Zoë Wundenberg | JobSeeker stagnation a blow for hopes of better future

Add to this the fact that the PM has also ruled out considering an extension of the fuel excise cut when it ends at September's close, and we can predict increasing fuel bills which will further increase the cost of... well... everything.

But thank God Labor were here to oversee welfare recipients receive the automatic indexation increase of less than $2 a day - that will absolutely cover the shortfall insert eyeroll here.

Last week, Greens senator Janet Rice echoed the idea that, "[poverty] is a political choice", and given that the Labor government have pressed the green button on tax breaks for the rich, one can't help but nod sagely at the quote as it plays out before us in glaring high definition.

PM Albanese said that he "has to make decisions based upon what we can afford", but in reality, it's about priorities - what's more important? Senator Jacqui Lambie certainly thinks this political stance doesn't "pass the pub test" largely due to those tax breaks he can apparently afford to give to the already wealthy.

Let's think about why it's important to spend the money on supporting people living in poverty (beyond the fact that, you know, it's the decent thing to do).

Labor recently hosted a jobs and skills summit, and some good first steps were made with regards to gender equality, disability and opportunities for First Nations people, but nowhere in the outcomes report was there any kind of acknowledgement of the impact of poverty on unemployment and the barriers this experience erects.

When you are living on less than $50 a day, you often have to choose between having something decent to wear, putting petrol in your car/buying a public transport ticket to attend a job interview, and eating food that day. Don't even bother putting the heater on in winter or the air con on in summer - the cost of power and gas make the creature comforts of the 21st century a luxury for the wealthy.

If you get sick, or need expensive tests that you have to have through the public system because private costs are out of this world, this usually results in long wait times (of over a year), which can delay your ability to realistically go to work, but without a diagnosis, you are still expected to undertake mutual obligations and accept a job within your skillset or lose your payment.

Is it any wonder that mental health issues are so common among people experiencing unemployment? When you are in this situation it is easy to feel worthless and with the media still trotting out the tired tropes of "lazy dole bludgers" who need incentive to apply for work, the very country that is meant to have your back can feel the monster stabbing you in it. Even if you apply for a government subsidised mental health plan which provides for a number of subsidised mental health support sessions per year, it doesn't cover the whole cost, with the gap often being equivalent to more than two whole days' allowance, and that's only if you make it that far, with wait lists of six months or more being a common challenge.

So if you don't want to raise JobSeeker, fine. But maybe you could improve accessibility to public and mental health services, make it mandatory for public housing and private rentals to have solar power installed, and make the availability of funding and the purposes of it (such as clothing, transport and even food vouchers) through Workforce Australia providers public knowledge, rather than a hidden quest on this ridiculous political game of life.

Oh and try and avoid equating living in a taxpayer funded mansion with people struggling in public housing. Perhaps it's amusing behind closed doors, but its thoughtless in front of cameras. If the "better future" we were promised, really is for all Australians, perhaps you could start prioritising those who need the most help over those who are doing just fine.