Dole is boosted for the unemployed This is how much the dole has gone up _ a meagre $4. AUSTRALIA'S poorest people will get a whopping boost of $4 a week thanks to the "battlers' bonus" passed by Parliament yesterday. The income support bonus of $210 a year for singles and $350 for couples will flow out to about 1.4 million people who are already on welfare from March. The SA Council of Social Service says any increases are welcome but that the amount "pales in comparison to the real cost increases that many of these people have been faced with over the past 12 months." "It's obviously a welcome contribution but we should never underestimate how inadequate it will be in challenging the massive increase in expenses that this group of people face," executive director Ross Womersley said. Lobby groups say a $50 increase is needed for people on the dole. Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said the bonus was an insult, and that $4 wouldn't "buy you a cup of coffee." Labor Senator Don Farrell called the bonus "modest" and said budget pressures could not be ignored. The move comes almost 10 years to the day after the Howard Government delivered a small tax cut. At the time, then-family and communities minister Amanda Vanstone asked: "Five dollars, hell, what will it buy you? (A) sandwich and a milkshake if you're lucky. That tax cut was only actually $4. In a speech to Parliament on the Bill earlier this month Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said the payment would help people meet unexpected expenses and would be available to eligible welfare recipients. "We understand that it is very tough to live on unemployment benefits, including but not only the Newstart allowance," he said. The Government is still considering a separate report on the adequacy of the dole.