Single Parent Action Group - No to Newstart; No to Poverty for all single parents

Single Parent Action Group is submitting the following demands to the Federal Government of Australia:

Income over $176.60 per fortnight (plus $24.60 for each additional child) which reduces by 40 cents in the dollar for income over this threshold and a maximum threshold of $1,835.85 per fortnight (plus $24.60 for each additional child).(Centrelink website, 2013)

Or the cut-off-point for Parenting Payment, or a Newstart equivalent set at the same rate, of 16 years of age rather than 8 years of age.

2. Immediate reinstatement of the Education Supplement, or an equivalent newstart allowance of the same value and specifications.

3.  More incentives for employers to hire older single parents and incentives for employers to offer more school hour friendly positions to single parents with more job share availability on fulltime positions.

4. The immediate emphasis on providing low-cost-child-care-facilities or, at the very least, a child-care-subsidy is granted to single parents. We also recommend more accessibility for single parents trying to re-enter the workforce or study under the JET scheme.

5. Focused concentration on providing support and monetary incentives for single parents reentering the work-force after an extended period of being at home parents.

6. The immediate commitment to review the investigative powers of the CSA so that both parents are compulsory and adequately supporting their children. Parents, who opt to leave paid employment instead of paying child support, be immediately and effectively punished.

7. We recommend that more affordable care options be made available for single parents who work shift work.

8. In relation to the 2009/10 ABS statistics which confirm that around 1 in 5 children are living in poverty in Australia. We demand a firm commitment from the Government to prioritise single parents, and to elevate the standard of living for children within Australia, now and in the future. If the Government fails to do so this, it is predicted, these figures will dramatically increase.