RAHU condemns JobSeeker cuts and calls renters to action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 24.09.2020
Today’s cuts to Jobseeker and Jobkeeper will hit renters hardest. RAHU has emerged as a vital grass-roots organisation to support renters and those in precarious housing throughout the pandemic, but we are about to see huge numbers of renters plunged into poverty by the federal government’s callous policy.
The JobSeeker supplement will be slashed by 55%, from $550 to $250 a fortnight. With a median rent of $475 per week in metropolitan areas, many renters on Jobseeker will have to survive on $3 per week. Nationwide, less than 1% of rental properties are affordable for renters on JobSeeker.
These measures are indefensible. Renters are disproportionately those on income support, and the government’s mean-spirited cuts to Jobseeker and Jobkeeper will make life much more difficult for those at the sharp end of the pandemic. Property investors might claim to be doing it tough, but no mum and dad landlord will be at risk of homelessness. No mum and dad landlord will be forced into accepting a rent deferral to keep a roof over their head. No mum and dad landlord will feel increasing anxiety as we count down to the end of the eviction moratorium in March.
RAHU calls for renters to join the union and help us take action to #KeepTheRate. Our strength is organised and collective solidarity.
Quotes Attributable To: Paddy Gordon, Media Officer, RAHU
Everyone is doing it tough in some areas, but as renters we are struggling across the board. The cuts to jobseeker and jobkeeper make a decent life impossible. The rich get tax cuts while we have to get by on $40 a day.
We’ll struggle to afford rent, groceries and medical care. An investment can run at a loss, but you can’t live without a home.The government won’t support us, but RAHU will continue to stick up for the most vulnerable. If you’re a renter, join us. We can support each other.
J.R. Hewitt
Media and Communications Officer
Contact: [email protected]
The Renters And Housing Union (RAHU) is Australia’s largest member-run Union of renters and people in precarious housing. We collectively organise for the right to safe and secure housing through self-advocacy, education, and frontline eviction defence.
Find out more and join RAHU https://rahu.org.au/