FEDERAL MP Dr Helen Haines (MHR, Indi) has criticised the Federal Government’s decision to cut the effective rate of JobSeeker by $100 a fortnight from April 1.

Dr Haines met with Senator Anne Ruston, the Minister for Social Services, to express her disappointment in the changes, which include increasing the rate of working-age payments by $50 a fortnight from April 1.

An increase to the income-free earnings to $150 per fortnight for JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance will also occur from the beginning of April.

Almost 7000 people rely on JobSeeker in the electorate of Indi - up 66 per cent since March last year.

“That is 2000 additional people in my electorate alone who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic who will now be scraping by on $44 a day,” Dr Haines said.

In Mansfield, 380 people relied on JobSeeker in January, compared to 213 at the beginning of the pandemic - a 78 per cent increase.

Dr Haines also pointed to data from realestate.com.au which showed the average cost of a two-bed rental in Mansfield was $49 a day.

She said the JobSeeker changes will impact residents who were “trying to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and look for work at the same time".

“Parents who, for the first time, as a result of the temporary coronavirus payments, were able to put fresh fruit in their kids’ lunchboxes or offer some after school activities, will now be rethinking what they can afford,” Dr Haines said.

“After the government asked so much of Australians to help them get through the pandemic, it was truly disappointing the government did not embed a meaningful permanent rise in the JobSeeker rate.”

Many businesses in Indi have told Dr Haines they were keen to bring on more workers but the lack of affordable accommodation for workers and difficulty finding people with the right skills was a challenge.

“By sending the most vulnerable Australians back under the poverty line, this cut does nothing to solve these real challenges,” she said.

“And we know that when we lift the rate of JobSeeker, people spend that money in local businesses.

“This cut will rip $1.4 million a month out of small businesses in Indi – that’s less money in the till right at the worst possible time.”

Dr Haines said supporting the economic recovery and our fellow citizens were not mutually exclusive, and called on the government to “be real about both, and rethink this cut".

However, Liberal Senator for Victoria Jane Hume said the changes enhanced the social security safety net by increasing support for unemployed Australians while strengthening their obligations to search for work.

“The package announced today is the single biggest increase in unemployment benefits since 1986 with a $50 per fortnight increase,” Senator Hume said.