Post by garfield on Nov 4, 2012 7:56:56 GMT 10
ONE in seven kids in NSW lives in a family where no one works and federal government agencies are blaming this on welfare "largesse".
Unemployed families are now as common as the "working families" in which both parents have full-time jobs.
Damning new data reveals that 612,416 Australian children or one in eight have both parents out of work.
The proportion is even higher in NSW, where 211,067 children - or 14 per cent - are living in jobless families, according to new Census data provided to The Sunday Telegraph by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
One in every five "couple families" in NSW relies on welfare no one works in 20.5 per cent of families, compared to 21.8 per cent in which both parents work full-time.
Four federal government agencies, including the departments of Employment and Workplace Relations, Families, Housing and Human Services have warned of welfare "largesse", in a joint submission to the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart unemployment benefits.
A single parent with one child will receive, on average, about $30,000 per year through the Parenting Payment, Family Tax Benefit, Rent Assistance, supplements for telephone allowance, and a pensioner concession card, the submission states.
"This is the equivalent of working ... 72 hours per fortnight or, essentially, a couple of hours short of a full-time job at minimum wage," it says.
Departments argue jobless single parents have an incentive to work because they will still receive Family Tax Benefit of up to $182 per week, depending on how much they earn.
"Nevertheless, with a (welfare) payment of $30,000 per annum ... there can be little doubt that the incentive to work is at least partially mitigated by the largesse of the broader social security system," their submission states.
National Welfare Rights Network president Maree O'Halloran wants the government to double its wage subsidy scheme to urge employers to hire long-term unemployed.
"We agree with the government that having a job in the paid workforce is the best thing," she said. "But if you're retrenched or become ill, you haven't planned for your family to be plunged into poverty."
The Centre for Independent Studies called for a "carrot and stick" approach to ease parents back into the workforce.
Unemployed families are now as common as the "working families" in which both parents have full-time jobs.
Damning new data reveals that 612,416 Australian children or one in eight have both parents out of work.
The proportion is even higher in NSW, where 211,067 children - or 14 per cent - are living in jobless families, according to new Census data provided to The Sunday Telegraph by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
One in every five "couple families" in NSW relies on welfare no one works in 20.5 per cent of families, compared to 21.8 per cent in which both parents work full-time.
Four federal government agencies, including the departments of Employment and Workplace Relations, Families, Housing and Human Services have warned of welfare "largesse", in a joint submission to the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart unemployment benefits.
A single parent with one child will receive, on average, about $30,000 per year through the Parenting Payment, Family Tax Benefit, Rent Assistance, supplements for telephone allowance, and a pensioner concession card, the submission states.
"This is the equivalent of working ... 72 hours per fortnight or, essentially, a couple of hours short of a full-time job at minimum wage," it says.
Departments argue jobless single parents have an incentive to work because they will still receive Family Tax Benefit of up to $182 per week, depending on how much they earn.
"Nevertheless, with a (welfare) payment of $30,000 per annum ... there can be little doubt that the incentive to work is at least partially mitigated by the largesse of the broader social security system," their submission states.
National Welfare Rights Network president Maree O'Halloran wants the government to double its wage subsidy scheme to urge employers to hire long-term unemployed.
"We agree with the government that having a job in the paid workforce is the best thing," she said. "But if you're retrenched or become ill, you haven't planned for your family to be plunged into poverty."
The Centre for Independent Studies called for a "carrot and stick" approach to ease parents back into the workforce.
