Labor has seized on renewed calls from the Reserve Bank governor to permanently increase the JobSeeker rate once coronavirus supplements are withdrawn.
Philip Lowe has described lifting the unemployment benefit as a matter of fairness, rather than a macroeconomic issue.
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was both, arguing the reasons to bake in an increase were self-evident.
"It's actually both a fairness issue - it's about making sure people can support themselves while they look for work - but it is also an economic issue," Dr Chalmers said on Thursday.
"There's a lot of shops and small businesses which have done well from the fact people have had more spending power, and so I think it ticks many boxes at once."
Coronavirus supplements worth $150 a fortnight will be withdrawn at the end of March.
Unless the Morrison government intervenes, the dole will then return to as little as $40 a day.
"The government has been delaying giving people a bit of certainty on what the payment looks like after next month, they should do that as soon as possible," Dr Chalmers said.
