Tag: welfare

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.

 

Welfare is going up a dollar a day from March 20

Well, 96 cents if you’re on Jobseeker. Personally my pension indexation is $1.05 a day. That certainly won’t make any impact whatsoever when it starts getting indexed from Thursday (March 20).

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

And don’t worry, Rent Assistance will only be going up about $1.50/week so it won’t help at all with this year’s rent increases.

We saw news articles last week where people are suddenly realising that people who are retiring to the aged pension and don’t own a house are fucked. No real acknowledgement though that that’s already the reality for people on DSP and Jobseeker, and that we’re not really adding to our Superannuation in any significant way to help with those costs if we live til 67.

Personally, my Super has been hovering around $150k since I stopped being a speech pathologist, fluctuation with markets. See how much it devalues over then next 25 years hey, and see what opportunities I have to add to it.

In personal news, I’ve moved sides of the living room. Bruce’s son is moving in this week, so we’re rejigging a bunch of things ahead of that. It means I’m under my hue lights now and have a nice solid wall behind me rather than open room/tv. Now to phona-fy the rest of the corner.

Antipoverty Activist Origin Stories

Melissa wrote yesterday on the impacts of poverty on self-esteem, but how much of that comes from others kicking you when you’re down or questioning how you dare to enjoy a little treat on indulge in a “vice”. This post wasn’t out of nowhere, and not the first time an antipoverty activist has felt the need to detail their backstory, from born into poverty to having a long fall from the top, we all have them and feel the need to justify our existence in this space now and then, but never moreso than when self-appointed gatekeepers come out with their deserving and undeserving poor narratives, how it’s all about hard work and but never about how they may have got there then pulled the ladder up after them.

Inside the private school past and comfortable lives of 'Jobseeker Jez''s 'union' leaders - as they campaign for bigger dole payments for the unemployed

Our favourite online rag, the Daily Mail, has a regular go after some of the more prominent members of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, and has dedicated articles to the private school backgrounds of some of the office bearers, because there’s no way that anyone who’s parents fronted up for a private education could ever have difficulties in their life that lead to disability and/or long-term unemployment.

I’ve mentioned Van Badham here before, and how she won’t engage with any criticism of Labor and preemptively blocks anyone associated with the Greens rather than engage on Twitter.  She had quite the weekend on Twitter, with this profile piece done on her by the ABC, that drew some comments and eye-rolls, but even more so being called out by comedian Aamer Rahman after she shared one of his bits on racism in regards to Sam Kerr’s charges, and he called her out quite thoroughly for avoiding any mention of Gaza let alone condemning the slaughter of 30,000 Palestinians by Istael.

It was certainly a get my name out of your mouth moment.

I assume Van is of the school if you can’t say anything nice say nothing at all…

So, coming back to the qualifications needed to be an anti-poverty activist. You need to be genuine and care about other people. You need to realise that everyone’s story is different and legitimate and what worked for one won’t work for all. You need to put people’s health, welfare and safety ahead of looking good and cheering on your team. You just need to be a decent person who listens.

Perhaps, now and then I’m jealous of a pair of shoes that the well-meaning white women speaking over us has, or their paycheques or stable housing. But then I’m jealous of Amy Remeikis’ wardrobe, but she seems like a legitimately great person who uses her position to ask difficult questions of those in power about their priorities policies and not just whether it’ll be good for the party.

Anyways.

My origin story? Do we have time for that?

Not really, perhaps another day. But here’s my linkedin, so you can draw your own conclusions xoxox

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.

How being on the DSP has allowed me to stabilise my mental health

I was approved for the disability support pension about two years ago now. It wasn’t a straightforward process, and I was initially rejected, with my request for a review going through successfully without any more information from me. So, how has being on DSP improved my quality of life?

Slightly more money – the partnered DSP rate is currently $826.70 per fortnight, $140 more than the $686.00 I’d be getting on JobSeeker. (source DSS 2023) The difference for singles is more – $347.50 a fortnight extra to use to pay for the basics of life, costs which all agree are more with a disability – studies showing that you need at least 50% more disposable income to live with a disability in Australia. Not that any of the DSP gets to be disposable.

Getting off the Disability Employment Services radar – I’ve had a lot of exemptions from job searching in my time on payments, so for me this meant there was no looming date where I’d have to reengage with DES or have to get a correctly written medical certificate from my non-bulk billing doctor to have them waived again. This was a huge stress relief, not having to apply for jobs I wasn’t ready for, and not having to show up to fortnightly appointments to talk about how my life was falling apart this week and how a minimum wage cleaning job was clearly what I needed to fix my mental health.

Did you know under-35s on DSP have mutual obligations these days? Any disabled person who is failing to meet their “obligations” and getting cut of their payments is clearly being failed by the services that are supposed to be supporting them.

TIME and SPACE – time and space to do the therapies that I was already involved in. When I got DSP, I was doing 4 sessions a week of various therapies – individual and group – for borderline personality disorder and alcohol dependence. I could now just focus on these for awhile. So, I certainly wasn’t sitting at home on DSP, I was doing therapy in person and online, I was practicing getting out and about into the world again after a breakdown that coincided with Covid routine changes and added stresses. I’ve been sober 3 three years now, and certainly the support of having the DSP and not having to meet others expectations around employment have let me maintain that even amongst the rest of the chaos that life brings.

Time and space to figure me out and pursue my own interests and use my skills. I also started to learn the confidence to pace myself properly – I had a therapy goal that was basically following through on things I committed to. Which is two sided – both not chickening out with anxiety or low energy when it all gets too much, but also not letting it get to much – knowing my schedule, knowing how much and what sorts of things I can commit to and only pushing myself as far as I should go. Not saying yes because it’s expected of me, but giving things a go and seeing if they do spark joy. It’s amazing how much energy expenditure varies when you are following an interest!

Time and space to prioritise my “little routine”, allowing myself to see getting up and dressed or putting away the washing as an achievement, and being happy with my day. If I get my little routine together, if I do my chore, make my dinners, then I have more time and space mentally and practically to do more of the things that are generally seen as productive – supporting friends and family, writing and advocacy, maybe even doing a little bit of paid work here and there!

There’s so many goals I’m starting to see as achievable for myself after having this period of self-stability. It’s allowed me to try new things, put my hand up to do things I care about and feel are important, with the knowledge that I don’t have to meet someone else’s expectations to get paid each fortnight. I don’t know if I’ll make it back to earning enough to no longer get the pension, I’d love to do more, be more independent financially, actually have a disposable income, but I have time now. Time and space to dip in and out of the outside world as I can in a way that is of benefit to both myself and everyone else near and dear to me.

I’m certainly not “fixed”. I’m starting with a new psych, but being on DSP means that that would be prohibitively expensive if I hadn’t been able to get in with one that I can see for free for 10 sessions, but only on a Thursday and only from April. I also need to properly explore my neurodivergence, somehow find the energy and the money to get assessed for Autism and ADHD, especially if that would help me at all when it comes with getting even more okay with living in this world.

Just needed to breathe.