Across Australia, families are facing a cost of living crisis and more people than ever are turning to food relief services.
Greens questioning during Senate estimates this morning revealed that there is no new funding planned for Australian food relief services. This, when the services are already struggling to meet growing demand after their additional covid funding ceased.
Senator Janet Rice said:
“In a week where we’ve heard devastating stories of families struggling to put food on the table, the Government has admitted they have no plans for new funding for food relief services.
“We’re in a cost of living crisis and more Australians than ever before are relying on food relief services like Foodbank to put food on the table.
“The Government is failing to adequately fund food relief, leaving a shortfall of millions and have now revealed they are not committed to any more funding.
“The additional funding that food relief providers need to help struggling Australians is just 0.22% of the billions of dollars going to the ultra wealthy and politicians via stage 3 tax cuts.
“If income support payments were raised above the poverty line, many people would no longer have to rely on emergency food relief services.
“Poverty is a political choice. Labor is choosing to keep people in poverty on starvation payments and then won’t even adequately fund the charities that are the last resort for people in need.”
