The Wire

A recent announcement by Tony Abbott means welfare recipients may struggle to meet costs of living in the future. Indexation is a tricky thing that involves tracking different financial factors, such as wages and everyday costs, to calculate how much the cost of living is rising by. It’s also used to calculate how much social welfare payments should rise by every year in order to keep up with these living costs. But the government has indicated that it wants to change how this is done, causing debate over whether or not subjecting the poorest Australians to this tough situation is the right way to go.