TREASURER Josh Frydenberg has made his first concession after delivering his federal budget on Tuesday night.
Speaking on ABC Radio National on Wednesday morning, Mr Frydenberg said the energy assistance payment announced for age pensioners, carers, disability support pensioners, single parents, veterans and war widows would now be extended to Newstart recipients.
While the $75 payment for singles ($125 for couples) will no doubt be welcome, it will do little to help the 185,000 people aged over 55 struggling to survive on the allowance.
The move follows stiff criticism from seniors' advocacy groups on the budget's neglect of Newstart recipients.
"A miserly omission" is how Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association policy manager Paul Versteege described the situation.
"There are 185,000 people over 55 trying to survive on Newstart," Mr Versteege said.
"Most will never work again and will be living in poverty until pension age, when a slightly better kind of poverty kicks in."
People on Newstart receive $538.80 per fortnight, compared to single age pensioners who receive a base rate of $843.60 per fortnight.
While acknowledging the one-off payment will help pensioners with cost of living pressures, National Seniors had proposed the government reinstate indexation of the energy supplement.
"This would have cost about $30 million a year - compared to the $280 million in this year's budget - but would have made a real difference to all pensioners who have been hardest hit by escalating energy prices," said the organisation's chief advocate Ian Henschke.
Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates renewed the call by his group and others for the government to increase Newstart by $75 a week.
"There are more unemployed workers between 55 and 64 than any other group of Australians and they receive Newstart income support payments longer than any other group as well," Mr Yates said.
"Older workers face chronic age discrimination in the workforce, which means finding work after 50 is far more difficult, particularly in industries where workforce needs have changed over the decades."
He said $40 a day, or $15,000 a year, was "just not enough to survive on while people are actively seeking to return to the workforce".
"The inadequacy of Newstart contributes to undermining Australia's retirement system and setting older workers up for poverty in retirement," Mr Yates said.
"We need to review the assets test for Newstart for people over the age of 50, as well as the rate."
Read more: Budget's Newstart omission a 'travesty'
