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Labor’s own Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has again urged it to raise JobSeeker and other welfare payments ahead of the federal budget on March 25.

Its latest  was unambiguous, saying raising payments “remains the number one priority and that doing so would deliver significant economic and social benefits”.

Anti-poverty advocates and welfare recipients have repeatedly called on the Anthony Albanese Labor government to raise JobSeeker to a liveable rate.

As the cost-of-living crisis bites, Labor continues to spout concern about those “doing it tough”.

But besides abolishing the activity test for early childhood education and care and raising Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA), Labor has done nothing to “improve the adequacy of JobSeeker and related payments”, the committee admitted.

Its claim to have boosted payments is, in fact, the mandated indexation which is tied to the Consumer Price Index.

With JobSeeker at $389 a week for a single adult with no children — about $56 a day — it is clear that Labor is either lying or is completely out of touch. The committee’s report said that JobSeeker payments are “seriously inadequate” and “significantly below benchmarks”.

 during the COVID-19 lockdown when the Coalition government had little other option but to double the payment.

The rate of welfare payments in Australia are among the  in the Global North.

, last December, said raising the payment would cost “a fraction of the cost of superannuation tax concessions ($50 billion per year) or the Capital Gains Tax discount ($15 billion), both of which mainly benefit the richest Australians”.

Research commissioned for the Inclusion Committee report found that raising JobSeeker to at least 90% of the Age Pension would “create long-run benefits” from a “healthier and more productive workforce”. It said its research showed that raising JobSeeker would give a return of $1.24 for every dollar invested.

The impossibility of surviving on JobSeeker has been : thousands of people regularly skip meals, health care and other essentials to try and get by.

The report found that people receiving JobSeeker were 14 times more likely to skip a meal at least once a day. Less than half reported being in good health and those on the payment are many times more likely to die by suicide compared to others, including those on other benefits. Between 2011 and 2021, 6000 JobSeeker recipients died by suicide.

The report called on Labor to further boost CRA and lift the Remote Area Allowance. It said there needs to be a new official poverty line measure and recommended that be 50% of median household income, after housing costs.

Finally, the report called for an overhaul of the Workforce Australia employment services system, saying the current system “hinders people from moving into employment”.

The number of long-term unemployed people has grown from 51% in 2012 to 60% last September.

The current system is not helping people overcome “complex and overlapping barriers to employment, including insufficient education, reduced capacity to work, significant caring responsibilities and discrimination”.

While the government acknowledges problems in the system including poor service, an overemphasis on mutual obligations and the need for more transparency and accountability, it has not committed to resolve them.

Cassandra Goldie, , who is part of the Inclusion Committee, said lifting JobSeeker to 90% of the pension (from $56 a day to $74) would substantially help. Lifting JobSeeker would “reduce government health expenditure, improve productivity as well as deliver vast benefits to the lives of people receiving the payment”, ACOSS said on March 11.

Mission Australia  raising income support would “prevent people from being pushed into the heart-wrenching cycle of poverty and homelessness”.

The Antipoverty Centre (AC)  the report’s recommendations did not go far enough and criticised it for not consulting with people living in poverty.

AC spokesperson and JobSeeker recipient Jay Coonan said it was a committee of “technocratic non-experts” who “have no idea how much it costs to live the decent life we all deserve”.

Coonan said its recommendations “peddle the false ‘dole bludger’ narrative”, endorses the “mutual” obligations requirements and claims tweaks to the system will “end harm”.

The mutual obligations system means that JobSeeker recipients who fail to apply for a set number of jobs or attend a meeting with employment service providers can have their payment withheld.

“In what specific case would cutting a welfare recipient off their payment be a proportionate compliance action?” Coonan asked.

The ABC  Labor was “downplaying” prospects of raising payments. However, with an election in sight it may throw some crumbs.

Coonan said “we don’t need another report” to tell Labor to raise the rate. “We need payments above the Henderson poverty line, and then work to understand the real cost of living a decent life.

“We need all compulsory activities such as ‘mutual’ obligations abolished. We need every person who needs income support to be able to access it. Full stop.”