Category: politics

All apologies, no action – Mutual Obligations must go NOW

Been doing some reminiscing of sorts in preparations for the 5th anniversary or the COVID supplement and the long pause of “mutual” obligations. I was NOT in a good place back then, but I was getting the covid supplement after my hours got dramatically cut after disability respites and day programs closed down and we got cut to minimum contracted hours wherever they could place us in residential settings. I was then still getting it when I did eventually lose my job, and was looking at my bank statements shocked to see my total Newstart payment (single) including rent assistance was only $90 less than my (partner) DSP and rent assistance now – $970 vs $1061.60.

We’re getting the “boost” of, I’m told, 0.4% thanks to low inflation from March $20, which’ll take it to around $1065, give or take. Thanks Labor!

The best part of getting DSP was the removal of mutual obligations. It left me free to participate in therapy, do my little advocacy stuff, help family and friends, and just exist peacefully as possible. I’ve actually been doing a small amount of paid work in the past year, mostly online, but also exam supervision and before that election work. Stuff I can do when I have the energy and mental capacity and things that take my interest. I’ve had people approach me about applying for (social) media work with more hours, and I’m not up for that yet consistently but yeah, I’m starting to see more how that could work for me, and for them, and the knowledge that I might actually be a useful engine is nice. It’s also great to know that I do have the DSP to back me up, even if I am working, if I need to step back there’s that.

Being on DSP and my own timetable means I can also torture myself by watching Senate estimates, such as the session last week with DEWR Secretary Natalie James and Minister Murray Watt.

Don’t know Ms James? Well there’s a helpful puff piece in The Mandarin today (out of paywall), hoping top humanise her after the session.

What I got from the session was that the department is not confident that people aren’t being suspended due to errors with their system. What they have done is stopped cancellations at this point, more due to the recent discovery that their guidelines say they’re not meant to cut off anyone who doesn’t have any money saved (which is basically everyone) – but that doesn’t mean they can’t just keep suspending people, which is effectively the same since you have no money if you’re not getting your welfare payment.

So the department doesn’t know if they’re cutting people off incorrectly (let alone illegally) and they seem to be happy to continue with enforcing mutual obligations. They’re happy with how it’s going, and seem more concerned about “provider viability” than whether people are being left without any money to feed and house themselves, about whether they’re putting people in danger of suicide or other misadventure.

They also don’t know how the 10, mostly Indigenous, people who died after being cut off due to a “bug” did die. And when pressed they stated that since the families didn’t contact Services Australia to inform them of a suicide or other cause of death they don’t know and haven’t investigated.

And that’s just those ten. We know others who are still owed money from being cut off incorrectly or illegally who haven’t received repayment, so there’s likely more out there who aren’t doing so well.

It’s a mess. And that’s without even getting to the well known issues people have with their providers cutting them off because they weren’t marked present for a meeting, or demanding people complete phone meetings in a cyclone when mutual obligations have been stopped in preparation for a disaster.

A screenshot from an email by 'Help' a Disability Employment Service owned by IntoWork says the following: "As you may be aware, Cyclone Alfred has intensified to a Category 2 system and is expected to make landfall between Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast later this week. As the safety of our staff, customers, clients, and participants is our top priority all Help Employment offices will be closed on Thursday, 6 March, and Friday, 7 March. What does this mean for you? Employment Services: Our offices will be closed, but telephone appointments will continue as normal. Face-to-Face Appointments: Any scheduled in-person appointments will be rescheduled or changed to phone appointments. Your consultant will be in touch with further details. Please follow local emergency services' advice and stay safe during this time."

(I’m also concerned for the staff who are presumably at home preparing themselves and being made to make unnecessary phone calls to people)

I haven’t heard if the pause has even gone through to people on the Workforce Australia app or by SMS, but wouldn’t be surprised if people are notified after the fact like during the rolling pause at the start of the year.

So yeah, a sorta apology (“I absolutely and unreservedly apologise on behalf of the department that we cannot have full confidence in this system delivering what it’s intended to deliver”) for a known error but keeping the system that is still possibly illegally cutting people off their tiny subsistence payments while you get it looked into isn’t going to cut it anymore. You can’t just say sorry for a known error that’s killed people, and have related errors still under investigations and needing to be paid back (let alone compensated) and still say you trust in the system and are happy to have it doing this because you aren’t turning your mind to it.

