because they have no job is a violation of human rights.

Covid-19 is resurfacing again. New more virulent strains are coming, and millions could be sent home from work again. It is vital that an adequate support system be in place, and a liveable income is an important part of it.

The cuts to JobSeeker and jobKeeper could not have come at a worse time. A government that persists with this shows its contempt for ordinary Australians. Even without the risk of new epidemic breakouts, human decency demands that those with less are treated well, and society is judged by how it responds to this.

Australia’s economy is set to continue to depress for the foreseeable future. This means more pressure on jobs. Leaving millions of Australian without an adequate income means, a shrinking domestic market and a further erosion of the economy.

Proper economic management, therefore, also demands a lifting of JobSeeker and JobKeeper to where they were last year.

We know the Australian government has the resources.  If it didn’t, it could access them by curtailing the tax evasion industry. It’s a matter of priorities.

But it will only come about when millions of Australians insist on it. Australia’s unions are leading and are part of an emerging community movement to being this about. The Australian Council of Trade Unions has launched a petition calling on the Morrison government to reverse the cuts. Everyone should sign it. Go to this link.