Media Releases

Un(der)employed People's Movement
against Poverty Inc.

Phone (08) 8352 4950,                 e-mail here

Media releases for the year 2002

Government’s First Response to McClure Report equals Community Service Orders for non-offenders

26/9/01

(More info on topic: Australians Working Together, Attachment to #11 Fact Sheet: "Table of Requirements" http://www.together.gov.au/GovernmentStatement/FactSheets/FS11attach.asp)

The Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed and the Un(der)employed People’s Movement against Poverty Inc. in Adelaide are disappointed that the Commonwealth Government program "Australians Working Together" effectively criminalises job seekers who have committed no crime and are doing nothing more than the Government tells them to do. ANOU Spokesperson, Kevin Brennan said today, "What we have here is hundreds of millions of dollars of public money being spent on an alleged ‘Self-Help’ program containing requirements that any reasonable person would describe as mandatory sentencing, community service orders and parole-like surveillance." Mr Brennan issued a challenge to the whole Australian community to thoroughly examine the Fact Sheet called "Attachment to 11" in the Government’s kit. "This sheet is a table of requirements, some of which are provisions that are significantly heavier than the penalties applied to people found guilty in a court of law, yet the people they apply to have done nothing but comply with the Government’s already overly enthusiastic requirements." "If this new program goes ahead, job seekers of all ages, from 18 to 50+, will be regarded by the public system as worse than offenders", Mr Brennan said. According to the Government, this is the latest ‘self-help’ thinking. "If you are found guilty by a court and your sentence is a community service order of 240 hours, when you complete those hours, you are regarded as having paid your debt to society. Not so for job seekers: their 240-hour community service order is recurrent. They will have to do it at least once a year, yet they have committed no crime nor have they done anything wrong." "And what is perhaps equally offensive, much of the work these conscripts will do is work that, until the Coalition came to office in 1996, was paid community work. They cut the funding to community organisations and then turn the work into work-for-the-dole projects and the new community service orders for non-offenders – and pay people to place job seekers into those positions", Mr Brennan said. And Monika Baker, Secretary of UPM against Poverty adds: "The previous mutual obligation of volunteering already created a two class volunteer system, now we have a two class community service (work) system. Only this time the unemployed are the second class community workers behind proven guilty offenders. This is clearly another example of the criminalisation of poverty in Australia, which is build on the American example of welfare reform." "I wonder how community groups and welfare agencies will react when they hear about the compliance surveillance structures they have to put their 'former volunteers' under. Which community services organisation wants to be the cause of their volunteers income reduction or even breach? Agencies will have to inform the Community Work Co-ordinators when their volunteers on unemployment benefits show up too late for work or don't bring a medical certificate for missing a morning because their child was sick. Will they notify Centrelink? We call on these organisations to boycott the government's scheme to eliminate volunteering for the unemployed." The ANOU calls on all fair-minded Australians to look beyond the smarmy rhetoric of this program and demand that it be stopped. "If so-called ‘mutual obligation’ is to be this severe, it MUST become the penalty imposed on people found guilty of a crime in a bona fide legal process," Mr Brennan said.

CENTRELINK’S AND MINISTER ANTHONY’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST

"Breaching has destroyed many people’s life!

It is unfair to impose a fine of $ 840.- for not having received a letter! We have met several people who have become homeless as a result of their breaches. One young person suffered frequent epileptic seizures and slept through two arranged interviews with her job network provider. She got breached twice within two weeks. No one spoke to her, if someone would have made an effort to find out why, she would have told them what had happened. She believed, she would not be helped, if she admitted that she had health problems. “

Monika Baker, Convener of the National Organisation of the Unemployed and Secretary of South Australia’s Un(der)employed People’s Movement against Poverty Inc. is passionate about the unfairness of breaching:

“Everyday I am confronted with the consequences of this inhumane policy of ‘mandatory poverty’ – three strikes and you are out!” “It may be true that ACOSS may have originally agreed to this policy and the harsh punitive measures, as Larry Anthony stated on the 7:30 Report with Kerry O’Brien on Monday night. That would most probably have occurred as a result of being presented with far worse alternatives, in other words, they must have been pressured into this ‘agreement’

. “No welfare organisation can maintain their support for these measures. It costs welfare organisations in the States and Territories tenfold the amount of what the Commonwealth Government saves through their cruel withholding of social security benefits. Studies released by one of the bigger charities has shown that it costs $10.000 to rehabilitate a homeless person, a person who has become homeless as a result of the Commonwealth saving around $1.600.- in withheld benefits . Including repayment of debts occurred as a result of the previously reduced benefits and costs to relatives and friends feeding the person and their family, the costs must be at least tenfold to the community. Why would anyone support that?”

