Category: politics

Food banks are broken, just like the rest of system they are in

So, I’ve been sharing this article “Shopping at Australian food charities can be more expensive than supermarkets. What’s gone wrong?” because I’m the foodbank user quoted and because the whole system is broken when charities on the ground are struggling to afford to buy food from mega charities to continue their essential work on the ground.

Regulars here know the story – I shop around foodbanks and Aldi and occasionally the majors since I have all three in my major town centre, in order to get the best value for myself and my little family that looks different each time I take stock. I haven’t gotten back to doing that this year – the food charities are reopening this week after Xmas shutdown, and I don’t have access to a car all the time since one is off the road at the moment. So I’m shopping at Aldi (or my partner is) and we’re getting our meal boxes and I’m sure it’s better for my waistline to not be able to get more food for less, but ugh I’m bored lol. Also, my stepson’s summer job just ended so he’s eating more at home and earning less until the Centrelink systems are reliable enough to reapply for jobseeker or he can find another casual job around the place.

Foodbank branches in NSW and Victoria operate under different rules: in NSW, charities who buy from Foodbank can charge their customers, while in Victoria charities must give the food away. The money Foodbank charges charities covers its handling fees – the cost of sourcing and redistributing the food. A Victorian-based charity worker, who did not want to be named, said that Foodbank had raised its prices to the point where the charity she works at was struggling to stay open. Screenshots taken last month from Foodbank’s online pantry, seen by Guardian Australia, show some items were significantly more expensive compared with major supermarkets. Composite image of dishwashing liquid prices on websites View image in fullscreen Some products are cheaper at major supermarkets, in this case dishwashing liquid at Woolworths. Composite: Woolworths website/Foodbank website Charities could buy dry dog food from Foodbank for $2.08 per 100g, compared with $0.23 per 100g at Coles. Dishwashing liquid was $1.15 for 495ml at Foodbank while shoppers could buy a litre for under $1.50 at all three majors. The charity worker says Foodbank prices have spiked in the last two years. In 2022, she says a dozen 450g cans of tinned ham cost $3.02 but last month was $64.30. In 2022, a dozen 400g Christmas puddings cost $5.40 but was now $43.80.

I knew that charities on the ground were facing increased costs for their purchases from Foodbank, but I didn’t realise it had gone up so much.

But I don’t see the answer as giving more money to Foodbank itself. They have corporate and individual donors, they have government funding, volunteer labour and other in-kind support, and yet they still have to charge more to the charities on the ground to receive the food and other items.

She stresses Foodbank provides a vital service, that they do good work and are underfunded. But the system is broken, she says. “The point is, they should be well funded so they don’t have to sell food, right? And we should be well funded so we don’t have to sell food.” The federal assistant minister for charities, Andrew Leigh, says “Labor strongly supports the value of food relief”. “Over the past 12 months, we have announced nearly $20m in additional funding for emergency and food relief charities,” Leigh said in a statement.

I also find myself even more cranky at the local charities that on-sell the items with significant markups (to just under full major supermarket prices) to fund their other work. Whether that’s to fund their free food hampers to those even more in need than the regular foodbank shopper, to pay their rent of warehouses, or to go into their missionary coffers (yes it happens), if there’s such a shortage of food coming into Foodbank warehouses as donations or being purchased it shouldn’t be marked up. Selling it on at your cost when it’s an essential item should be expected. (I’ll pay a markup on my short-dated Lindt though, happy to help when I’m able).

I’ll come back to it again – people need enough money to survive. They need to be able to afford to buy the food and other essential items they need to survive. Welfare rates need to be above the poverty line. People need to be able to afford to buy groceries and afford healthcare. There’s a lot that candidates can take into the election this year, and I want to see more of them promising to do the easy thing to lift millions out of poverty – Raising the rate of all welfare payments above the poverty line. That will cut demand greatly for emergency hampers that charities hand out each week. That will enable people to be able to directly support their own families and friends in need.

