The NSW Council of Social Service confirms that cost of living pressures are worsening across the state

Cost of living strains in NSW are escalating. Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion calling on the NSW Government to provide targeted support, invest in affordable housing, and improve access to essential services.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1) That this House notes with concern that according to NCOSS in a report entitled “Impossible Choices: Decisions NSW communities shouldn’t have to make” published in September 2024:

analysis across NCOSS’ 2022, 2023 and 2024 Cost of Living surveys reveals that the sharp increase in indicators of financial pressure reported in the 2023 research have not improved and, in many cases, have notably worsened this year,
NSW residents living on low incomes and below the poverty line cannot afford essential goods and services and are struggling to cover basic housing, food, medical costs and essential services such as electricity and water,
cost-of-living pressures are continuing to disproportionately impact specific groups within our community, notably First Nations households, carers, people with disability, CALD households, single parents and public housing residents,
nine out of ten single parents on low incomes have gone without essentials over the past 12 months due to cost of living pressure,
while the NSW Government’s cost-of-living rebates have provided some minor temporary relief, they are not enough to keep people out of poverty and properly address the extent of the cost-of-living pressures faced by communities across NSW, and
NCOSS is urging NSW and Australian governments to make changes to ease the crisis, including raising the rate of income support, creating a school food program, and enhancing early intervention services.

(2) That this House calls on the NSW Government to take urgent action to meet the calls of NCOSS and provide targeted support and community development, invest in affordable housing and improve access to essential services.

25 September 2024

Read the transcript in Hansard.

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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The NSW Council of Social Service confirms that cost of living pressures are worsening across the state

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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