UPM against Poverty calls for an independent inquiry into the practice of breaching and supports Shadow Minister Cheryl Kernot’s call for an independent monitoring body for the Job Network.

“We don’t believe that Centrelink can investigate its own procedures in regards to third breaches in the light of Centrelink’s service agreement with the Department for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business. Reducing breaching might lead to the loss of millions of dollars to Centrelink, because too many breaches recommended by the job network could be overturned by Centrelink as a result of the review.

David Rigney, chair of UPM against Poverty demands : “There is a massive conflict of interest here. We want clarity and an end to ‘happy sheet surveys’ DEWRSB is conducting to show how well the Job Network works. Let’s hear from the unemployed! We want independent inquiries into Centrelink’s breaching and the job network performance. And we demand that un- and underemployed people are paid to participate in this review as consultants and observers. We want the truth and an end to our exploitation!”

May 23, 2001

The Un(der)employed People's Movement against Poverty Inc. is deeply disappointed with the welfare reform introduced in the recent Budget.

"There is nothing in it for long term unemployed people, for young people or for single parents. The re-introduction of a $1000.- credit earning scheme (allowing to earn $24.- per week before benefits are reduced) is not good enough to alleviate the acute poverty experienced by long term unemployed people." stated David Rigney, chairperson of UPM against Poverty Inc.

Although leaks indicated big investments in welfare reform, the spending and investment has largely been on pacifying the older generation with lifting the need to use superannuation payments before retirement age and the $300.- once off for aged pensioners. The big windfall has been to people with income, self funded retirees, which UPM against Poverty Inc. does not object to.

The only real welfare reform lies in the abolition of the opportunity to volunteer as one of the ways to satisfy mutual obligation requirements. Instead everyone, including people with a disability, will be assessed as to whether they are able to participate in part time work, community work and if under 39 years of age they have the unique opportunity to work for the Dole.

David Rigney, who is one of the long term, older unemployed statistics, has worked as an unpaid advocate for many years, while maintaining his futile job search activities. "We will see great changes indeed, anyone using volunteers, who are unemployed will be forced to participate in Work for the Dole or Community Work schemes. These organisations will have to inform on their previous volunteers, if they don't turn up for work or are late for work. Previously mutually obligated volunteers will lose the right to leave their place of volunteering, if things don't work out. Volunteer co-ordinators will become the agents of Centrelink in the breaching business, through service agreements between the Community Work Co-ordinators with DEWRSB, similar to Job Network Providers. Although they claim that they do not directly breach their clients, they recommend the breaches to Centrelink."

Case management practices will be tightened and 'sit-down money' and 'hand-outs' is a thing of the past. Unemployed people up to 39 years of age will be forced to undertake job search training, if they fail to get a job within three months. Minister Abbott made it perfectly clear, with his smug grin, that just the prospect of participating in these extreme boring and endlessly repeated Job Search Training progams drives people into jobs. This is one of his employment figure fudging tricks, as he keeps silent about the time it takes Centrelink to get people into job search training, which is sometimes up to four months. It can be expected that at least 10 % of unemployed people find their jobs without help of the Job Network before they get to a job search program.

The seamless sequencing of services, Tony Abbott's wish to 'walk hand in hand ' with the 'incapable job seekers', reeks of control, surveillance, intrusion into the privacy of unemployed people. To force people who are looking for a job into 240 hours of unpaid work in exchange for a handout does nothing to address real job creation. Why not pay unemployed people for the hours, it would amount to the same income for them, yet give them some dignity!

