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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-09/acoss-unemployment-report-low-support-as-jobs-disappear/104694148>
'Unemployed Australians are relying on "punishingly low" support payments as
job opportunities continue to decline, according to a new report.
The "mismatch" when it comes to entry-level jobs has locked more people into
relying on income support long-term, the report by the Australian Council of
Social Service (ACOSS) said.
ACOSS's
Faces of Unemployment report also revealed a total of 557,000 people
have been receiving unemployment payments for more than a year, and 190,000 for
more than five years.
The report called for a "complete overhaul" of the employment services system,
accusing it of "harming" Australians with "unrealistic" requirements and
failing to get them into sustainable jobs.
ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie AO told the
ABC the organisation had
seen "very little" done to "genuinely tackle the level of poverty" in
Australia.
"We're very worried that we've already had another 100,000 people lose their
job since interest rates went up," she said.
"The reports are all there, the advice is very clear and we are urging the
government to act.
"Let's not wait for another election to go by before we finally fix some of the
most important parts [of helping people] deal with the cost of living crisis."'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
