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| Coronavirus Australia live update: 30,000 risk losing jobseeker payment when assets test returns | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Victoria reports 11 new cases and NSW four as Covid testing rates drop across Australia. Follow live | |
| In case you missed it earlier, state governments are preparing for what Daniel Andrews called “a summer like never before” during his press briefing today. | |
| The robodebt saga is rolling on. Here is the latest. | |
| Australian shares ended lower for a third straight day and only just managed to claw their way back from earlier three-month lows. | |
| The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index ended down 41.9 points, or 0.7%, to 5822,6 points on Monday, reports AAP. | |
| It earlier touched a low of 5808.2, its lowest level since end June, on souring technical selling against the backdrop of weak US markets. | |
| The All Ordinaries index fell 44.1 points, or 0.7%, to 6013.5. | |
| The Aussie dollar was buying 73.14 US cents at 16:15 AEST, little changed from 73.15 US cents at the close on Friday. | |
| The Queensland police service has suspended a watch house officer and revealed that an Indigenous woman who died in police custody this month, Sherry Fisher-Tilberoo, was not checked for up to six hours before her body was discovered. | |
| The death prompted two separate Black Lives Matter protests in Brisbane and calls for urgent action to address indigenous deaths in custody. | |
| Assistant police commissioner Brian Codd told reporters this afternoon that an assistant watch house supervisor had been suspended for alleged failure of duty “in relation to the performance of physical checks” and “related record keeping”. | |
| Codd said he understood Fisher-Tilberoo was discovered dead in her cell about 6am. Early indications from the police investigation indicate she was last checked on about midnight. | |
| He said the suspended woman, who is not a sworn police officer, was stood down on full pay. | |
| Anne Ruston has told the ABC about 30,000 people will lose access to the jobseeker payment when the government reapplies the income assets test on 25 September. | |
| The return of the assets test was included as part of several changes announced in July, including the reduction of the coronavirus supplement and the expansion of earnings thresholds. The latter allows people to earn more money from work before their benefits are reduced. | |
| Asked how many people would be affected by the return of the assets test, Ruston said: | |
| There are currently about 1.5 million people receiving the payment. | |
| Read more about the changes here. | |
| Ruston also makes the point that the rate of jobseeker after 25 September (of $815 a fortnight) is still higher than the increases groups such as the Australian Council of Social Services had been calling for before the pandemic. | |
| She says: | She says: |
| Karvelas: How can people on jobseeker make decisions about their financial future if they don’t know what will happen with that payment past December? | Karvelas: How can people on jobseeker make decisions about their financial future if they don’t know what will happen with that payment past December? |
| Ruston says that “if elevated levels of temporary support are required post the end of this year”, the government will make them available. | |
| Karvelas also presses Ruston on whether she believes it is acceptable for the payment to return to $40 a day. | Karvelas also presses Ruston on whether she believes it is acceptable for the payment to return to $40 a day. |
| Ruston starts by saying that in fact many people get supplementary payments, such as family payments and rental assistance. Karvelas interrupts to note that, while true, many still only get the base rate. (We’ve covered that here.) | |
| Ruston doesn’t want to offer a view, saying: | |
| Patricia Karvelas has asked Anne Ruston why the government can’t add a booster payment to jobseeker, which on Friday will be cut by $300 a fortnight. | Patricia Karvelas has asked Anne Ruston why the government can’t add a booster payment to jobseeker, which on Friday will be cut by $300 a fortnight. |
| She notes that Victorians are not required to undertake welfare mutual obligations due to the current lockdown. | She notes that Victorians are not required to undertake welfare mutual obligations due to the current lockdown. |
| Ruston says: | Ruston says: |
| When will a post-31 December decision be made? | When will a post-31 December decision be made? |
| The social services minister, Anne Ruston, is being interviewed on the ABC. | The social services minister, Anne Ruston, is being interviewed on the ABC. |
| Asked why the government’s delayed a decision on the ultimate rate of jobseeker, she says: | Asked why the government’s delayed a decision on the ultimate rate of jobseeker, she says: |
