Anti-Poverty Week welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcement that the Government will reverse the damaging decision to cut the single parenting payment and restore it to single parents until their youngest child turns 14. This will particularly benefit women as 90% of single parents are mothers, and children.
Anti-Poverty Week ED Toni Wren said:
“We’ve advocated hard for this change as we know that it will help reduce child poverty, something that should be eliminated in Australia, one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
“This announcement, taken with the abolition of Parent’s Next last Friday, is a welcome recognition that the government is listening to evidence in its approach to welfare policy and is prepared to right the wrong done to single parents as far back as 2006.
“The risk of poverty for children in sole parent families is more than three times that in partnered families (39% compared with 12%).
“We know that growing up in poverty diminishes children’s lives at the time and in their future. Many single parents sacrifice their own needs every day to ensure the best for their children. Investing in single parents means investing in our children.
“We look forward to working with the government on co-designing a new program to assist single parents prepare for well paid jobs and careers, necessary reforms to child support and other measures to eliminate child poverty.”