Nothing has been done in the budget to address the unfair breaching system, which amounts to mandatory poverty and is now being extended to single mothers. People on social security benefits pay a higher fine for forgetting an appointment than if they would steal a car. Getting caught doing crime is cheaper than receiving government benefits, it seems. These fines are only imposed on the unemployed, who certainly have not created the large job losses. Yet they are placed under surveillance, financially and morally punished and held responsible for being unable to find paid employment.

Monika Baker, single parent of a thirteen year old, remarks: "75% of single parents already participate in study or the workforce why can the 25% not chose to stay at home with their young adults, as for example partnered mothers can? It is just a plot to breach single parents and, I guess in the future, people with disabilities. If the government can reduce their pension entitlements or even withhold them for eight weeks, they save money, and these savings are indicated in the budget.. This can happen, if people do not receive letters from Centrelink or miss meetings without a medical certificate. Already disadvantaged children will be pushed further into poverty as a result of these extremely mean spirited and unfair policies."

It is appalling that a former Minister for Justice is suggesting to extend this punitive measure to single parents. Will she provide emergency shelters for all the evicted single parent families?

UPM against Poverty Inc. call on all fair minded Australians to oppose all existing punitive measures and Minister Abbott's and Vanstone's draconian proposals to force single parent pensioners, the unemployed and the community organisations, who rely on unemployed volunteers, into this kind of one sided mutual obligation.

When will the Ministers get breached for failing to provide a social security network to all Australians and not just the rich?

May 21, 2001

Australia's long term unemployed are once again alienated and concerned about Minister Abbott's recent appearance on Lateline (ABC TV, 17 May) and his recent speech at the Jobs Australia Conference.

All indications lead to the assumption that mutual obligation will be extended to older job seekers, job seekers will be 'constantly engaged, services better sequenced and resources 'carefully' targeted to certain sorts of job seekers: "We are going to try to address the gaps in the system to make sure that people are always engaged, that sit-down money - that old concept of sit-down money - is finally banished from our system.." were Tony Abbott's words in his interview. "We are trying to ensure that unemployment in the old sense of going on the dole and just disappearing is just banned. .. It's no more. … It's a thing of the past. And this is an expensive investment, believe me."

The members of Un(der)employed People's Movement against Poverty Inc. fear, that after many years of volunteering, intensive job search, training and education their members have undertaken to find work in SA, and many years of experience in the workforce, they will now have invite the staff of Job Network Providers into their lounge. Tony Abbott is taking over the lives of those older long term unemployed.

The expensive investment can not only lie in the fact of receiving an $ 800.00 training bonus, or better case management, rumour has it, the most expensive investment lies in tighter surveillance and compliance management.

"It is about time to see the income bank be re-introduced, and the additional funding for people in Work for the Dole projects, but watch carrefully for the savings in the welfare budget, how much of the savings estimated to occur will come from breaching, how much money is actually allocated for welfare reform, which does not come out of the money they expect to save through breaching?" And Monika Baker, secretary of UPM against Poverty and convener of the National Organisation of the Unemployed continues with an appeal to all Australians:

"Watch out for the thousand new Centrelink staff, are they getting trained to ensure compliance for all unemployed? More places in Community Support Programs are welcomed, but will these programs truly overcome the greatest barrier long term unemployed experience: ageism and the lack of adequate employment levels? I don't think so, our members fear that Tony Abbotts Statement indicate, greater intrusion, greater control over our lives, more opportunities to fail and the increasing enslavement of the workforce into jobs, the government does not want to fund."

UPM against Poverty calls out to the wider community to insist on a fair Welfare Reform Package, which truly creates jobs and opportunities and recognises that mutual obligation has to be mutual if any change is to be achieved for Australia's young and older long term unemployed.

Welfare Reform affects us all, the consequence is a loss of rights for all, loss of privacy, loss of free choice, loss of basic working conditions, lowering of wages at the bottom of the scale and loss of viable communities.

Please object to these harsh absolutely un-Australian system.

March 14, 2001

We urge the government to reconsider the proposed withdrawal of the 2% advance payment given to social security recipients as part of the GST compensation package in July 2000. That is, social security recipients should receive the full 4% increase in the CPI, to which they would normally be entitled on March 20.

