Welfare payment cuts could tip marginal Coalition seats
Mar 15, 2021 8:08:41 GMT 7
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Post by Banjo on Mar 15, 2021 8:08:41 GMT 7
Welfare payment cuts could tip marginal Coalition seats at next election, advocates warn
Margins in at least 52 electorates are smaller than the number of welfare recipients facing a cut, analysis shows
Welfare campaigners have warned impending cuts to the incomes of millions of social security recipients could tip marginal Coalition seats at the next election, as they launch a last ditch lobbying effort for a bigger boost to jobseeker payments.
With parliament resuming in Canberra on Monday, the government hopes to pass a $50-a-fortnight increase to the base rate of jobseeker, student and parenting payments, despite widespread criticism of the “meagre” boost from welfare groups, business, and opposition parties.
The increase – equivalent to $3.47 a day – is also viewed by many as a cut because it will be accompanied by the end of the $150-a-fortnight coronavirus supplement, which is paid to about 2 million recipients.
Despite the government insisting it has no plans to go further, welfare groups including the Australian Council of Social Service and the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, will this week converge on parliament armed with a list of seats they argue would be made vulnerable by a cut to income support payments.
Acoss has sent all MPs analysis showing there are at least 52 electorates “held by margins that are less than the number of people who will see their incomes cut at the end of March”.
“Parliamentarians preparing to vote for this bill need to be aware of the reality in their electorates, and that this is the single most important issue in the lives of people directly affected,” Acoss chief executive Cassandra Goldie said.
While most of the 52 seats identified are held by Labor, there are Coalition electorates on a knife-edge that might also be considered vulnerable.
The Acoss analysis suggests the Tasmanian seat of Bass, held by Bridget Archer, may be considered the most under threat, with 11,196 people in the electorate facing a cut to their incomes from April.
Archer, who has previously spoken out against her party on welfare issues, won the seat at the last election by only 563 votes.
Gladys Liu holds the seat of Chisholm, in Melbourne’s east, by 1,090 votes, has 9,603 constituents who will lose the coronavirus supplement from 1 April, according to the Acoss analysis.
Another Coalition seat implicated is Boothby in Adelaide, where the sitting MP, Nicolle Flint, recently made the shock announcement she won’t contest the next election.
Some 11,546 welfare recipients in Boothby will see their incomes reduce next month, according to Acoss, while the seat is held by the Liberals with a 3,047-vote margin.
Steve Irons’ seat of Swan in WA (4,529-vote margin, 14,735 welfare recipients facing a cut), and the traditional swing-seat of Braddon (4,329-vote margin, 9,681 welfare recipients facing a cut) in Tasmania may also come under threat.
The Sydney seat of Reid, and Queensland seats of Longman and Leichhardt, held by veteran MP Warren Entsch, are among seats also implicated by the Acoss analysis.
Welfare campaigners face an uphill battle to win support for a change given Labor intends to support the government’s bill, despite saying it is insufficient.
The government has also signalled it does not intend to negotiate on the legislation.
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/15/welfare-payment-cuts-could-tip-marginal-coalition-seats-at-next-election-advocates-warn?utm_term=3f7d8ae165d45278262087f2ce969e67&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayAUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTAU_email
Margins in at least 52 electorates are smaller than the number of welfare recipients facing a cut, analysis shows
Welfare campaigners have warned impending cuts to the incomes of millions of social security recipients could tip marginal Coalition seats at the next election, as they launch a last ditch lobbying effort for a bigger boost to jobseeker payments.
With parliament resuming in Canberra on Monday, the government hopes to pass a $50-a-fortnight increase to the base rate of jobseeker, student and parenting payments, despite widespread criticism of the “meagre” boost from welfare groups, business, and opposition parties.
The increase – equivalent to $3.47 a day – is also viewed by many as a cut because it will be accompanied by the end of the $150-a-fortnight coronavirus supplement, which is paid to about 2 million recipients.
Despite the government insisting it has no plans to go further, welfare groups including the Australian Council of Social Service and the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, will this week converge on parliament armed with a list of seats they argue would be made vulnerable by a cut to income support payments.
Acoss has sent all MPs analysis showing there are at least 52 electorates “held by margins that are less than the number of people who will see their incomes cut at the end of March”.
“Parliamentarians preparing to vote for this bill need to be aware of the reality in their electorates, and that this is the single most important issue in the lives of people directly affected,” Acoss chief executive Cassandra Goldie said.
While most of the 52 seats identified are held by Labor, there are Coalition electorates on a knife-edge that might also be considered vulnerable.
The Acoss analysis suggests the Tasmanian seat of Bass, held by Bridget Archer, may be considered the most under threat, with 11,196 people in the electorate facing a cut to their incomes from April.
Archer, who has previously spoken out against her party on welfare issues, won the seat at the last election by only 563 votes.
Gladys Liu holds the seat of Chisholm, in Melbourne’s east, by 1,090 votes, has 9,603 constituents who will lose the coronavirus supplement from 1 April, according to the Acoss analysis.
Another Coalition seat implicated is Boothby in Adelaide, where the sitting MP, Nicolle Flint, recently made the shock announcement she won’t contest the next election.
Some 11,546 welfare recipients in Boothby will see their incomes reduce next month, according to Acoss, while the seat is held by the Liberals with a 3,047-vote margin.
Steve Irons’ seat of Swan in WA (4,529-vote margin, 14,735 welfare recipients facing a cut), and the traditional swing-seat of Braddon (4,329-vote margin, 9,681 welfare recipients facing a cut) in Tasmania may also come under threat.
The Sydney seat of Reid, and Queensland seats of Longman and Leichhardt, held by veteran MP Warren Entsch, are among seats also implicated by the Acoss analysis.
Welfare campaigners face an uphill battle to win support for a change given Labor intends to support the government’s bill, despite saying it is insufficient.
The government has also signalled it does not intend to negotiate on the legislation.
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/15/welfare-payment-cuts-could-tip-marginal-coalition-seats-at-next-election-advocates-warn?utm_term=3f7d8ae165d45278262087f2ce969e67&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayAUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTAU_email