Seven of the 11 candidates who have nominated for the seat of Nicholls in the coming federal election attended the forum at the La Trobe University in Shepparton on Thursday, April 28.
The forum was hosted by Shepparton Community Share Agencies and the La Trobe Rural Health School.
Candidates were pressed on where they stood on social issues, such as family violence, Indigenous affairs, poverty, juvenile incarceration and affordable housing through a series of questions from social workers and students in the field.
Family Care chief executive David Tennant welcomed the opportunity to hear the views of the candidates on issues that strongly impacted many residents in the Goulburn Valley.
“Some of the questions crossed the areas that we do in our day jobs and that are critically important for the clients we work with,” Mr Tennant said.
“There were some things that I was disappointed about, but in the main, having people recognise just how dreadfully difficult it is to live on a low income, particularly if you’re reliant on a benefit income, was useful.”
There are just over 5700 people in Nicholls receiving Newstart/JobSeeker, which the community services sector maintains are struggling to pay for everyday needs, such as housing and food.
“It is not the only benefit income in Australia, but in Shepparton alone we have just over 3000 JobSeeker recipients,” Mr Tennant said.
“Those families live in absolutely critical poverty every day.
“They struggle to do basic things like put a roof over their heads, feed their kids, be fed properly.”
Mr Tennant was disappointed to hear sympathy for the plight of struggling families from candidates, only to realise the parties likely to form government had ruled out an increase in payments.
“It just strikes me as bizarre, when we are all so committed these days to looking and listening to evidence, that we don’t recognise the impacts of poverty and the fact that fixing it is within reach,” he said after the forum.
Labor went to the 2019 election with a commitment to review the level of JobSeeker, but has dumped that policy.
Despite this, the party’s candidate in Nicholls, Bill Lodwick, went against his party’s position to support an increase.
“Yes I support an increase,” he told the forum.
“When (Prime Minister Scott) Morrison was handing out money under JobKeeper, it clearly enhanced peoples’ lives.”
The issue was raised in a question from Cat, a social worker supporting vulnerable families.
She said those families were surviving on payments below the poverty line.
“The COVID-19 pandemic showed that increases in social security payments are possible, and that the outcomes were overwhelmingly positive, not only for those who depend on these payments, but the local economy as well,” she said.
The other major players in the seat — Sam Birrell (Nationals), Rob Priestly (independent) and Steve Brooks (Liberal Party) — all expressed sympathy for an increase in unemployment benefits, but also voiced concerns that it could discourage unemployed people from seeking work.
“I support an increase provided it doesn’t dis-incentivise those who can work from working,” Mr Birrell said.
“If you go and talk to a lot of businesses across the Goulburn Valley, they are desperate for staff and can’t find them.
“If you don’t have the workforce ... then you don’t have money to put into that important safety net.”
An employer himself, Mr Priestly said he supported an increase, but with reforms so people were not discouraged from working by being penalised when they started to earn money.
“It’s important that people in that situation are not dis-incentivised to find work,” he said.
“We’ve got people capable of work and would like to work, but they are dis-incentivised because they go into reduction.
“Yes I do support it and so does everyone. I think most people within the parties support an increase.
“The Business Council of Australia supports it, but we have this strange situation where most people within the parties probably support it, but they don’t do it.”
One of those parties is the Liberal Party and its candidate Steve Brooks said the Coalition Government’s recent increase in unemployment benefits of $50 a fortnight was the largest since 2013 and enough for now.
Mr Brooks said if the issue was looked at in isolation, then he would say “it should be increased”, but insisted there were other factors that must be considered, including the implications for small businesses attempting to hire staff.
“There’s a cost to increasing (unemployment benefits),” he said.
“It’s all good and well to say, ‘Yes’, for other candidates to say, ‘Yes’, because they won’t be accountable for a budget, and that’s a real responsibility.”
Jeff Davy, from the Australian Citizens Party, said he supported an increase, but the only way to fund it would be through major economic reform.
The Australian Greens’ Ian Christoe also backed an increase while Andrea Otto, of the Fusion Party, went further, saying a universal basic income is needed to help lift up the most vulnerable in the community.
