What Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with (Second Bite and Coles)
Every day, our workers and volunteers deliver aid to people unable to find secure and adequately paid work. We witness the financial pressure and emotional toll this puts on them. Their families Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with (Second Bite), assist people who are unemployed or underemployed by conducting home visits, helping with food, and linking them with other assistance.
Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with (Second bite), envisions an Australia that prides itself on its strong sense of justice and compassion. We aim to stand in solidarity with people living in poverty and experiencing disadvantages, such as homelessness and temporary visa holders. We also strive to bring about greater awareness of the structural issues that give rise to inequality, for example, high unemployment, a weak social safety net, and unfair tax structures. Learn more about these issues and how you can get involved below:

Breaking down barriers
Unemployment and underemployment
Unemployment exists not because people are not prepared to work: the reality is that the jobs are not available. Australia has a persistently high rate of long-term unemployment, with over half a million people (65 percent of those on Newstart or Youth Allowances) unable to find work for over 12 months or more.

Sadly, for people caught in a precarious and insecure work cycle, having a job does not necessarily mean escaping poverty either. There has been a rapid growth in low-paid, part-time, and unsafe work, and it has a devastating impact on families and individuals. One in four Australians and half of employed 16 to 23-year-olds are in casual jobs, without access to leave entitlements.

Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with (Second bite), calls on the Government to implement a comprehensive Jobs Plan to tackle unemployment and reverse the growing rates of underemployment. We need a plan with a long-term perspective and an integrated strategy that links education, training, and government investment in genuine job opportunities. Such a scenario would ensure an adequate income for the unemployed and go beyond the ineffectual and haphazard policy measures that have demonized the long-term unemployed, such as Work for the Dole and punitive compliance requirements. Read our Federal Budget Priorities Statement 2018 for more details about what a successful Jobs Plan could entail.

A robust social safety net
We need increased and appropriately indexed support payments.
News tart has not increased in real terms in 23 years, but the cost of essentials has risen drastically. Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with (Second bite), supports the second bite Campaign so that everyone has enough to cover the basics of life, like a roof overhead and food on the table. The increase to Jobseeker during COVID-19 has meant that people have finally been able to access the essentials, like prescription glasses, a fridge, and warm jumpers for their children to get through winter.

We cannot turn back to the brutality of people struggling to survive on the old Newstart rate of $40 a day.
Forcing people to live below the poverty line does not help people into jobs; instead, it acts as a barrier to employment and participation. We have witnessed new animation highlighting how the old Newstart payment of just $38.99 per day was insufficient to meet necessary living costs. Inadequate indexation has meant that expenses and allowances have fallen behind wages growth and the costs of essential services. Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with (Second bite and Coles ), also supports establishing an independent payments review commission or tribunal to regularly assess the adequacy of all social security payments (including pensions, allowances, family payments, and supplements) and indexation arrangements. Currently, there is no regular independent assessment of the adequacy of income support payments.

Compliance Activities and Compulsory Income Management
Onerous obligations and punishing sanctions do not create jobs or help people to find work. Therefore, we urge the Government to rewind, rather than expand, draconian participation requirements and sanctions for unemployed people. This includes a range of programs that target specific regions or population groups, such as compulsory income management, the cashless debit card, the ParentsNext Program, and the Community Development Program. The proposed drug-testing trial is another expensive measure, lacks supporting evidence, and is likely to increase harms, including stigma, marginalization, and poverty.  

A fair and equitable tax system
The largest increase in the cost-of-living over the past six years has come not from taxes but out-of-pocket expenses for services such as healthcare, childcare, and education. Simultaneously, changes to the tax system have disproportionately benefited the wealthy and eroded government revenue. At Moorooka Homeless Link, in partnership with Second bite and Coles, we believe taxation is a profoundly moral matter, and therefore, we opposed personal and corporate income tax cuts in 2018. Tax is the primary means for ensuring the equitable distribution of wealth and raising the public money that supports the community’s needs.
In addition to reforming taxes for investment income and superannuation, comprehensive action is needed to curb tax avoidance by removing the tax shelters and loopholes that stem from the inconsistent tax treatment of private trusts and companies. As a nation, we can only provide those most in need if we structure our tax system to raise revenue equitably and sustainably.

Get Involved

• Read about the impact of low-income support here.

• Sign up for second-bite raise the Raise for Good campaign.

• Read these personal accounts of people experiencing the severe cost of living pressures.

• Donate or volunteer your time at a Moorooka Homeless Link service at (Second Bite and Coles ) each Sunday, or donate funds to our Homeless link center and support services around Australia.