| Nick Coatsworth is asked about a recent recommendation from the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) saying that airborne transmission is one of the ways the virus spreads. | Nick Coatsworth is asked about a recent recommendation from the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) saying that airborne transmission is one of the ways the virus spreads. |
| He says: | He says: |
| He gives the example that while speaking at this press conference, his speech is creating aerosols, “and that aerosol can contain Covid-19”. | He gives the example that while speaking at this press conference, his speech is creating aerosols, “and that aerosol can contain Covid-19”. |
| Coatsworth is asked about the curfew that is still in place in Melbourne. | Coatsworth is asked about the curfew that is still in place in Melbourne. |
| He says it was clearly designed with the intent to restrict movement. He adds: | He says it was clearly designed with the intent to restrict movement. He adds: |
| A few further points here from Coatsworth in response to journalists’ questions. | A few further points here from Coatsworth in response to journalists’ questions. |
| He says there is “no doubt” the low cases numbers “will be provoking some thought on behalf of the Victorian government, about the roadmap and when restrictions can be lifted. | He says there is “no doubt” the low cases numbers “will be provoking some thought on behalf of the Victorian government, about the roadmap and when restrictions can be lifted. |
| Coatsworth is buoyed by the low case numbers in Victoria, but has a message for people there: | Coatsworth is buoyed by the low case numbers in Victoria, but has a message for people there: |
| The deputy chief medical officer, Nick Coatsworth, has just stepped up in Canberra. | The deputy chief medical officer, Nick Coatsworth, has just stepped up in Canberra. |
| Following deaths in Victoria and NSW overnight, he says the nation’s death toll now stands at 851. | Following deaths in Victoria and NSW overnight, he says the nation’s death toll now stands at 851. |
| Community mental health is becoming a major factor for Victoria police as the state struggles with coronavirus lockdown fatigue. | Community mental health is becoming a major factor for Victoria police as the state struggles with coronavirus lockdown fatigue. |
| The chief commissioner, Shane Patton, has also acknowledged that their reputation has taken a hit in the past few days, with one officer stood down after video of an arrest at Epping showed a man being hit by a police car and apparently stomped on the head. | The chief commissioner, Shane Patton, has also acknowledged that their reputation has taken a hit in the past few days, with one officer stood down after video of an arrest at Epping showed a man being hit by a police car and apparently stomped on the head. |
| Officers were dealing with mental health issues more frequently during the state’s second wave, Patton said, according to AAP. | Officers were dealing with mental health issues more frequently during the state’s second wave, Patton said, according to AAP. |
| He told 3AW: | He told 3AW: |
| Just returning to the remarks of the social services minister, Anne Ruston, a little earlier. | Just returning to the remarks of the social services minister, Anne Ruston, a little earlier. |
| Ruston made the important point that people who receive the jobkeeper wage subsidy can also apply to access a top-up jobseeker payment from 28 September. | Ruston made the important point that people who receive the jobkeeper wage subsidy can also apply to access a top-up jobseeker payment from 28 September. |
| That’s important because the jobkeeper subsidy is falling from $1,500 a fortnight to $1,200 for full-timers and $750 a fortnight for people considered part-time workers. | That’s important because the jobkeeper subsidy is falling from $1,500 a fortnight to $1,200 for full-timers and $750 a fortnight for people considered part-time workers. |
| The jobseeker top-up will take a person’s income support to either $1,476 a fortnight or $1,295 a fortnight. | The jobseeker top-up will take a person’s income support to either $1,476 a fortnight or $1,295 a fortnight. |
| But here is an important point: anyone on jobkeeper who applies for jobseeker will be subject to mutual obligations from 28 September. | But here is an important point: anyone on jobkeeper who applies for jobseeker will be subject to mutual obligations from 28 September. |
| A spokesperson for the Department of Employment confirmed this to the Guardian last week, saying: | A spokesperson for the Department of Employment confirmed this to the Guardian last week, saying: |
| This means even if you have a job and are on jobkeeper, you will be required to search for up to eight jobs a month if you want to get the jobseeker top-up. | This means even if you have a job and are on jobkeeper, you will be required to search for up to eight jobs a month if you want to get the jobseeker top-up. |
| And if you are offered a job, you will need to take it or your jobseeker payments will be stopped. | And if you are offered a job, you will need to take it or your jobseeker payments will be stopped. |