Tag: dsp

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
 

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!

Appreciate this post? Support me.

We’ll have our own committee #LeftBehindCommittee

With hookers and blackjack, because we don’t discriminate against sex workers and some of us are quite the card counters. I try to stick to gambling with virtual money, such as in Red Dead or GTA, as I’m sure I could fall down that addictive rabbit hold if I had the chance.

Oh, the Budget is coming up fast, 12 days to go!

Today, the Australian Unemployed Workers Union launched our response to the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, since it both won’t have any current welfare recipients on it nor be listened to by the government anyway. It’s called the “Left Behind Committee” and we’d love to have your submission about what it’s like to “live” off welfare in this country and what you’d like to see in the Budget and upcoming “announceables” since there’s an election in 12 months too.

Post your submission to Twitter with the hashtag #LeftBehindCommittee, or if you want to send something longer email it to media@auwu.org.au (with “Left Behind Committee” as the subject-line). The union is going to collate and print the submissions and take them to Canberra.

Greg Jericho posted a piece this morning calling the government out for not WANTING to Raise the Rate of jobseeker. For choosing to not fund it, for choosing to fund other things, because budgets are all about choices and it’s certainly a choice to have called for JobSeeker to remain above the poverty line post-covid supplement while you were the opposition but continue to think that celebrating the $20/wk raise last year for the lowest payments as having done your job and being enough to take you through the the next election? A twenty dollar a week increase that was absorbed before it even came in 6 months later. You honestly can’t believe that the average person believes that people are better off now than when you got into office?

The call for Jobseeker to be 90% of the pension is weak, but I was hoping you’d decide to do it, and then you’d be left alone by many for awhile. I mean it would make a HUGE difference to people’s lives, even if it’s still leaving everyone who relies of welfare as their main income below the poverty line. Yep, even pensioners and the like. Even most single parent pensioners even when you take into account their other family benefits and rent assistance, they’re still likely to be below the poverty line, and then their kid turns 14 they’re thrown onto Jobseeker again, a suddenly slashing of a family’s income.

As a disability pensioner, I lay low. I resent that aged pensioners got ore wiggle room with how much they can earn before their pension reduces, even though I’m not working currently myself. Giving people options to try to go into the workforce is one thing that being on DSP is meant to bring, without the hovering disability employment services telling you you’re doing it wrong, or transitioning to more hours too slow, or taking too many days off for your disability. The slight amount of more money also allows for a bit less stress when dialing up or down work hours. But, the truth is, on the partner rate I’m getting $60/day instead of $80 since I simply have a partner. “Fortunately” he earns too little for me to lose any pension, but isn’t that a whole issue in itself, that disabled people lose benefits because the state sees their partners as their carers and keepers? The same applies for the aged pension, based off the 80s single income family, buying a house, retiring having 1 or certainly probably not 2 full time wages leading up to retirement. Those who don’t own their own home by then are screwed, continuing to rent while rent assistance comes in as an afterthought.

I’d be curious to see what would happen to partner and pension rates if the JobSeeker single allowance went up to that 90% figure, or about $72/day. Where would that partnered rate go to? Would it be like when the covid supplement came in and people were getting more on Jobseeker than DSP? Weird times that I hope happen and create chaos and make people think about what the hell we’re doing to people in the name of a budget surplus.

Welfare Dependency is a Good Thing, Actually

Two alieds in regal gear with text Why does the working class, the larger of the two classes, not simply eat the rich?

Yeah, The Poors are cranky again, this time because a “think tank” has decided there’s too many of us on welfare and that it’s a bad thing. They also decided that the NDIS is welfare and double counted people on that and on support payments like the disability support pension and Job Seeker, so aside from their numbers being dodgy, they seem to think that people on the NDIS are the ones suckling that cash cow, whether really it’s the  businesses and “not for profits” making money off disabled people’s need to get out of bed or shower who are raking it in.

Mel argued today that welfare dependency isn’t actually a thing, and she has a point, but I’d like to also argue that being dependent on welfare is a good thing, actually, and the safety net should be more reliable and available to more people.

