Anne Ruston under fire for saying raising Newstart would be gift to drug dealers

Welfare experts accuse social services minister of ‘spreading dangerous lies’ about people on the dole

The social services minister, Anne Ruston, has been accused of being “out of touch” and “spreading dangerous lies” after she said that an increase to the unemployment benefit Newstart would end up in the hands of drug dealers and pub owners.

Cassandra Goldie, the chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, said Ruston should retract the comments, made at a single mother’s forum in the South Australian Liberal stronghold of Barker and reported by the Murray Valley Standard this week.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2n9uWUc