The Albanese government claims its federal budget includes the “most significant single-year investment in women’s equality in at least the last 40 years”.
Yet the three big-ticket welfare reforms in the women’s budget statement are not actually gender specific. According to the government, however, they will benefit women.
While Labor’s October budget invested in cheaper childcare and expanded paid parental leave, this budget prioritises “supporting women facing disadvantage, including single parents, and low-income workers across the care and support sector”.
Welfare reforms
The $2.7 billion to increase the maximum payment rates of Commonwealth rent assistance by 15% for all recipients would help single women, the government claims, who make up almost half of recipients.
Similarly, the $1.9 billion to expand eligibility for the parenting payment to single principal carers — the majority (91%) of whom are women — by raising the age of the youngest dependent child from eight to 14 would give $88 extra a week to about 57,000 families.
The $4.9 billion to increase support for student and JobSeeker payments was also included under “women’s economic equality”. As previously reported, the government is also abolishing the punitive ParentsNext from July 1 next year.
Women’s health
The government is investing $26.4 million to extend support for research and data-collection that support health outcomes for women and girls, including money for the existing Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health and support to monitor and evaluate maternity services.
There’s $11.3 million for breastfeeding support, and $16.8 million for a new Medical Benefits Schedule item for a test that determines a patient’s risk of recurrent breast cancer.
Domestic violence
The government has allocated $589.3 million for women’s safety, including $262.6 million to address violence against First Nations women and $134.1 million for the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to tackle online harm.
Finally, there’s $72.4 million for backfilling positions while early childcare workers undergo training and $18 million in grants to establish centres in underrepresented places.
That’s about it!
Yep lets pay billions to those providing incentives to people to do nuf nuf certificates in “customer services”, barista, virtual courses to women 45+; they are then forced to do mutual obligations to get 50 bucks a day to feed them and upto 2 children a piece; that is less than 20 bucks a day for the single woman and 10 bucks a day to feed, dress, provide medicine and healthcaring, cuddles, reading, listening, teaching,driving, advocation and doing applications for each kids in her care…. but no she has not done enough to deserve her 20 bucks a day she has to provide a business opportunity to these third party provides in NDIS, aged care, dumb/ cheap ineffectual training… The major one making billions for their shareholders… Go to Training gov, Australian charities and non profits to read the eye watering revenues and profits .. hidden in capital assets they then cry poor and sell off their capital if things get too hot
Yes Minister you could not write this stuff..The stupidity, lack of creative and brave solutions and just … blind cruelty of these so called professional politicians is just incredible
10 bucks per kid and 20 for the principal= 50 bucks per day to live is what I am pointing out. Same money as a singleton male on the “jobseeker”.. A single parent already has a job that is “parent”. The mutual obligations which cost us collectively billions of handouts to these third parties is a travesty and indicates the government believe being unemployed is synonymous with lacking employability…. this is a falsehood and a fantasy.. women who are 50 plus are neither too old to do the corporate white collar jobs, create or lead; already have been abused as free fodder so why not lift us up not use employed and women as scapegoats for a sexist, myopic and ageist media and society
sic x3 kids and a mum… not 2 ….unemployed and women are used as scapegoats; get the one group to victimise the other oldest trick in the propaganda playbook