There is a place for emergency help – but having large corporate charity machines is not lessening the need for it.

 

“Social Cohesion” is not something that can be enforced, but a goal to nurture by looking after people

Wow, just wow.

18 months ago, Victoria got a pretty sweet statue, helping to balance out the ones of male sporting heroes and genocidaires. There may be some irony here – Zelda D’Aprano was born in a Jewish family (mum became a communist, and I’d be certain Zelda and her mum would be out at the current anti-genocide rallies), but her chains are being banned from use in  protest  in  that  state,  while  I haven’t  seen  unionists  locking on  for  pay  and  conditions  for  awhile, they, and glue, are quite popular for “disruptive” protests, such as blocking coal trains here in the Hunter, or  blocking main roads. All very naughty in the pursuit of capitalism.  But Australian police are already pretty good at arresting people for their inconveniencing of others –top of the world actually.

The image depicts a bronze statue of a woman standing on a pedestal. She is holding a sign in her right hand that reads "NO MORE MALE & FEMALE RATES ONE RATE ONLY." Her left hand holds a chain, which appears to be broken and is draped over the pedestal. The woman is dressed in a mid-20th-century style, wearing a long coat buttoned up, with a high-collared top underneath. Her hair is styled in a curled, vintage manner. The pedestal bears the name "ZELDA D'APRANO" in gold letters. Behind the statue is a building with arched windows, suggesting an urban or formal setting. The ground is paved and there are patches of grass and fallen leaves in the background.

It’s the social cohesion “pledge” that really gets me. I’m sure there will be “clarification” about the masks not meaning for health reasons and that they aren’t really wanting to make it easier to pepper spray people who are merely protecting themselves against covid (lol). But the pledge. Keen to see the wording and how it’ll mean you can’t get government funding if you’re against genocide but somehow Zionist organisations will still qualify. Just like how the AJA still gets to stay a charity somehow.

New Social Cohesion Laws in Victoria: Banning flags and symbols of listed terrorist organisations, including Hamas and Hezbollah, white nationalists and more. Banning the use of masks at protests which are used by agitators to shield identities and hide from personal accountability. Banning the use of glue, rope, chains, locks and other devices used to cause maximum disruption and endanger Victorians. Introducing a social cohesion pledge for organisations who apply to receive funding from the State Government. Committing to new laws to protect the rights of all Victorians to gather and pray, free from fear, harassment and intimidation. Jacinta Allan MP Premier of Victoria

But, Labor isn’t the party of unions and the common worker. They’re loving their role of law maker and punisher. I watched Silent Night Deadly Night this week, and it’s very Mother Superior of them. Reminding us who’s in charge and that punishment is absolute for us naughty little children.

We do of course hope that some of those naughty white boys playing Nazi will be unmasked and revealed to be cops and co we believe they are in their days jobs, but that will come with the pepper spraying of more activists, and the further destruction of the planet and the people of Palestine.

The image is a cartoon panel with a light purple background featuring two characters with exaggerated eyes speaking to each other. The character on the left is wearing a red shirt, and the character on the right is in a blue shirt. They both have simplistic, animal-like features and are engaged in conversation. The character on the left says, “Very convenient for the government that the poor are too tired to fight back,” while the character on the right responds with, “Until they aren’t.”

You’re not going to get more social cohesion by taking away rights and exeptionalising one group over another. You need to support and nurture your people. You can’t deprive them by leaving them in poverty or denying them healthcare and expect them to fall into line. Kids in cars at Christmas, in tents all year around, you can’t run a surplus and leave kids unhoused and not expect backlash. Even if we’re banned from masks and chains.

Time for some good old ghosts of Xmas or their earthly brothers, to scare the rich into line.

 

 

 

Just because it’s better than nothing, doesn’t make it “good”

Oh hai there, just screaming into the void that the messaging coming out from yet another report detailing the material deprivation faced by people on all welfare payments.

