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While we wait to see what the CPI figures are for the last month – amid speculation the RBA will decide to raise the cash rate target as early as its next meeting – which is next Tuesday – it is also worth noting that today is the anniversary of the 2020 Covid supplement, which lifted hundreds of thousands of Australians out of poverty.

2022 is fifty years since Billy McMahon set up the Commission of Inquiry into Poverty, which led to the creation of the Henderson poverty line.

How the Poverty Lines are Calculated

The poverty lines are based on a benchmark income of $62.70 per week for the December quarter 1973 established by the Henderson poverty inquiry. The benchmark income was the disposable income required to support the basic needs of a family of two adults and two dependent children. Poverty lines for other types of family are derived from the benchmark using a set of equivalence scales. The poverty lines are updated to periods subsequent to the benchmark date using an index of per capita household disposable income.

The line was created before phones and internet connections were part of life’s necessities, but it is still the best marker we have. It’s currently just over $1,000 a week. Jobseeker, as a single with dependents, is $691 a week.

The Antipoverty Centre has been working to educate more people about the levels of poverty in Australia, as well as make it an election issue.

It is launching the first three initiatives it wants an incoming government to implement, two of which specifically relate to poverty.

It is also calling on minor parties and independent candidates to attend a briefing event with them and prioritise these in potential balance of power negotiations:

Firstly, immediately increasing all income support payments to at least the Henderson poverty line (by household composition) until a new measure of poverty is developed that is fit-for-purpose in the 21st century, including an additional increase to the remote area allowance, which is currently a laughable $9 a week.

In 2020, an Acoss report showed that even when payments were at the HPL, 33% of people still regularly skipped meals and 40% couldn’t afford adequate healthcare.

Secondly, developing a new measure of poverty that is transparent, based on real living costs for people at the low end of the income scale and that ensures a fair standard of living.

The purpose of any investigation or inquiry is not just to determine how many people are affected by or living in poverty, but to determine a new, robust poverty line. Specific work must be done to adequately measure poverty for people with disability and those living in remote communities.

The new poverty line should be responsive to meaningful changes in living costs that would arise from other public investments, such as housing, health and transport. For example, significant changes in the housing market may see the poverty line reduce.

And lastly, abolishing work for the dole. Immediately make the program voluntary (as was done with the Community Development Program last year) and provide a jobseeker supplement to people who continue on a voluntary basis that ensures they receive at least the equivalent of minimum wages for their work.

Existing host sites should be given the option to apply for government funding to support the continuation of jobs being done by work for the dole participants but paid at award wages. This funding should be provided on the basis that they are sustainable jobs that could be advertised in the open market, but should be reserved for existing work for the dole participants.

Existing sites that do not have meaningful work available or are unsuccessful in securing funding to pay work for the dole award wages may continue to provide genuine volunteering options for people on payments who enjoy and want to continue the activities they’re engaged in.

Currently, charities and local governments are paid to “host” people who work (many in hard labour) for up to 25 hours a week and get 42 cents per hour.