People shouldn’t be waiting over three months from applying for the aged pension or youth allowance to see any money. They shouldn’t be having their payment suspended due to an error from a JSP, they shouldn’t have to spend hours on hold if they can even get on hold to Centrelink to get their entitlements reinstated.

Welfare SHOULD be dependable as a safety net. For those who can’t work, for those who are sick or disabled or aged or caring for themselves or others. We should be able to access it in a timely fashion when circumstances arise like unemployment or a new baby. Welfare dependence is a good thing, actually, and I wish Australia’s welfare system was more dependable.

 

Grannies Targeted – Supermarket Pricing, Write-offs and what lands on my Kitchen Table

I love granny smith apples. Always have. Would only eat them as a kid, refusing anything red, occasionally trying a golden delicious. Too tart for many, they’re so crunchy and perfect for this lemon lover. This is why allegations that Coles has been marking up their Granny Smiths more than other apples troubled me, but also made sense, given how many I’ve gotten free from foodbanks the past few weeks.

If they’re more expensive, why would you be getting them free, Fiona? Well, the food that comes to our local foodbanks, via Foodbank, OzHarvest or the local old fella collecting baked goods directly form out the back depends on what is not being sold. This may just be because they over-estimated the amount of while bread what would be bought that day, or they have a shelf of cross-promotional products like Vegemite Brownies or Zopper Dooper milks that were a novelty that weren’t really cared for. Other stuff might be a bit externally roughed up, short dated, or there might be new labels coming in. Happy to receive most of these things and give them a go for free or cheap but it does feel a bit meh to always have things that have been rejected for some reason.

So, my theory on the granny smith glut this month is they’re good apples, but perhaps the over-pricing has turned way too many people off buying them in the supermarket, so they’re being left on the shelves. So Coles has to pass on things that aren’t moving, and Ozharvest are getting them all. Coles, of course, gets to claim credit (financial and moral) for donating these overpriced but otherwise great apples. I get to have daily fruit but the supermarket shopper is priced out of being able to buy the apples they want, despite them being in good supply.

In other news, the welfare rate indexation from March 20 officially came out Monday, and JobSeekers will be getting less than a dollar a day extra, I’ll be getting $1.05/day extra on my DSP. Definitely not enough to buy my own overpriced apples in store.Allowances Family Situation Previous Amount 20 Mar 2024 Increase Single, 22 or over, no children $749.20 $762.70 $13.50 pf Single, 22 or over, with children $802.50 $816.90 $14.40 pf Single, 55 or over, after 9 months $802.50 $816.90 $14.40 pf Partnered (each) $686.00 $698.30 $12.30 pf Single, principal carer of child, exempt from activity test* $970.20 $987.70 $17.50 pf

Pensions Adult Pension Rates Single* Previous Amount 20 Mar 2024 Increase Base $1,002.50 $1,020.60 $18.10 pf Supplement $80.10 $81.60 $1.50 pf Energy Supplement $14.10 $14.10 - pf Total $1,096.70 $1,116.30 $19.60 pf Partnered (each) Base $755.70 $769.30 $13.60 pf Supplement $60.40 $61.50 $1.10 pf Energy Supplement $10.60 $10.60 - pf Total $826.70 $841.40 $14.70 pf

Rent assistance indexation comes in around $3/fn for most. The press release reminds us that it went up 15% last time ($13) so we should be grateful and stuff.

Rent Assistance - for payments under the Social Security Act Maximum Payment Family Situation Previous Amount 20 Mar 2024 Increase Single $184.80 $188.20 $3.40 pf Single, sharer $123.20 $125.47 $2.27 pf Couple $174.00 $177.20 $3.20 pf Partnered, illness-separated $184.80 $188.20 $3.40 pf Partnered, temporarily separated $174.00 $177.20 $3.20 pf

So, I’ll munch on my grannie smith for morning tea and wonder how it’s okay for people to not be able to afford the basics while supermarkets continue to increase their profits and we’re reminded how little tax fossil fuel companies are paying.