Happy “Indexation Is Not An Increase” Day

Indexation of welfare payments is legislated for, occurs twice a year for most payments on March and September 20, and once a year for youth payments on January 1. It’s not a real increase, and in fact as it’s calculated off already inferior payments that can’t even see the poverty line, people on them get further behind each time, and those on lower payments get less.

It’s the time of year where welfare advocates sigh and try to refute the narrative that this is somehow a cash splash and we’re all grateful and off living it up at the pub this weekend.

It also doesn’t fully come in for a month.

The 10% increase of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (being touted by some pollies as 12% cos indexation also comes in) only applied to the 14% of welfare recipients who do get CRA, and doesn’t help millions of others at all – the ones not on leases, living in cars and on the street, trying to escape violence, people with mortgages trying to keep their homes.

So, in other news, I ventured to the new “NourishEd” food pantry in Toronto today. I got their $10 hamper and some things from the shelves for free. The local member also popped in while I was selecting free sanitary pads – Hi Dan! in his chat with the organisers they said how they’re ineligible for most grants as they’ve not been open a year. They also made me happy when they said that while it’s needed they’d love to NOT be needed ideally. I was a bit overwhelmed at that stage since I’d been out all morning so didn’t chime in, but yeah, I plan to talk to them further about lobbying for actual change and I do also want to talk to them about getting a Smart Recovery group going on site that they mentioned right when they started fundraising.

Got a weekend ahead cleaning – rental inspection Tuesday. Hopefully all will be well. My arms are tired from knocking down spiderwebs yesterday.

New welfare rates are detailed here.

Friday Foodbank Musings

Happy Liptember! The month where I actually wear lipstick and raise funds for women’s mental health projects.

Had a few good conversations this morning about *waves hands around* all of this. Cost of living, Centrelink, gatekeeping and waste from charities, attitudes towards addicts and more. A couple  were in the line for the Ozharvest bag, where the inaccessible nature of the whole process came up because they make us wait outside the gate until 9am, and getting down the driveway or foot or in wheelchairs is hairy at best and they just don’t seem willing to make exceptions. I mean, they don’t even have a designated disabled park on site, and the other parks are up a slope from the doors.

Spams and other tinned meats
Apparently the woolies beef is only 20c cheaper than retail…

I exchanged pleasantries with the volunteers, asking if it was fine to take a fruit and veg bag as well as the pies this week, and yeah there was plenty this week, but I remarked that I didn’t want to get in trouble because if I take one and get told no that was wrong it feels like I’m being told off, and sometimes I think I actually am. Like the time I asked “Hey is it okay is I take a bag of pies” and Sandra was “Please?” ugh. Yes ma’am please mam, I was being pleasant til you got school principal on me. Apparently she also put a guy’s daughter through questioning, which he felt was because “she’s an addict and looks like an addict” and left her feeling like never coming back. He and I talked about playing the meek and grateful role when it’s for ourselves but sometimes getting more than a little protective and defensive of others.

Bread was also in abundance today, which is good because I wound up buying the $8 fancy eggs from Woolies after Aldi was out and Woolies only had the Lake Macquarie local ones left. Good thing it’s pension day!

Two point something percent indexation in not next fortnight’s but the fortnight after. Plus that 10% rent assistance cash splash that Albo was touting that will do SFA, but seems to appease some of the numbers guys.  I’ll be on a whole $1061.60 a fortnight from October 4. I’ll be getting paid for my 3 hours a week work too, let’s see how that affects things!

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I’m tired, sore and disappointed. Happy Budget Hangover day

This but it’s May 2024:

A couple of days ago we heard that there was gonna be some sort of increase to the useless rent assistance payment in this budget. That turned out to be 10% from September 20’s next indexation, up to $9/week depending on how much you already get, if you’re one of people who can actually access it. If my rent goes up less than $10/week at the end of the year (if I’m lucky enough to get a renewed lease hey) I’ll be shocked. Shocked.

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5000 people on JobSeeker who have assessed work capacity of <15 hours (and by all rights should be on DSP if the rules for that weren’t so restrictive) will get a slightly higher rate of Jobseeker, like the over 55s who have been on Jobseeker for 9 months or more. I guess it’s their substitute for not having a sickness benefit – so Cancer patients can afford to pay for parking at the hospital for treatment or something.

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No actual JobSeeker or other welfare increases, despite the hopes and prayers of the community sector and the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee. Thoughts and prayers that I beg them to at least persist with for the next 12 months, because Labor can’t be re-electable without a plan to bring welfare payments to the poverty line in their 2025 election promises.

The $300 energy bill subsidy for all is less than pensioners and families got this financial year (you might be getting some extra in Qld or WA from their state labor governments going to elections this year), and won’t be felt by those who don’t need it and $50 less subsidy a quarter WILL be felt by me. So Yeah. Not impressed. Also, straight to the billing company, quarter by quarter no chance of using it in one hit to catch up or to use for something else. (or someone else if you want to spend your subsidies and tax cuts on Andrew Leigh’s dream of a doubled charity sector by 2030).

Medicines are being capped at their current top rates ($7.70 for pensioners, $31.60 for everyone else) for a few years. So that’ll mean getting less behind, something I yelled about them doing sooner, and yay they’ve done it. Which is great, cos I’ve been having health concerns, and having to pay upfront for the GP isn’t going anywhere for most of us as most GPs haven’t returned to bulk billing, and the average gap in $44 a session now. My scans and blood tests were bulk billed last week, but still need $76 upfront for an appointment for follow-up  so I’m going on Friday, pension day!

I’ll leave you with the darling Catherine Caine, brains behind Nobody Deserves Poverty, and her budget reaction from last night.

Love yas. xo

New Pension Rates just dropped comrades, read em and weep

The Department of Social Services and Services Australia have published the pension and other welfare payments in this pdf. The rates start accruing September 20, so that means they will partially appear the next pay cycle. My full increase kicks in October 6.

Included in this is the much touted “largest increase in Commonwealth Rent assistance in 30 Years” lol… Mine’s going up $26 per fortnight, which has totally solved the rental crisis.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly take away a lot of stress.