We represent the most financially vulnerable Australians, who were promised that they would not be worse off as a result of the GST. We fear that people will be worse off if the full 4% CPI indexation is not delivered on 20 March.

Already many pensioners and allowees are expressing concern and confusion over the impact that the proposed 2% reduction in their indexation payment will have on their income at a time when they are finding their incomes particularly stretched. The best available estimates of the effect of the taxation reform package on social security recipients suggests that the net result of price increases flowing from the GST and the compensation paid in July 2000 is close to 'line ball'. This means that large numbers of recipients are likely to be worse off, due to their particular saving and spending patterns.

Single people, people who live off their savings or borrowings and people with large petrol or electricity bills, are especially vulnerable. Providing the full CPI indexation would go some way towards ensuring that there is enough margin for error and to prevent situations where many households are worse off.

Our estimates suggest that this would cost approximately $1 billion in a full financial year, of which a third is about equal to estimates of the revenue to be gained from taxing trusts like companies . Also, the narrow margin of error in compensation for social security recipients stands in stark contrast to the position of high income earners (over $60,000 per annum). High income earners received a tax cut of $62.00 per week which in many cases, provided more than double the compensation they need. To date, they have also been spared a crackdown on the abuse of trusts for tax avoidance purposes.

We therefore urge the Commonwealth Government to maintain the 2% advance payment to Social Security recipients and to proceed with vigorous action to crack down on the abuse of trusts to avoid tax.

Signatories

Michael Raper;  President, Australian Council of Social Service Australian Pensioners and Superannuants Foundation

Denys Correll;  Council on the Ageing (Australia)

Elspeth McInnes;  National Council of Single Mothers and Their Children

TBC National Welfare Rights Network

TBC National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations

Kevin Brennan;  Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed

David Henderson;   National Union of Students

TBC Carers Association of Australia

December 27, 2000

UPM against Poverty congratulates Senator Amanda Vanstone to her new Portfolio and welcomes the new Minister for Family and Community Services. As the new Minister it will be your responsibility to implement Welfare Reform, which we hoped to be able to announce in this newsletter.

We can only suspect that the reasons for not outlining any details are to do with uncertainty within government ranks about how to move forwards.

All welfare recipients like to give something back to society, we are not against mutual obligation. We would like to be able to give something back, we would like to get our busfares renumerated when we show up for our volunteer jobs, we would like to be offered training and career opportunities as volunteers. Most of us, who feel able bodied enough would love to work in a job, which gives us a decent income and does not undermine other workers’ rights and conditions.

Amongst all groups of the population, rich or poor, are bludgers. Rorting the system is not limited to people on Social Security benefits, yet the need to do so is certainly much greater than for someone on an annual income above $ 40.000. And lying, as you know yourself, is not just perpetrated by the bludgers. And us 'bludgers' her in SA have a good memory about your time as Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

We assume, Minister, that you are a fair minded person. Your passion for justice has been obvious over the past few years and we have all benefited, even if you did not get Christopher Chase to come back.

We now ask you to apply the same justice and fair mindedness to the Family and Community Services Portfolio.

As outlined above, most un– and underemployed people are happy to contribute to society in return for their social security benefits. Australia’s GDP would be 50% higher if volunteer contributions would be included. 264 000 new Work for the Dole places would cost the Nation around one billion dollars if minimum wages were paid to those workers. So our contribution is already significant. Many sole parents and people with disability also are returning whatever they can, given the chance and support they need.

We ask you therefore as a first sign of your willingness to implement true reform to remove the unfair punitive measures of the Mutual Obligation Scheme:
Incentives instead of punishment.

A further expansion of what can only be labelled, ’mandatory poverty’ system, which your predecessors have implemented, will hurt the most vulnerable and poor in our society.

Or alternatively we ask you to expand the punitive measures to all other stakeholders as well. These include all decision makers, politicians, staff of Centrelink and other community services organisations, including the JobNetwork Providers and all Managers of these organisations. If they miss an appointment, regardless of the reasons, an immediate cut to their salary of 18% over six months should be applied, a second mistake and their salary will get reduced for an additional six months by 24%, and a third minor mistake will lead to two months without any salary, and than back onto the previously reduced rates.