ACOSS has just dropped their latest Poverty and Inequality report Material deprivation in Australia: the essentials of life. It doesn’t just report on how much money people have, but also what people are not getting because they can’t afford it – covered by the surveys I discussed in this post when I was doing the Poverty course through ACOSS and UNSW – the same people conducting this study and writing this report.

2. At least 10% of people do not have one or more of five out of 23 essential items. While some of the 23 essential items are almost universally owned (only 0.2% of people did not have warm clothes and bedding if it’s cold), a much higher proportion of people did not have the following five items: • home contents insurance (22% lacked this), getting together with friends or relatives at least once a month for a drink or meal (22%), a yearly dental checkup for each child (13%), new school clothes for school-age children every year (33%), or a hobby or a regular leisure activity for children (14%). The most common items people said they lacked because they couldn’t afford them are: home contents insurance (8%), at least $500 in savings for an emergency (7%), comprehensive motor vehicle insurance (5%) and dental treatment when needed (4%).

“The most common items people said they lacked because they couldn’t
afford them are: home contents insurance (8%), at least $500 in savings for
an emergency (7%), comprehensive motor vehicle insurance (5%) and dental treatment when needed (4%).”

Yeah, I have none of those things. If I needed dental treatment I’d try the NSW health clinic as that’s an option, or I’d ask family for money to help pay, or put it on ZipPay or get a Centrelink advance, but I don’t have the funds for such things as routine. I said to others doing that course that as much as they’d hope the person crashing into them in their shitbox at least had third party property insurance to cover their car’s damage, the reality is we often don’t, Greenslips for injury are compulsory but you’re making a huge assumption that we’ll be able to pay for your damage.

4. People on working-age income support payments face a much higher risk of multiple deprivation: • The rates of deprivation are close to or exceed 10% for 30% (seven items) of the 23 essential items for people on a JobSeeker Payment and for around 26% (six items) for people receiving a Parenting Payment or a Disability Support Pension. • People receiving JobSeeker Payment are five times more likely than all people (the population average rate) to lack two or more essential items (45% compared to 9% for the population). One in two are deprived of at least two items and one in three of at least three items. • People receiving Parenting Payment are four times more likely than all people to lack two or more essential items (38% compared to 9% for the population). Approximately one in four are deprived of three or more items. • People receiving Disability Support Pension or Youth Allowance are two to three times more likely than all people to lack two or more essential items (29% and 23% respectively). One in four people on these payments are deprived of at least two items. • People on a Carer Payment are two times more likely to lack two or more essentials items (17%) or three or more items (10%).But it’s the messaging around this report and others that always gets me. The report straight up says that DSP and Carer’s payments leave people struggling, and yet ACOSS et al come out asking for payments to be raise to that level – the $82/day for a single aged or disabled pensioner leaves them below the poverty line and skipping meals, health care and cheaping out on cooling in this heatwave while trying to stay in a likely substandard rental.

graph of bedroom temperate overnight
Reactivated my bedroom thermometer last night – you can pinpoint when my partner put the air con on in the living room and it trickled down the hall to our room

So aim higher. Ask for an amount that will make a difference. The Henderson Poverty Line is around $87 a day (it fluctuates, but if you need to put a number on it). This doesn’t take into account the extra costs of being disabled or chronically ill, but again it’s a start for adults to have enough money to meet their basic needs.

We have an election to be called any time now (it’ll be by May and that’ll be here before we know it) so get your ducks in a row and ask for good things, not incremental “improvements” that leave people in poverty. They haven’t given you your meagre asks anyway. Maybe Labor will be desperate enough to actually promise something progress, Miles style?

