Advocates push to raise unemployment benefit

Unemployed Australians and social welfare advocates are making a renewed push to raise the rate of Newstart allowance. It comes following the government's pledge to cut deeming rates for pensioners.

A man walks past a Centrelink branch in Melbourne Source: AAP

Around 800,000 unemployed Australians are living on around $40 a day with the Newstart allowance remaining the same for the past 25 years. But calls are growing to raise it by  $75 a week to keep up with rising living costs.

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