This would solve many problems: People would not make minor mistakes any more, those who are slack and ‘misbehave’ (like Minister Abbott) have to work on reduced salaries, this would result in enormous savings to the community services sector, which could employ its volunteers, which would in turn reduce the unemployment rate and get people of the welfare system.

Further we ask you to commit to the creation of professional services with well trained, experienced personnel. We know that you are not responsible for the Job Network, it is however an example of what happens, when services are funded on a short term basis and have to make a profit for their private owners.

Most staff are not well trained and these services have a high turnover of staff. Some people on Intensive Assistance have been on FLEX 3 uninterruptedly for over three years and have not received any training nor any real help other than check ups of their activities regarding finding a job.

In our role as advocates we have come across many instances of sheer incompetence, especially in regards to assessing clients’ skills and motivation. Breaching quotas for Job Network Providers, which do offically not exist, yet are expressed in terms of threats of not receiving any more funding next time around, put pressure on staff to bully the clients.

We are looking forward to you taking pro-active steps to resolve the problem of the ineffenciency of some providers, as your clients are suffering and your Department causes great financial damage as a result of breaching, not only to the individuals but the whole of the community. Unjustified breaching is very common. Yet appeals are uncommon as most of the clients are reluctant to take these steps for fear of further retributions or problems, and because they often don’t even have the skills to talk to their Job Network Provider in a way, which would clarify the situation, let alone to other authorities within the system.

We appeal to your sense of justice and your sincere concern about people who genuinely want to get out of their precarious situation and find work. Breaching is far more expensive than just the reduction our Government saves. Everyone has to come up with extra resources to manage the damage. No one wins. And yes, genuine jobseekers are breached for minor mistakes or even misunderstandings.

Show your goodwill early, make your commitments soon, as this will provide a fertile ground for our future co-operation and truly successful reform of the welfare system into a Social Wellbeing System.

Yours Faithfully:    The Un(der)employed People's Movement against Poverty Inc.

MEDIA INFORMATION STATEMENT

The Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed

Contact (07) 3255 1253 - 0414 263 514

1 November 2000

A little over a week ago, two tragic stories in Brisbane highlighted the plight of people left by our welfare system to fend for themselves. Current government policies restrict access to and continuation of unemployment benefits. The tragedies these people and their families have experienced clearly demonstrate that there are huge people-sized holes in the 'safety net' and claims by the Commonwealth Government about "maintaining" a safety net are specious since one cannot maintian something that does not exist.

Unemployed people from across Australia have come together to work to put an end to this national disgrace and founded the Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed (the ANOU). These organisations and individuals came together at the invitation of UNEMPA in Brisbane and The Brisbane Institute.

With the formation of the ANOU, un- and under-employed people will have a strong voice - a voice that may become a ROAR. Un- and under-employment is not just an issue for unemployed people. It is an issue affecting everyone. "One day you are employed, the next you are on the scrap heap, a dole bludger!" was the comment of one conference speaker. For too long, people on low incomes and social security benefits have suffered in silence.

The principle objective of the ANOU is to represent and advocate for un- and under-employed people across Australia. Unemployed people are most often not consulted and, where they are, they are not part of the decision making processes. The ANOU believes that the current government's attempts at welfare reform and its changes to the appeals process are unacceptable to un- and under-employed people because they are contrary to the principles of natural justice.

The appeal process is based on being "guilty until proven innocent" in a context where: 1) innocence is declared only by appeal; and 2) the government is seeking to deny or restrict legal representation for Centrelink customers presumed to be guilty and therefore already financially sanctioned. We now strongly urge the government to included us in decision making processes which directly - and often adversely - affect our lives.

The ANOU wants to put an end to the exploitation and disrespect unemployed people are subjected to on a regular basis. As a starting point, agreement was achieved on this statement of rights for Australian citizens who find themselves unemployed or under-employed:

• - the right to paid work
• - the right to decent accommodation
• - the right to feel safe
• - the right to be fully informed
• - the right to choose
• - the right to be heard
• - the right to have our grievances and appeals heard
• - the right to be respected and supported
• . . . . . . and that all of these rights are treated independently of any form of one-sided obligation.

