Sure, I’ll answer some questions!

A journalism student sent me an email and asked me some great questions about welfare in this country. Since I got right into the answers, I though I’d share them here.
 
 
Firstly, one of the statements of yours that I found most interesting was a post you made on X regarding the federal government prioritizing quelling inflation and maintaining a surplus over raising welfare to a liveable standard. Do you believe that the Australian government prioritizes the aesthetics of certain macro-economic factors such as the lowering of inflationary statistics over adequately providing support for government assistance recipients? If so, what message does this send to those utilizing welfare payments?
 
The government and opposition both definitely prioritise the look of the main inflation rates, of interest rates, or employment and unemployment numbers over supporting those who are doing the heavy lifting on those numbers being what they are – the pensioners and other welfare recipients, along with minimum wage workers whose incomes cut them off welfare before they meet the poverty line let alone the cost of living in this country. The narrative of the dole bludger persists and is reinforced by the government. In the workforce Australia inquiry last year Julian Hill used that term when questioning witnesses, despite protesting that Labor were in favour of stopping that narrative
 
 
 
 
Additionally, do you believe that the current disability support pension, as well as the bi-yearly rate update system, are adequate in facing consistent cost of living pressures?
 
The bi-yearly update is fine, 3 monthly would catch us up faster though. As it is the fact that the indexation is only as a percentage of the person’s current payment mean the lower payments increase less even though they are further behind laready. The 12 monthly for youth payments is completely inadequate and yes another reason along with those payments being severely inadequate that youth payment rates for welfare need to be eliminated. The disability pension while above the rate of JobSeeker is not adequate to support a person with long term illness and disability, with estimates of a disabled person needing at least 50% extra disposable income than average to meet the extra costs that come with it. Also, any fiddling with the amount of hours disabled people and people on the aged pension or carers can work is meaningless to most on those payments as being disabled or a carer is a full time job already, and aged pensioners should be able to retire in peace, and use any extra energy for the things they enjoy, and often contribute unpaid to their families and communities through care and volunteering already.
 
 
 
And finally, how do you think failures in support impact government assistance recipients in times of economic stress such as this?
 
People are suicidal, to be blunt. Welfare recipients end their own lives at a much higher rate than those not trying to survive on these payments. The injection of cash during the Covid shutdowns that brought JobSeeker to the poverty line was a welcome relief, along with the suspension of harmful mutual obligations, that led to less suicides by people on welfare payments than outside that time. The informal and formal supports that others who are working and able to give money, time, share their resources with their neighbours is cut down when everyone else is cutting back on spending in order to survive themselves during rapid rent and mortgage rises and costs of essentials like food and energy leaving people struggling. It is offensive to see governments giving more money to increase the resources of food banks and other support that should be on the pointy end – money for overheads like huge warehouses or trucks to shuttle donated food around, staffed by volunteers and work for the dole who can’t afford to shop at supermarkets either, while these organisations solicit donations from people at the checkout and corporate donors and everyone gets a feel good photo. Politicians should be ashamed to expand these while not addressing the inadequacy of welfare payments.
 
I think I got carried away. You’re welcome.
 
Fiona
 

Aftercare in Activism

At the Anglicare panel, we were asked advice about supporting people with lived experience to participate in awareness, activism, PR and so forth. I referred to a couple of concepts borrowed from other spheres – looking after your “talent” and “Aftercare”.

As the tellers of our stories, we own them, we are the ones that went through the childhood, the illness, the trauma, racism, that a not-for-profit, or a politician, or other person or group promising to do good with this is looking to use to push forward their agenda. Of course it’s often not nefarious – some people are genuinely doing good or at least believing they are. And so, like you would if you were using a famous child star, puppy or washed up celeb to promote your brand of toilet paper, you need to treat the talent right.

The talent also needs to know they are the talent. They can’t be being talked into doing promotion for your cause out of guilt or sense of obligation because they have received some help in their time of need. It needs to be mutually beneficial, that might be a simple as paying your talent – giving them payment for the photo shoot, paying them for the article written about how awesome being supported by your organisation was. Because they are giving over more of themselves in this instance. They are selling their image, their story, their trauma, for you to promote your cause or service or product or scheme.

Us talent understand that different places have different budgets, but there are too many out there making way more from us than we’ll ever feel or be helped by them. Be the bigger party and start offering it. Start offerings stipends upfront for your clients to speak at your events about how awesome your are. This isn’t just for their time, it’s for their skill, and for them giving their story over to the audience and any trauma that comes from reliving that for your morning tea fundraiser.

The other concept I brought up, with a giggle, was Aftercare. A concept from kink communities, but very relevant when someone with lived experience is engaged for that lived experience. Not to say all kink is traumatic, but the kink side at least brings up discussing boundaries, setting limits, hell even safe words. On the panel I was on, I knew the other panelist and the facilitator and could tap out of the conversation if it got too tricky at the moment. But it’s discussing that before hand. Running through boundaries and questions and topics beforehand. What if you freeze in the kink play scene or speaking onstage. Who knows the signs to look out for. Is your talent someone with known mental health difficulties, diagnosed anxiety, or not diagnosed, and may know when they are getting past what they’re comfortable with. Ask if they need a support person with them, or who to call on.

After the event, what does your talent need? Are they able to stay on and chat with others or will they need time to regroup, duck to the loo, have a cold drink and then get back to it. Or is that it for the day, call them tomorrow to check in?

I’m still new to all this, but just know that your person with their lived experience, the talent, is vulnerable. You often have a lot of power in their relationship, particularly if you are or have been a service provider for them. People may not feel safe to back out if the situation goes beyond their comfort, but you need to make sure it doesn’t. You need to look after your talent, and make sure they are safe before, during and after. You want them having a great experience, and wanting to come back to do more, to let their peers know you’re safe to work with. That you’re one of the good ones.

