Jim Chalmers faces voters on Q+A a week after delivering budget — as it happened - ABC News

Imogen Bunting, from the audience, has asked about how unemployed Australians on JobSeeker can keep up with rising living costs.

"I'm a JobSeeker who has in the last ten years experienced homelessness twice, including through COVID, and the passing of my mother. I am now a renter, who saw my rent increase to $130 per week in one increase. How does the treasurer think that a $9 increase per fortnight to Commonwealth Rent Assistance is helpful to me? Or to many others?" she asked.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Labor government is always looking for ways to strengthen the social security system for vulnerable Australians.

"I'm sorry that you had all of those things happen in the last little while and if there is anything I can do to help in addition to the things I mention in a moment, let us know.

"When it comes to Rent Assistance, JobSeeker, and Commonwealth payments, one of the things that I'm proudest of in the last couple of budgets is the way that we've invested billions and billions of dollars into trying to make those payments a little bit better. I do acknowledge, Imogen, and I'm sure a lot of people are in the same boat who would like us to go further, I don't pretend otherwise.

"I do understand that people would like us to go further and as a Labor person and as a Labor government, we're always looking for ways, whether it's assistance, whether the permanent increase to Job Seeker, whether it's energy bill relief or cheaper medicines or all of these ways that we are trying to ease the cost of living.  So much we have done — it is our 2-year anniversary tomorrow — and so much that we've tried to do in the first two years we've been in office is to strengthen the social security system for people who are especially vulnerable.

"There is more than one way to do that. We have already acted on a whole range of different fronts and obviously, as we can afford to do that in the future, obviously we will look to do that where we can."

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2024-05-20 10:35:05Z
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