The ANOU calls on the Federal Government to delay the implementation of further welfare reform and the introduction of changes to the Administrative Review Tribunal and its processes until the people directly affected are fully informed about the consequences to them and they have the opportunity to make informed decisions and contribute to the processes of debate and decision making.

The ANOU exists and all members hope that never again will a human being have to attempt or threaten to kill themselves because they cannot survive in our 'country of plenty' - NEVER AGAIN!

-- ENDS --

MEDIA INFORMATION STATEMENT

The Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed

Contact (07) 3255 1253 - 0414 263 514

1 November 2000

On Wednesday 25th October 2000 a group of unemployed people from across Australia put on the public record that we are no longer going to sit in silence and compliantly cop the stupidity that has been masquerading as policy for years in Australia.

Policies for unemployed people cannot be driven by ignorance, bigotry or fear, nor can they be driven by hidden economic theory that says that we need an official unemployment rate of at least 5 percent to keep a lid on inflation, wages and interest rates.

We have today agreed to form the Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed and that this group establish a place within the peak national dialogues on the issues of unemployment, employment, social security and national enterprise and initiative.

Un- and under-employed people refuse to continue to be the instruments of those academic economists who give advice to governments premised on the idea that we are "useful tools" for their economic management models. And we call on those economists who likewise reject such notions to redouble their efforts to make their criticisms loud and clear.

We call upon governments across Australia to stop pretending that "the unemployment problem" in Australia can be solved by turning unemployed people into "customers" of an employment services market, by mickey mouse schemes such as "work for the dole" and by brow-beating unemployed people into chasing jobs that aren't there. These things are the mind games of people with an extremely poor grip on reality.

We call upon the Prime Minister to turn his rhetoric about "social coalition" into reality and open doors of dialogue with us as key stakeholders in Australia's unemployment and employment policies. Social and economic participation for unemployed people begins with inclusion in ALL the discussions and decisions on matters that affect our lives. No less is expected for employers and the business community; no less will be accepted by us.

We call upon the Commonwealth Government to begin today to establish structures and processes for this inclusion (as they have already done for others) starting with mandating that unemployed - in particular long-term unemployed - people be included on every Area Consultative Committee in Australia and any other committees or working groups engaged in policy deliberations affecting us; and that they not be excluded from commensurate remuneration opportunities. We point to: - the 2 Ombudsman's Own Motion Inquiries of 1999: "Balancing the risks" and "To compensate or not to compensate"; - the HREOC report, "Age Matters"; - the final report of the Welfare Reform Reference Group; - a raft of other key reports going back over the last 25 years.

We call upon the Commonwealth Government to enter into dialogue with us about making the positive recommendations contained in all these documents reality now. Too many Australian citizens have been pushed way beyond what can be called fair and reasonable when it comes to their obligations and it has still not been met with any mutual or reciprocal response from Government to give them the resources they need to do what they are being forced to do on threat of losing what little assistance they do get. Suicides and threats of suicide by people being pushed way beyond reasonableness is a horror of mammoth proportions that should not exist.

We call upon those Public Servants in our bureaucracies, who know our case is just, to take a firm stand and reject those policies and rules and regulations that will inevitably lead to increased hardship for unemployed people and that, in some instances, are illegal, immoral or unethical. We call upon Trade Unions and their members to embrace the present possibility of a united stand of repudiation of the repressive, regressive, punitive and unjust policies that are an integral part of current Commonwealth provisions and measures against fellow workers pushed out of or excluded from the workforce.

We call upon the commercial media networks to update their store of accepted wisdom on the subjects of unemployment, employment, social security and welfare by engaging with us in a process of "telling the truth" about these subjects to the Australian community.

We call upon the general community to reject comment, ideas and statistics that do not embrace fair and balanced treatment by inclusion of criticism from those who are the subject of the comment, ideas and statistics. Solving Australia's unemployment problem relies partially on having a thinking and critical public.