Suspend mutual obligations now, while you get your house in order. But why would you when nothing but promotions and excuses came from Robodebt.

And that’s before we actually talk about how much harm, rather than the expected help, is caused by “providers”.

(Preferably get rid of them altogether and create a voluntary, effective, public job-getting support service that people actually WANT to engage with)

But my updated GTA has downloaded and I’m gonna go cause some chaos.

picture of someone in a hello kitty costume drinking bubble tea in front of a burning house.

A thousand days – How’s the social cohesion?

A thousand days. A thousand days of the Albanese Labor government.

Have we been at all surprised, pleasantly or unpleasantly with Labor? I remember when they won the election in 2022 the nurse at my mental health and substance use program commenting that I must be happy with the result. I told her I was skeptical and we’ll see what happens.

The image shows a screenshot of a tweet from an account with the handle @PeterKhalilMP. The tweet is timestamped at 6:59 PM on June 21st. It contains a message that reads, “You will have to wait and see hope you are pleasantly surprised.” The text is in English, and there are no images or other visual elements included in the tweet. The account has a verified checkmark next to its name, indicating it is an official account.

Pleasantly, I’ve remained sober for that time, even the last few months since I stopped attending the support group and stopped taking Antabuse – the little drug that basically makes you allergic to alcohol and if you drink you literally feel like you’re dying. So that’s pleasant.

We’ve had a few changes in living arrangements, including having a baby in the house for 6 months while the stepkid lived with us at short notice. They seem to be going alright with their new independence, getting their own rental with bub has been great for them, even if the chaos surrounding and leading up to that was hard for everyone to deal with.

Got the other stepkid with us now. Generally life is quiet, though I’ve been busy with social media and other stuff working on the People Against Poverty Summit and associated stuff, along with the upcoming election. A sweetheart bought me a new chair from my wishlist, and I’ve been optimising my desk setup so it’s nice to be at my desk. Unfortunately we’re still down a car so I’m not getting out much, might end up borrowing one from a friend who seems to be up one, while my partner works on his.

Purple desk chair

Pacing myself is hard to relearn as I’ve picking up tasks, I’m noticing what wears me out, what’s easy to bounce back from, and what means I should probably just make a cup of hot chocolate and chill in front of old South Park. It’s amazingly nerve wracking at times putting myself out there.

I’m still actually saving for my assessment, putting something away each week, some from my pension and some from the paid work I’ve got doing socials for activisty things. Just enough so I hopefully don’t notice it and it slowly builds up without me knowing and later this year I’ll be ready to book something in and decide how exactly I want to approach it and what I want to get out of it.

Take care of you x

Poverty and Vulnerability

Poverty makes people vulnerable to exploitation. Whether that’s remaining in an abusive personal relationship because you can’t afford to live anywhere else, or you take on unsafe or underpaid work, it’s anything that means you have to give up safety or your values to just survive.

This week, it looks like some of the racist / antisemitic / anti-Islamic attacks and graffiti in the Sydney area may have been carried out by people paid to do so. Kinda like the attack on Burgertory, tho what came of that?

So, let’s say some of the people are doing these divisive things because they’re been paid. They always say that everyone has a price, it just differs depending on the emphasis you place on different areas of your life and how desperate you are to go against your beliefs, or the law, to survive another week. To pay off a debt, to fix that car, to escape the other unsafe part of your life.

If they were social housing tenants, they’re likely on welfare, which is well below the poverty line. They’re guaranteed to be struggling in a country where double income families are struggling. So, whether it’s shoplifting dinner, selling some powertools that fell off the back of a tradie’s ute, or seeing an ad that promises thousands for an act of vandalism that you may or may not be caught for, you’re vulnerable, whether you’re actually racist or not.

Another reason I say social cohesion is something we have to support people to attain, rather than penalise those who are not toeing the line of the day. A fed and housed community is a happy one. That’s where you get your social cohesion, not by leaving people vulnerable to radical acts to put food on the table for their kids.

Albanese and co need to see this, and support people. Support them financially. Support them with housing. Support them to be able to work in non-exploitative jobs. To associate with who they want to because they can afford to choose that.

and yes, it was a Nazi salute.

Nazi salute meme

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.