Carers live on less than minimum wage

LOUISA RUST

For Albion Park Rail resident Anne Murray, life took a drastic turn when her 15-year-old son, Joseph, suffered brain damage as the result of a heart attack.

Working full time when the incident occurred, Ms Murray quit her job and became the full time carer for Joseph, now aged 25.

Like most carers, Ms Murray received a shock earlier this month when she learnt the Federal Government’s annual $1600 carer bonus might have been on the chopping block.

The government had refused to deny newspaper reports the $1600 annual one-off carer bonus would be replaced with a $500 utilities allowance in the next budget, leaving carers worse off financially.

The news was met with an outcry from angry carers and the public, and was criticised by the opposition.

However, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last week ended the uncertainty by assuring carers and elderly Australians the government would not be scrapping their annual bonuses.

“The bonus is appreciated by people who get it,” Ms Murray said.

“You have no idea unless you actually have to live the life (of a carer). For people who earn a lot, $1600 is not much, but it’s a big deal to people who are not earning a lot of money.

“I had a really good job when my son had the heart attack, but I chose to be a carer because I didn’t want to put my son into care. If my son wasn’t disabled I would be working full time and wouldn’t be taking a cent off them.”

Ms Murray said while she received help from her family and friends, many carers needed more funding and services.

CEO of Carers Australia, Ms Joan Hughes, said the recent situation highlighted deficiencies in the carer support system.

“We are obviously very pleased that Mr Rudd has given carers certainty on this issue,” she said.

“But in a practical sense it doesn’t leave carers any better off than they were before all this began.

“Urgent reform is needed to support carers financially. Carers who receive both the carer payment and the carer allowance, as well as the associated bonuses, are still living off around $200 a week below the federal minimum wage.”