Jobs, basic income, home, climate fund and COVID-19 inquiry: Anglicare outlines its election wish list

Alex Mitchell
Feb 21, 2022, updated Feb 21, 2022

Kasy Chambers says fresh ideas are needed and people want leadership with vision and empathy. Photo: AAP

Guaranteeing jobs, a community climate fund and a people’s inquiry into COVID-19 are on Anglicare’s wish list for the coming federal election.

The demands are on the organisation’s Five Ideas Australia Needs Now list along with guaranteeing Australians a basic income and a home.

Pointing to record numbers of Australians being unable to afford a home and struggling to make ends meet after losing their jobs throughout the pandemic, Anglicare’s executive director Kasy Chambers said fresh ideas were needed.

“Within months, Australians will vote in one of the most important elections we have ever faced. Our hope is parties and candidates will sign up to our ideas and work with us to turn them into action,” she said.

“So many people are hungry for ideas. They want leadership with vision and empathy – leadership for everyone.”

The report notes three million Australians are in poverty and one million of those are children, while 77 per cent of Australians support guaranteeing everyone an income above the poverty line.

It adds the jobs guarantee aims to ensure everyone who wants work can get it, allowing them to contribute to their community and earn the “dignity” of paid employment.

“Both the government and opposition say they want full employment … we are calling on all parties to sign on to a jobs guarantee and pledge to build the workforce we need,” Ms Chambers said.

“In 2020, Victoria and the ACT guaranteed jobs to anyone who wanted one. Doing this across the country would transform lives. Creating jobs, not blaming people, is how to get more people into work.”