The Budget does very little to ease cost of living pressures for young Tasmanians and provides little relief for Government-procured community service organisations.
We are surprised and disappointed that our government has chosen to leave young Tasmanians aged 18-25 years to flounder as they attempt to live independently in our community.
We are pleased to see funding in today’s Budget to ease cost of living pressures for Tasmanians on low incomes. However, most of the measures will have little to no impact on the lives of young Tasmanians in real terms. Many young people on low incomes, who are not eligible for concession, will miss out on cost of living relief.
We’ve heard many stories from young people as they try to make ends meet, such as rationing food to make it last, going without food to cover utilities, or going without heating to pay the bills. Others cannot afford to access health care, particularly general practitioners who do not offer bulk billing services, or transport to get where they need to go.
Young Tasmanians are telling us that they already feel left behind, and this Budget does little to support our young people to thrive.
The Youth Network of Tasmania (YNOT) works with young people to drive positive change for them in Tasmania with the vision of ensuring all our state’s young people are valued and can achieve anything.