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National Council

SVdP Housing Australia

Government must help vulnerable as rates move higher

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<p>The Australian Government must provide urgent assistance to those in need as surging inflation and interest rates put life’s essentials further out of reach for a growing number of Australians.</p>
<p>St Vincent de Paul National President Claire Victory said today’s interest rate increase – the fifth in as many months – is another blow for many Australians already doing it tough.</p>
<p>‘Our teams across Australia are experiencing a huge jump in demand from Australians struggling to afford basic living expenses, such as housing, food, utilities and health care,’ Ms Victory said.</p>
<p>‘Many are coming to us for the first time in chronic financial stress as month after month of skyrocketing inflation and the flow-on effects of higher interest rates leave them unable to cope.</p>
<p>‘Today’s interest rate increase will inevitably be passed on through higher prices and rents, which will have a particularly devastating impact on those already stretched to their limits,’ Ms Victory said.</p>
<p>Ms Victory called on the Albanese Government to abandon the stage 3 tax cuts and to redirect funding to support vulnerable Australians by lifting JobSeeker and other support payments, and increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance.</p>
<p>‘While the indexation announced by the Government this week will lift income support payments by 4 per cent, around 830,000 people on JobSeeker will continue to live in poverty simply because the base rate is too low and indexation cannot keep up with the surging cost-of-living,’ Ms Victory said.</p>
<p>‘These are choices that the Government makes about who misses out and who benefits.</p>
<p>‘We need to say that it is not good enough that people in Australia cannot afford a safe home and to feed themselves and their children,’ Ms Victory said.</p>
<p>The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia is calling for the Albanese Government to:</p>
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<p>Lift the rate of working age payments: a $10-$15 a day increase would lift 1 million out of poverty</p>
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<p>Increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 50 per cent</p>
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<p>Introduce a replacement for the National Rental Affordability Scheme, which is winding up by 2026</p>
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<p>Index income support payments biannually in line with wage growth and CPI</p>
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<p>Increase the income threshold for income support recipients from $150 to $300 a fortnight</p>
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<p>‘Together these reforms will contribute to a fairer Australia in which no one is held back and no one is left behind,’ Ms Victory said.</p>
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<p>The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia consists of 45,000 members and volunteers who operate on the ground through over 1,000 conferences located in individual parishes across the country.</p>
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