Federal Election 2010 - A Single Mother's Guide

Federal Election 2010 –
A Single Mother’s Guide

Bara B | August 20, 2010

It’s Federal Election time, and there are just so many issues that need to be addressed for single mums. The big question is – which party is going to improve the lot of single mothers?

The Council of Single Mothers and their Children (CSMC), those tireless fighters for single mothers interests, have solved the puzzle by sending a questionnaire to each of the major political parties – Labor, Coalition (Liberal,Nationals) and the Greens.

The last response has arrived just in time for the Federal Election and SingleMum has put together a brief summary of the answers. All answers will reflect the EXACT QUESTION only in order to get this article to you in time. Any political hedging around the issues will be ignored. To read each party’s policies in detail, please see the links at the end of the article.

Hopefully, this summary will make it easier for single mothers to see which political parties are going to actively address single-mother-specific problems, and so understand who they should consider voting for for real changes to occur.

Council of Single Mothers and their Children (CSMC)
Federal Election Policy Positions Questionnaire

1. Poverty

a. What plans does your party have to increase income support payments (Newstart
Allowance and Parenting Payment Single) to the same amount as other pensions and when
will these plans be implemented?

Coalition Party Response – NONE
Labor Party Response – NONE
Greens Party Response – YES – will support or implement increases as soon as possible

b. Single mothers already have a high level of participation in the labour market, but to
ensure the care of their children need secure, part-time, family friendly jobs during school
hours. What strategies will your party implement to ensure the increase in supply of these
jobs?

Coalition Party Response – NONE – References to past policies only
Labor Party Response – NONE – References to past policies only
Greens Party Response – NONE – References to past policies only

2. Child Support

a. How will your party ensure that Child support payments are collected on time and in full?

Coalition Party Response – NO References to past policies only
Labor Party Response – YES – covert optical surveillance would permanently form part of the Child Support Agency’s toolkit for investigating serious cases of child support non compliance and fraud
Greens Party Response – YES – the CSA bears the risk of non-compliance by paying support up front and pursuing collection
– More resources to pursue fraud

b. Child Support payments are often reduced as a result of the minimisation of taxable
income. What policies will your party implement (and when) to ensure that Child Support
payments are based on the true financial position of payer parents, and an accurate
assessment of the level of care provided?

Coalition Party Response – NO References to past policies only
Labor Party Response – YES – A new, more accurate, default income arrangement will be introduced that uses a parent’s previous taxable income instead of a lower default income in cases where they have not lodged a tax return
Greens Party Response – YES – More resources to pursue fraud
– Stricter provisions for those failing to declare income or put in a tax return
– Monitoring of the actual level of care provided against that claimed

3. Family Law

a. Despite legislative provisions, serious concern remains regarding the ability of the system
to ensure the safety of women throughout family law proceedings. What measures will
your party take to guarantee women’s safety?

Coalition Party Response – NONE – Introduced and will uphold the Shared Parenting Act
Labor Party Response – YES – currently considering legislative amendments to improve the family law system’s handling of violence cases, whilst maintaining Federal Labor’s commitment to the concept of shared parental responsibility and shared care where it is safe and appropriate
Greens Party Response – YES – develop stronger and more robust measures to guarantee women’s safety

b. What changes will your party be making to the Family Law legislation to guarantee a child’s
best interests, ensuring their right to safety and stability are paramount to all cases? How
will you ensure that the work of all family law practitioners and professionals prioritises the
safety and stability of children?

Coalition Party Response – NONE – Introduced and will uphold the Shared Parenting Act
Labor Party Response – YES – committed to further improve the family law system so that separated families can access the help they need to sort out their parenting arrangements, and in the best interests of the child
Greens Party Response – YES – reversing the changes made to Family Law by the Howard Government and ensuring that the clear incontrovertible obligation in the Act is to guarantee the actual best interests of children

4. Affordable Housing

a. How does your party plan to increase the availability of affordable, secure housing for
single mother families?

Coalition Party Response – MAYBE – ensure appropriate rate of land release from state governments for housing
Labor Party Response – YES – 80,000 more affordable rental homes across Australia particularly for low and moderate income earners
– Funding to build over 21,000 new social housing homes
– Helped to repair more than 70,000 existing dwellings – 10,000 of which would have become unfit for use as housing had repairs not occurred
Greens Party Response – YES – urge the government to supply more affordable rental properties that are appropriate for single parent families
– the only political party that are seeking to ensure that all social housing is energy efficient and located close to public transport, employment and social services

5. Social Inclusion

a. What does your party intend to do to ensure that the one in five families headed by a
single parent feel like valued, respected members of Australian society?

Coalition Party Response – NO – not addressed
Labor Party Response – NO – not addressed
Greens Party Response – MAYBE – intentions addressed, but no firm policy

b. What plans does your party have to remove compulsory Income Management?

Coalition Party Response – NO – Supports current model of Income Management policy
Labor Party Response – NO – Implemented current Income Management policy
Greens Party Response – YES – The Greens are the only party who opposed the introduction of national income management laws

Remember, your vote in this Federal Election is VERY IMPORTANT – single mothers can make a significant impact on the Federal Elections towards improving the conditions of single mothers and their children everywhere in Australia

Source documents:

Original CSMC Questionnaire [PDF]
Coalition Response [PDF]
Labor Response [PDF]
Greens Response [PDF]

Go to the Council of Single Mothers and their Children (CSMC) website

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