Single mother-headed households are consistently the poorest household type in Australia, and the Women’s Policy Action Tank has published many analyses that illuminate their dire situation. In today’s analysis, Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children provide us with a piece full of hope and excitement, detailing how the temporary rise in welfare payments have changed lives and provided hope.

The pandemic has changed the fabric of all of our lives. In my world I am talking every day to women who are heading up a sole parent family and whose life journey was therefore already very complex. In addition to the labour and emotional toil of sole parenting she may be also pushing back against hardship which for many includes housing stress, financial insecurity, the non-payment or volatility of child support, and all too often in the context of domestic violence. As we know separation for women does not unlock the safety key and the economic distress lingers for years.

Many single mothers and their children have had a weight lifted from them recently, thanks to the increase in payments in response to COVID-19.

COVID-19 brought to the fore the gender dynamics. I know of women who either had a compromised immune system or cared for a child with one. They could not wait for the self-isolation bell to sound, they needed to seek the sanctuary of their home. Earnings from paid work were forgone, and even if it was casual and low paid, it made the difference to the juggling that occurs in a tight household budget. Perhaps a loss of the payment of a mobility allowance with increased cost associated with home-schooling and whilst panic buying denied access to sale items. With no payment increase despite ongoing advocacy, women in receipt of the Disability Support Pension and the Carers Allowance must feel invisible. A bleak picture is emerging for women on temporary visas. I am currently working with a single mother on a VISA 500 who has a 13-year-old son. The changes to COVID 19 allowed her to access her small superannuation, but instead of using the money for her household expenses she responded to the constant pressure from her College and paid their fees. Like many, her Visa prohibits any income support and the college is not playing fair.

A world of contrast

Stay with me, the story gets amazing. It is this world of contrast that I am straddling. For the first time I am witness to the magic of what can occurs when people are afforded the chance to take a break from the daily grind of financial hardship. They can catch their breath, catch a break, and turn their life around. This has happened for people in receipt of the payments that attracted the extra $550 per fortnight. It was a deliberate and welcomed action by the Government. It is simple economics – put the money in the hands of those who are at breaking point and it will be spent. Saving was never on their radar. Before the bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic and the Supplement was introduced. Shockingly in the recent poverty report released by ACOSS and UNSW shows the very high rates of poverty for children in Australia - nearly half (44%) of the children in sole parent families lived in poverty. For these families and their children, this boost in family income was a lifesaver.

Our Silver Lining

*Single mothers share photos of what has been filling them with joy while they receive the COVID-19 payment supplements.*

We want to share what this increase has meant to single mothers. 550 Reasons to smile was an organic name; it captured the spirit, the essence of this silver lining and nothing is more real than the truth. I started to get pictures from women whose constant companion was hardship but this time these pictures were telling a different story. I got photos of winter PJs, a full grocery shop which included fresh fruit and vegetables. I was trusted with pictures of children who smiles told me that they knew that something good was happening, they were getting differing food and this time mum was eating with them, there was enough for all. We needed a platform that could tell this story, the magic needed to be shared, we wanted to reach the community, we wanted media attention and we wanted to reach the Government. We also wanted to give a space for people living in hardship, some of the best money managers out there, to “tell it like it is” but with a narrative that included dignity and hope. We needed to combat the offensive prejudice and mean-spirited and singular. A couple of media articles We now have a proportion of Australians who are living proof. The pictures tell a compelling and powerful reality. The latest media articles from Mamamia have spoken about the campaign being spearheaded by myself and Nikita Radford, a Masters of Public Health candidate at Flinders University, and we will take that phrase. Now let us invite you into our world.

In a a survey commissioned by the National Council of Single Mothers & their Children Inc and in response to the question, ‘How has the extra $550 affected you?

Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) said it reduced stress and anxiety as we can now pay our household bills.
Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) said our family is healthier due to having enough food to eat and healthier options.
Nearly 2 in 3 (65%) say they are sleeping better, not waking up due to money stress.

Furthermore, access to dental work was such a recurring theme that I wrote to the Australian Dental Association. Surely they should know about their ‘first time’ patients.

Unequivocally, the rate increase, for those who receive it, has had the most powerful and immediate impact, and there is a growing chorus to keep it. As a country we are deficient at responding to domestic violence. We under-value care, whilst low and insecure pay is not enough to pay for the basics. Women are now showing, with pride, how they have exercised their newly-experienced choices and options. I read the messages and imagine what would happen if we just took the unbelievably expensive stick away that is central to employment programs and replaced it with a true safety net. We will know more in just a few days’ time, when the Government hands down its economic statement on 23 July.

Hope is a powerful force and it’s time for the government to turn this from a supplement into an ongoing payment that gives single mothers and their children the opportunity to meet their basic needs and build a better future.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Please Note:

The Federal Government is expected to make announcements in the 23 July Economic Statement on the future of the Coronavirus Supplement of $550 per fortnight currently paid on top of JobSeeker, Parenting Payment Single and a further 8 income support payments including Farm Household Allowance. Data released to the Senate COVID-19 Committee on 7/7/20 shows the number of people receiving unemployment payments has increased by 100% from 813,721 in December 2019 to 1.6 million at 26/6/20. The number of people receiving the Coronavirus Supplement was more than 2.24 million at 26/6, including around a quarter of a million parents receiving the Parenting Payment Single who have children aged under 8 years - as well as many thousands of parents with older children who receive the JobSeeker payment.
The 1 million children figure is a conservative estimate based on analysis by Anti-Poverty Week as the Government does not release this figure in its regular reporting on income support payments. Contact Toni Wren for the assumptions used.
327 parents responded to the NCSMC survey which opened in late May. These results reflect responses received to 2 July. The survey is not intended as a nationally representative sample but rather to provide a snapshot of the impact on families receiving it.
Before the bushfires and COVID-19, two in five parents who relied on income support also worked part-time. Many of these, especially sole parents, will have lost their jobs involuntarily or given up part-time work due to the need to protect themselves or their children for exposure to the virus. Their chances of finding work again will be low as they compete with large numbers of people who have also become unemployed or lost hours. See also Anti-Poverty Week 2019 Fast Fact: Child Poverty in Australia

This post is part of the Women's Policy Action Tank initiative to analyse government policy using a gendered lens. View our other policy analysis pieces here.

Posted by @SusanMaury

550 Reasons to Smile: Why single mothers are so happy these days