Burden could grow for poor

TASMANIA’S most disadvantaged will continue to suffer in the wake of the Federal Budget, say the state’s welfare organisations.

The head of Tasmania’s peak welfare body, TasCOSS, said the Budget contained some good reforms, but at the expense of the most vulnerable.

TasCOSS chief executive Tony Reidy said it was disappointing that young unemployed people would have to wait a month before receiving income support and that disadvantaged families would find it harder to access preschool opportunities for their children.

“On the whole, people on low incomes are still left to do most of the heavy lifting,” Mr Reidy said.

He said the absence of any reforms to the social safety net was a major flaw of the Budget. Mr Reidy said it was wrong that people on Newstart were expected to live on only $37 a day and people on Youth Allowance $30 a day.

“People cannot be expected to live on this for their living and their dignity,” he said.

UnitingCare Tasmania chief executive Lindy O’Neill also criticised the Budget for making no improvements for people on welfare payments.

She said the small business sector might see the fairness in the Budget, but thousands of Tasmanians struggling to make ends meet would “struggle to find the fairness”.

Mr Reidy strongly applauded reforms to the assets and income tests for people on partpensions.

“We now need a similar approach to superannuation reform, which is equally important in building a strong and durable retirement income system,” he said.

TasCOSS also welcomed the Government’s $3.8 billion reform package to make child care simpler and more affordable.

But Mr Reidy said key features of the Families Package were unfair, because the reforms relied on last year’s cuts to family payments for low-income families and overly generous subsidies to families on high incomes.

He said it was unfortunate that many children in low-income families would lose 12 hours a week of early childhood education.

Under reforms to child care, it will be tougher for unemployed people to receive subsidised childcare.