 

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My submission to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 [Provisions] inquiry

When they give you 24 hours to respond to an enquiry, you don’t have time to do the referenced researched work of an advocacy organisation, so you smash out something, so in true “egirl and activist” form, here’s what I just sent in:

To the Committee

I have lived, worked and socialised in online places since 2000. As an older teenager, I met lifelong friends on early forums, including people who were younger than the 16 year old proposed social media ban age. Most of these young people could hold their own online then, and most teenagers these days are more literate in social media and online safety than older adults. They are able to access information to help them navigate life through online services. Forums like the ones I accessed as a teen and now ones that are serving the same function on social media sites are a lifeline to marginalised young people. It is where young queer kids can access information on what life can be like outside of heteronormative suburban Australia. It is where young people with mental health issues can access support and information about how to support themselves and their peers. It’s where young carers can access support for roles they are thrown into way too early. It’s also just a place to have fun, explore interests, and learn to be yourself.

Yes, children and adults use social media to bully others. But people have managed to do that in other formats and “IRL” (in real life) as long as we’ve existed. There’s always an other, and those others – the queer kid, the Autistic teen, the otherwise different kid – will often be bullied, and online worlds are where they are able to find their kin and often find safety and know they are not alone.

My 15 year old nephew is autistic and has used social media – mostly Instagram and Facebook – as a way to explore his interests and has developed many skills and his language has developed greatly this way.

My 13 year old niece has reassured me that teenagers will find ways to communicate with each other in positive and negative ways even with any bans brought in – whether this is by lying about ages, by getting their parents to sign them into things, or just making new ways to communicate and finding new apps that escape regulation.

As an adult, I’m wary of giving over personal details to multiple companies based all over the world in order to continue to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. My work is based online, and I use X, Bluesky and Facebook daily in that work. Work that helps support marginalised adults and children in the welfare system. Social media is a literal lifeline for many poor people who, with a basic smartphone, can now access support and information for their disabilities, to escape violence, to deal with bureaucracy, to access food banks, and much more. This is not support that should be kept from someone because they are under 16 or don’t have or want to share their identifying documents with international companies.

Security breaches of trusted companies such as Optus left many who normally wouldn’t think twice about whether it was safe to give such information over questioning whether their identities were safe.

A social media ban for under 16s is unworkable and potentially harmful to young people who will lose access to support networks and resources. Yes, there is harm done online, but harm is done everywhere, and by driving kids underground you are not going to protect them.

 

This bill should not be passed, full stop.

Kind regards

Fiona Moore

e-girl and activist

phonakins.com

Send something in if you can here.

A template that might help you:

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You know some things just make you wanna scream but you’re tired?

CW Suicide and self harm etc

People are doing amazing work out there. The Antipoverty Centre filed their submission to the national Suicide Prevention Strategy. And it’s good. And you’ll read it and nod your head at the content and shake your head at the lack of action from governments and lip service from supposed support organisations. It’s here. There’s facts and stats and stories and it’s all there, screaming to governments to Rise the Rate of Welfare and build public housing and get rid of partner income tests to help people to get out of abusive situations and have independence within relationships. Agency is important and people are feeling helpless and are driven to despair. And suicide is certainly a more appealing option for some that continuing in a punitive welfare situation.

Thankyou for putting that together. And for acknowledging the frustration that people are experiencing with telling their stories over and over and pleading for the dignity of being listened to, when 2.5 years into government, they decide not to respond to the DSP inquiry since it’s been so damned long since the recommendations were made, which is certainly not one of the principles of TREATING PEOPLE WITH RESPECT that was recommended.

meanwhile, apparently social security debts from the seventies are fair game, even though 6 years was said to be plenty long back to expect people to defend debts. But you know, why respect the recommendations from millions of dollars and thousands or hours of paid and unpaid work by experts and lawyers and people on the ground. Fuck us, right?

It’s more than two years since that qanda episode where I got to ask about our dear Treasurer when things might get better, and really nothing has changed. Rent keeps going up, as does every other cost, including out of pocket GP expenses and more. But yeah. Go red team?

I’ve had to put some boundaries in place to help manage my sanity, I’m going to respect my bedtime and meds times more, even if that means other people have to do more for themselves.

 

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