Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, , 7:27:26 to 7:31:13
Discussion regarding the inadequacy of the Remote Area Allowance, which has not seen a significant increase in 25 years, and the Central Land Council's proposal for a 30% increase to meet remote living costs.
Topics: Social services, First Nations
Speakers: Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Senator David Shoebridge, Speaker 35
>> Thank you. Um Minister, could I ask you about the remote area allowance? Um, I think it's still $910 a week for a single person. And the last increase was the grand total of 35 cents and it was 25 years ago. Um, what does a$130 a day actually buy you in remote areas? Doesn't seem to come close to dealing with the additional costs in housing, >> food, energy, water, clothing, living.
>> It's really difficult. We've had this central land council down here just recently talking with us about it. Um both Marian Scrimmer and myself met with uh Dr. Douglas and others who came from the out stations representatives from the central land council and they're very concerned. Uh we have raised that. Uh what we know is that we can't move on it at this particular point in time. I've been looking at uh other areas like the food security program and the policies that we're trying to roll out. uh in our stores uh across uh not only the Northern Territory but other remote areas of Australia uh in that food security policy. It's about the reduction of prices uh in the stores. Send shoe bridge. So we are very mindful of the pressures on people living
>> Yeah. But I mean when you say it can't be done at this point, what does that mean? Is that code for something?
>> No, it's not code for anything. It just can't be done right now. Senator Shoebridge, I don't have the responsibility of it. It's something that uh uh Minister Plebec has responsibility uh for this particular area, >> but and the advocacy of both the Central Land Council and others has been very firm in regards to uh pointing out those
issues. Could could I ask the CLC, Central Lands Council, you've done the numbers and you've tried to work out what the um the remote area allowance would need to rise to to sort of meet what it was meeting decades ago when it was first set. Have you got a figure and can you tell us what it is?
>> Josie Douglas, general manager, professional services. Uh we uh CLC along with um others um across Australia are calling for the remote air allowance to be increased to $12130 uh a week and that would be an increase of $1730 a day for a single adult. This represents a 30% increase in the overall value of a single job seeker payment and it's pitched at 30% uh even though we know that the cost of living for remote is 40%. The 30% does take into account the 30 remote items essential subsidy which is very welcome. So it's a pragmatic uh number crunching uh and it goes to um providing targeted a targeted measure for cost of relief living for uh people living in remote and very remote uh Australia.
>> Um can I I know we're running behind time chair and I that that's my final question. Can I thank all of you for all the work you do? I really appreciate it. And Minister, could I ask you if you will raise again with your ministerial colleagues the urgency of this remote area allowance lift?
>> Senator Shoebridge. Uh we do advocate and we will continue to do so.
>> Thank you all. Thanks.