THE ACT government has rejected calls from the Opposition to establish a poverty taskforce to tackle the rising rate of Canberrans living in poverty, blaming the problem on the federal government. 

Assistant minister for families and community services Emma Davidson said a poverty taskforce would delay action and divert resources from initiatives that address the root causes of poverty in the ACT, before she placed the blame on the federal government.

She stressed that the big levers controlling poverty in Canberra are held by the Morrison Government, and called for increased welfare payments, funding primary healthcare through the Medicare Benefits Scheme and funding for the Specialist Homelessness Sector.

“The federal government has control of many programs and schemes which significantly impact the extent of poverty and social inclusion in Canberra,” Ms Davidson said.

When rejecting Ms Lee’s motion for a local taskforce, Ms Davidson also stated that the government has developed a wealth of knowledge and robust longitudinal research which identifies the causes of poverty in Canberra and practical solutions.

It’s a move that Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has since slammed, saying: “If that is the case why are we in this situation right now.

“Over 38,000 Canberrans including 8000 children are living in poverty in the ACT and we have government ministers saying there is no need for a taskforce because they know exactly what the causes are and what the reasons are.”

Through the Labor/Greens parliamentary agreement, Ms Davidson said the government has committed to addressing poverty in Canberra, and will do so though plans to review and increase funding for the community sector, and to account for Canberra’s growing population, demand, complexity of community needs and costs of service delivery.

Following the rejection of the taskforce, Chief Minister Minister Barr moved that all three parties co-sign a letter to the Morrison Government, calling on them to revoke their decision to throw almost 20,000 Canberrans into poverty by ending the JobSeeker supplement.