One day, life may be (relatively) smooth, then the next a cascading series of events can lead to a fight to keep a roof over your head. It might be a relationship breakdown, it might be an injury, or you might lose your job - or all three of these things, and then all of a sudden you may be faced with not being able to pay your rent.

Or you will be faced with the impossible choice - food for you and your family or paying the bills.

While for some, we are lucky to have a supportive family who will keep us under their wings until we can get back on our feet.

But that scenario is not true for everyone which is why having access to Newstart and similar payments are so important, particularly for our young people, who are in the stage of their life where they are trying to find their way in the world, outside of the world they lived in with their parents.

However, the inadequacies of Newstart have been thrown in stark relief in recent months, with people from all persuasions sharing their stories of poverty.

A youth report released by Colony47 shows that young people regularly miss meals to meet their financial obligations and a large number of them steal food to survive.

While it's clear that there are benefits to having access to Newstart for young people, there does need to be more structures in place to make sure they are supported in their transition out of the family home.

While money in the form of Newstart is an invaluable thing, support structures and programs to transition people into meaningful employment or housing will go a long way to ensuring that Newstart isn't needed for the long term.

In the meantime though, an increase to the payment would not go astray, an idea that seems universally accepted.

It should not force people to choose between food and power, or heating; nor should it force people to choose between feeding themselves or their kids.

With rising costs of living, it's a no-brainer that emergency income support like Newstart should rise in line with it.