It was all the little things, on top of the poverty, that motivated Australian mum Juanita McLaren to make a complaint to the United Nations.
Imagine having to get someone else to provide proof you aren’t shagging anyone on a regular basis and that even if you are, you aren't getting financial support. Your own word isn't good enough any more.There’s a lot that goes wrong for single mums in Australia. They already have difficult lives, managing kids, jobs and life on their own.
McLaren, who has also had to get proof she’s not in a financially-bound relationship in order to be eligible for Newstart, worked full-time when her kids were little. Then her husband, who was the primary carer, left the family and now lives overseas. Benefits were erratic and in one case, took eight weeks to arrive – finally some money arrived on Christmas Eve. She entered the wrong year on a form and was told it couldn’t be corrected over the phone.In some respects, McLaren is fortunate. She’s had steady part-time work for a couple of years now, which is slightly seasonal. She remains registered for Newstart because of the off-season.
“We can afford to be so much better in Australia. . . single mothers do so much with few resources. This complaint is really about saying that we have exhausted all our domestic avenues and now we must elevate it to an international setting.” “No one enjoys going hungry or losing their accommodation. Newstart punishes women who are in precarious work.”A single parent with one, two or three children gets $748.10 a fortnight from parenting payments. The minute the youngest child turns eight, the single parents gets thrown on to Newstart, which is $579.30 a fortnight.
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