This speech was given by Michael Petrilli, Anti-Poverty Network SA Campaigns Coordinator, to our JobSeeker Rally, on May 21, 2023.
“In 2022 Anthony Albanese won an election on the platform of leaving nobody behind. He was very open about his humble beginnings with his single mum and his housing estate home. Given how much he lent on his background, you would think he would be a knight in shining armour, swooping in to tackle the cost of living crisis, to support those most vulnerable in Australia.
The budget that his government has delivered overwhelmingly shows that his priorities are not such, that he doesn’t care to lift people out of poverty, that he doesn’t want to tackle the climate crisis, that he doesn’t think housing is a human right, that he wants to continue to support Imperialism and stoke the flames of war.
The demands of this rally are simple, raise the rate of jobseeker to the Henderson poverty line which is $88 a day. By not raising the rate, this Labor government has actively chosen to leave over 3 million Australians in poverty, it has said that it in a country as rich as Australia, it is okay that 1 in 6 children grow up in poverty, it has said that the financial security of landlords is more important than working class Australians right to housing.
It has said that it is okay that it collects more tax revenue from students paying off their student debt than it does from the mega profiting, indigenous land destroying oil and gas cartels. This budget shows that in times of crisis, this Labor government instead of being proactive in addressing the issues would rather be reactionary, this seems to flow through the whole Labor party where just this week, Peter Malinauskas and his government worked with the liberals to curtail our rights to protest.
Before the delivery of this budget Labor laid down that they would not on any level raise welfare payments, it was only after public pressure including from their own MPs did they twice change their position.
First to lower the age of the increased payment for older Australians from 60 to 55, and then to increase all payments by a measly $20 a week. Whilst these reforms are woeful, it does show that Labor can be backed into a corner and succumb to the will and need of the people. What we need to do then is build and maintain this pressure and you can do this by writing to your locals MPs, writing to the social services minister Amanda Rishworth, you can join and be active in organisations like the Anti-Poverty Network, and of course you can join your union where you can help spread working class solidarity and take it to the bosses that this government so dearly loves to support.
Now let’s talk about what this budget has promised. It has promised to continue giving landlords over $10 billion in negative gearing tax cuts. It continues to commit to tax concessions that have now ballooned from $250 billion to $310 billion of which overwhelmingly benefits the rich. It has increased defence spending which will exceed $50 billion for the first time and further commits to over $350 billion in the upcoming decades, which is the largest military build-up since World War 2.
The only wars this government needs to be fighting is the poverty war, here in Australia. In a climate crisis, that is on the absolute precipice, this government has promised to continue subsidising oil and gas corporations at a cost of over $10 billion a year, to companies that pillage sacred indigenous land, that have posted record profits in a cost of living crisis, that have used covid to profiteer and all the while getting away with paying $0 in tax. It has committed to limiting funding increases for NDIS recipients, a system that supports over half a million Australians with the important care that so rightly deserve.
Governments in response to questions about raising spending in areas they have not committed to, always respond with, ‘we wish we could, but it is not in our fiscal capabilities to do so’. I absolutely challenge this notion and this budget shows that governments can deliver on what ever they prioritise, its unfortunate that this government has got its priorities all mixed up.
Labor have touted this budget as being responsible because it is the first budget to reach surplus in 15 years, I say to that fuck your surplus if it leaves over 1 million Australians that can’t afford to put food on the table. How are long range missiles and nuclear submarines going to house the millions of Australians facing homelessness and housing insecurity?
We invited many Labor MPs to come today to listen to the amazing lived experiences speakers that will be speaking today, you may have noticed this chair especially for Amanda Rishworth, the Social Services Minister. We sadly received no responses besides from the Member for Boothby, Louise Miller-Frost.”
Anti-Poverty Network SA 