Amid the cost-of-living crisis, a growing chorus of Labor MPs are calling for the government to raise the rate of jobseeker – currently sitting at $50 a day. South-west Sydney MP, Michael Freelander, says people on the payment are ‘struggling to cope with even the most basics of life in a modern society’. Freelander speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the groundswell of support within Labor for raising the rate and why he believes change will occur within the year