This is a selection of what we expect:

• - Back payments when Centrelink makes mistakes and reduces benefits
• - Fares assistance for ALL job seekers and unpaid volunteers & trainees
• - Job seekers to be fully advised of their rights and entitlements
• - A clear and enforceable charter of rights for ALL Centrelink claimants (similar to ATO rights)
• - Casual earnings clawback arrangements on par with those for age pensioners
• - An increase in the penalty-free area to the same as the age pension
• - Declare earnings once they are received, not when work is performed
• - Wind back harsh fines
• - Abolish "benchmarks" (quotas) for appeals outcomes

Further, we identify the following current six-pack of slurs as cowardly statements of inexcusable ignorance and vilification:

- Dole Bludger

- Job Snob

- Sit-down money

- Low self-esteem (without qualification or definition)

- Welfare dependency (where 'welfare' is only some Centrelink payments)

- Welfare cheats (where 'welfare' is only some Centrelink payments)

-- ENDS -

MEDIA RELEASE

The Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed

Contact (07) 3255 1253 - 0414 263 514

1 November 2000

Recent sad losses of life in Brisbane and high profile attempts to harm self and others are direct results of serious flaws in public policy, a Brisbane conference has been told. On the same day as unemployed people from across Australia rise to their feet to speak up for themselves, an unemployed person enters a Centrelink office doused in petrol and threatens to do serious harm.

Brisbane's ROAR conference spokesperson Kevin Brennan said, "When the key stakeholders are denied both access to policy making processes and the money necessary for basic living, the result can be devastating and alarm bells should be clanging very loudly in all sectors of society. We appear in Australia to have either disconnected the bells or gone deaf."

"It is time the whole Australian community realised that while the Federal Government has employment policy that helps around 10 percent of unemployed people, a large percentage get little more than excuses and punishment for being in a situation they have no say in or control over", said Mr Brennan.

Brisbane based group Unemployed Persons Advocacy recently hosted a two day event to provide unemployed people and action groups from each state the opportunity to tell it like it is in Australia.

On day one, they spoke to an audience made up of politicians, bureaucrats, businesses, community groups and the general community to expose the myths and lies in current public perceptions of unemployment and unemployed people. Un- and under-employed people Australia wide are angy over major flaws in the administrative processes affecting their daily lives and have opted to turn that anger into direct, concerted action.

Mr Brennan pointed out that "Presumption of guilt and the need to prove innocence by appeal is the norm for unemployed people, yet wealthy politicians not only enjoy the presumption of innocence, they have the support of the Prime Minister even when they clearly have broken the rules. The Reith telecard affair is a classic illustration of this dualism. It is totally unacceptable and unemployed people should not be held to ransom because of it."

On day two of the conference, delegates voted unanimously to form a national association to represent their rights and interests in the corridors of power. Unemployed and under-employed people Australia-wide can now look forward to a "peak" partnership process at the national level with this agreement to form the Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed (ANOU).

"Mr Howard has for a long time been talking 'social coalition' but no-one from the Commonwealth Government has yet contacted unemployed action groups to invite them into the process, so we are joining together and coming to them", Mr Brennan said. "One thing is for certain, we are not going to sit in silence on the sidelines while 'coalitions' are formed which exclude us, and the important contributions we can make to Australian society are ignored because they don't genuinely want a 'full employment' society. We are nailing our thesis to the door: we fully expect to be included and continued exclusion is a clear case of obfuscation and discrimination" Mr Brennan said.

-- ENDS --

Content Year 2000 - 2001:

Government’s First Response to McClure Report equals Community Service Orders for non-offenders

Centrelink's and Minister Anthony's conflict of interest

More money to ensure compliance 23/5/01

Minister Abbott's visions spell disaster for Australia 21/5/01

Joint Statement:CPI indexation 14/3/01

Open letter to Minister Vanstone
27/12/00

Information: ANOU

Unemployed People join forces
1/11/00

Unemployed People's Action Statement
1/11/00

Unemployed Anger finds it's Mark 1/11/00

 

United We Stand,

Divided We Fall!

David Rigney, Chairperson
UPM against Poverty Inc. addressing the ROAR
Conference in Brisbane,
Oct. 2000

Photo: Emanuele

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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