Payrise for dole makes sense
Last week, CSR closed a Sydney factory and made 150 people redundant. This was not caused by the carbon price, the mining tax or our industrial relations laws. The simple fact is that the high exchange rate that accompanies our mining boom has made many manufacturers uncompetitive. How much income support should they receive? How much is enough to raise a family on when you are between jobs? While the superannuation industry is fond of saying that it takes $50,000 tax-free a year to retire comfortably, at present in Australia the unemployed are expected to live on the annual equivalent of just $12,800, possibly augmented by some rent assistance to a maximum of $3146 per annum.
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