And that's just one small part of the problem facing those living in poverty, articulated with passion by Tasmanian social support organisations on Friday.

Take speaker Deb, for example. Like for many older workers, when a factory closure caused her to be made redundant after 35 years, it was impossible to find a new job. As Colony 47 found, well over 90 per cent of their clients are desperate to find work, and almost none are happy with their situation.

Workers are never responsible for the economic conditions that lead to job losses. The unemployed are not responsible for the dozens of jobseekers for every job in Tasmania.

But Australia seems to think that they are at fault. That's the only conclusion that can be drawn from the country's punitive treatment of the unemployed - and the paltry level of Newstart is the perfect case in point.

It's meant to rise with the consumer price index, but when the CPI has risen 46 per cent since 2004, and average rentals in Tasmania have risen 141 per cent - let alone rises in other essential living expenses like power and fuel - then it's not hard to see why so many are feeling crushed.

Or why so many are finding themselves homeless. Strike It Out Inc sees up to 100 homeless people each week in Launceston seeking emergency food as they prepare for another night out in the cold.

Tasmanian Liberal senator Wendy Askew says Newstart is "a safety net for people while they are looking for work" and that "it is not designed to be a wage replacement payment".

But when Newstart is so low that people are going without food, without healthcare, without transport, how can they be expected to lift themselves out of poverty?

Add in a Centrelink system increasingly privatised through Serco, and it's hard to see how the unemployed wouldn't feeling dehumanised. Just raise the rate - it's a drop in the ocean for the government.