5th Aug 2021, 10:49 AM – Senate Treasury Laws Amendment (Covid-19 Economic Response No. 2) Bill 2021 - Second Reading - Increase support

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Tasmanian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson (Greens). Had it been successful, it would have added the words below to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" - parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill.

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate is of the opinion that:

(a) people on income support payments, including Jobseeker Payment, Youth Allowance, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment, continue to be ignored and miss out on additional support during lockdowns;

(b) this bill does nothing to support the estimated 350,000 people (including 50,000 children) in Greater Sydney who are denied access to Covid-19 Disaster Payments despite living on income support of as little as $44 a day;

(c) if we want people to be able to afford to stay home, Covid-19 Disaster Payments must be immediately extended to all people on income support payments;

(d) people who have lost less than 8 hours a week of work continue to be excluded from the Covid-19 Disaster Payment; and

(e) all income support payments should be increased above the poverty line and everyone who has lost work should be given adequate support with access to the full JobKeeper payment rate so that everyone is supported through the pandemic".