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As your local Eternally Online Elder Millennial, I volunteer to be Social Media Envoy to the Albanese Government

I started a new Sims save today – after reinstalling windows last month I needed to get all the updates and update OBS and all the other things to make streaming possible again. And I got there. It’s cleaner because so much got purged, I’m sure I’ll add to the clutter on the screen, in my life – both Sims and IRL.

I first got online in 2000, aged 17/18. So an older teen, but still a teen. I got onto playing Neopets, chatting through ICQ and Yahoo Groups, and we started online journals and blogging. I made friends around the world. I don’t see banning teens and tweens even from social media as viable, let alone a good thing. Kids already just get their parents and older siblings to make accounts for them or watch hours of appropriate and less-appropriate content. A ban would see kids less able to speak up when things are a bit shady online, less able to know who to turn to if there’s a problem if they’re having to hide that part of their lives and learning to navigate it with less guidance than how many are now – locked down Instagram accounts with a select audience, Minecraft servers with strangers and friends, Youtube channels and Twitter bringing us the headlines more reliably than the national broadcaster.

The country doesn’t know when to actually let kids be kids, and when to criminalise them to to imposed outdated views on what kids should be doing. Access to information when growing up is important, and these days that information and social experimentation happens a lot online. People are worried that kids are being sexualised too young if they’re learning about queerness when really they’re just learning the terminology for what they’re feeling inside themselves that kids in the 90s and earlier couldn’t find out unless they were avid readers borrowing every book in the local library, or were in a very progressive pocket of town. Kids know they’re “not straight” but doesn’t have the words for it, just as trans kids exist and need families who just let them explore themselves – through playing with gender roles, names, types of clothing and more. Kids get to see that Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender, Intersex, Asexual and other categories of people are able to grow up into happy and healthy adults and can see that positive possibility for themselves.

I’m loving that future for the kids. Let’s not take it from them.

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Friday Foodbank Musings

Happy Liptember! The month where I actually wear lipstick and raise funds for women’s mental health projects.

Had a few good conversations this morning about *waves hands around* all of this. Cost of living, Centrelink, gatekeeping and waste from charities, attitudes towards addicts and more. A couple  were in the line for the Ozharvest bag, where the inaccessible nature of the whole process came up because they make us wait outside the gate until 9am, and getting down the driveway or foot or in wheelchairs is hairy at best and they just don’t seem willing to make exceptions. I mean, they don’t even have a designated disabled park on site, and the other parks are up a slope from the doors.

Spams and other tinned meats
Apparently the woolies beef is only 20c cheaper than retail…

I exchanged pleasantries with the volunteers, asking if it was fine to take a fruit and veg bag as well as the pies this week, and yeah there was plenty this week, but I remarked that I didn’t want to get in trouble because if I take one and get told no that was wrong it feels like I’m being told off, and sometimes I think I actually am. Like the time I asked “Hey is it okay is I take a bag of pies” and Sandra was “Please?” ugh. Yes ma’am please mam, I was being pleasant til you got school principal on me. Apparently she also put a guy’s daughter through questioning, which he felt was because “she’s an addict and looks like an addict” and left her feeling like never coming back. He and I talked about playing the meek and grateful role when it’s for ourselves but sometimes getting more than a little protective and defensive of others.

Bread was also in abundance today, which is good because I wound up buying the $8 fancy eggs from Woolies after Aldi was out and Woolies only had the Lake Macquarie local ones left. Good thing it’s pension day!

Two point something percent indexation in not next fortnight’s but the fortnight after. Plus that 10% rent assistance cash splash that Albo was touting that will do SFA, but seems to appease some of the numbers guys.  I’ll be on a whole $1061.60 a fortnight from October 4. I’ll be getting paid for my 3 hours a week work too, let’s see how that affects things!

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Skill-up marginalised people, because we can’t ethically put you through our lived experiences

Birds of a feather? Catherine Caine and Fiona Moore

So the Anglicare panel went well, just wended up being me and Catherine from AUWU (my boss) as Nathan from Hunter Jobs Alliance was unwell, so more intimate, but yeah, I’m exhausted but it was good and I think we got some great messages across.

Much of the discussion was around supporting people with lived experience – whether poverty, mental illness, disability, trauma and so on – to use our experiences to drive change and how that could work better and be better for all involved. Catherine reflected on how AUWU have pulled back from getting unemployed people to give testimony at Senate and related hearings as going through that trauma or telling their stories in such as forum, while cathartic for some, is re-traumatising for others and, like I’ve previously discussed, the limited lip-service paid and feeling otherwise ignored is starting to get to even the most experienced advocates. It doesn’t mean we won’t support each other and anyone who wants to tell their story to do so, but it’s about being more selective about where and when and how that occurs. AUWU and the Antipoverty Centre being able to pay people to write their stories when we get editorials weeks at Power to Persuade is one. Connecting welfare recipients with journalists and publications we know have been sensitive and accommodating is another.

Another is getting marginalised people into the roles where the changes are being made. And not just to be consulted, to be asked questions and hope your thoughts are included in the end product. Yesterday we called for marginalised people to be included from start to end, and treated (and paid) as equals. We may not have the skills or experience or qualifications in policy writing, in media, in being CEOs, in stats, but those are all things that can be taught. Unlike, as I argued, lived experience.

You can’t, ethically, give people genuine lived experience of poverty, disability, trauma and so on. You could cosplay it for a few weeks for a tv show, or be blindfolded for the day, or be a carer of someone who’s lived the experience, but you won’t genuinely have lived experience, as it always comes to an end.

So, identify talent within the community you support and look at how that enthusiastic person can be supported to develop the skills necessary to work with you on that project, to take your job, to be your boss. Invest in people.

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