The Government has firmly opposed increasing Australia's main unemployment benefit. Defending this position, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg claimed that Newstart was unlike other welfare payments because 90 per cent recipients received other payments such as the Parenting Payment and Rent Assistance. But Mr Frydenberg's claim is not the full story. While almost all Newstart recipients ' 99 per cent ' are receiving another benefit, for the majority the extra amount represents a relatively small addition to their Newstart payment. According to 2017 figures provided by the Department of Social Services (DSS), the majority of Newstart recipients ' 52 per cent ' received so-called "other supplements". This refers to a raft of relatively small additional payments, providing recipients with an extra $14.64 a fortnight, on average. That's around just $1 per day. According to the figures, a further 28 per cent of Newstart recipients received rent assistance on top of "other supplements", giving them, on average, an additional $110 a fortnight. Mr Frydenberg also referred to "the parenting payment". However, the Parenting Payment ' designed to assist the principal carers of young children ' is only available as an alternative to Newstart and not in addition to it. Consequently, Mr Frydenberg is not entitled to claim that Newstart recipients are also receiving the Parenting Payment.
Verdict: Not the full story