Re: Changes to DSP residency and Portability Requirements
I have previously had 100% security clearance and did sign the Official Secrets Act.
And all of this is just data.
Once, when I was living in the ACT, I met The President of the Senate (1996-2002) when I was trying to articulate a case for funding of the men’s movement. That person fixed it.
I have only used that connection once when I went to Launceston in Tasmania and I introduced myself to the then Senator. I hope that person’s daughter is still okay.
If I may I would like to tell you a personal story and then give you some questions that I will appreciate an answer.
THE STORY
In November 2010 I was granted a DSP on 3 grounds that were and are all medically verifiable,
1. Profound Hearing Loss with Tinnitus in both ears (which is genetic and degenerative but I am uncertain if they can empirically prove tinnitus but I can assure you it is real and gets worse as the hearing deteriorates);
2. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (which is proving to be degenerative for me); and
3. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (which I have had for 40 years and is getting worse the older I get and of the 3 has been and still is the most debilitating and I was originally diagnosed as having Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
In February 2011 a friend, whom I hadn't seen in some time, contacted me and saw where I was living and the circumstances of my life and suggested to me that I would be far better to go and visit the Philippines and he could introduce me to his girlfriend's sister who would look after me.
He also suggested that given the circumstances of their lives that I should offer to support her and her 4 year old son.
Now for a person that all their life had vowed and declared that he would never leave Australia because it is the best country in the world this became an intriguing thought.
And I gave it consideration because I had previously been homeless and was fortunate to have been granted public housing in Perth via a Streets to the Home program.
However, after my fifth bashing and being chased by a Sudenese musselman, I was laughing at him even though he wanted to chop my head off, in that public housing complex my PTSD flight or fight instincts were fairly maxed and WA Housing was unable to provide me any accommodation in a country town.
I grew up on a mixed rice/sheep/wheat farm in the South Western Riverina region of NSW and we did not get electricity until I was 16.
So I was introduced to the sister and we started chatting via the internet on a daily basis and that was the greatest contact I had had with another human being in years.
I started to ring Centrelink to understand how it was I could leave Australia and what I had to do to ensure compliance with their rules and regulations and I determined that it basically meant compliance with the 13 weeks maximum visit.
And I 'googled' the town which is called Argao on the island of Cebu and checked its history, which only dates from the Spanish period from 400 years ago. Although they did kill Ferdinand Magellan they are a loyal, tribal and gentle people.
So I booked and despite my fears, I nearly chickened out 2 hours before the plane was due to depart, I went to Cebu and then down to Argao.
And they grow rice and the environment is green, all the time.
And if you grew up in the dry NSW Riverina plains as I did you will appreciate how restful a green foliage environment can be.
And it doesn't matter that I am deaf because I can't understand their language, Cebuano, anyway. They don’t like Tagalog which is spoken in the Luzon/Manilla area up north.
Whilst I was there in Argao I saw on the internet The Hon. Wayne Swan, Treasurer, Deputy Prime Minister, announce in his 2011 budget that they were going to allow DSP recipients in 2012 to gain indefinite portability.
And the reason he gave was that it would save the government money by reducing Medicare costs and nursing home costs, free up public housing and be of all round benefit to Australia.
I thought I must check that out upon my return to Australia.
And the reason for thinking to check that out is because I had a full time carer in Argao.
Someone who was there to make sure I ate 3 meals a day, who would go to the market and buy the food and prepare it, who would go and pay the rent, electricity and water, who would wash the clothes.
Though I have to admit when someone washes my clothes by hand I feel uncomfortable. It reminds me of my mother’s efforts. I am the eldest of 9 and used to look after the copper where we boiled the clothes.
Someone that could put up with me spitting up phlegm from the bottom of my lungs or check if I woke up gasping for breath in the middle of the night feeling as if I was drowning.
And if you want to go somewhere there is always a Motor tricycle going past the front door so you don't have to walk miles to catch a bus.
Walking isn't pleasant when your lung capacity isn't great.
And as an aside her mother, whom she nursed, died from emphysema about 5 years ago.
So I went in May 2011 and returned in August 2011 and I learnt the first thing that Centrelink do not tell you.
They measure the time away from when your passport is scanned at the airport and not your actual flight departure and arrival date, which I had used in my calculations.
I was delisted and lost a day from my next pension payment.
And no where on Centrelink's website does it tell you that time away is measured from passport scans.
I should have been warned then how they operate.
I came back to that dingy, poky 1 bedroom flat, one of 220 units full of old and bitter pensioners, drug addicts, criminals, people dieing, thieves, people abusing the system and multiculturism.
I can tell you that if any politician or hero business person wants to truly show solidarity with the homeless then they should go incognito into a men's shelter for a night or two, or spend a week in any one of our inner city major public housing complexes.
Try and get someone from one of the “services” to help you and listen to you.
Then they will know what it is like and what the attraction is for some DSP people to go overseas.
Maybe the overseas DSP people just want to feel like regular, independent people.
There is nothing worse than being disabled.
When I came back I contacted Centrelink International a number of times regarding 13 week stays and the unlimited portability rules.
I was given the understanding that it was okay to leave Australia as long as I kept returning within the 13 weeks and was also advised that it would be best to make application for portability of DSP some time after the 1/7/2012.
Because they expected a rush.
I then asked, and they agreed, if it would be best to leave my application until August 2012 and was told that it would be best to do so.
In about October 2011 I even sent in an application to the Minister, The Hon. Jenny Macklin, asking for an immediate grant of portability under the Act of Grace provision in the Social Security Act seeing as portability was going to be introduced in the New Year.
Of course I got a gentle phone call from some secretary to the Minister telling me that ‘no they couldn't do that but would I like my request placed on my file’.
I said yes please as I believe it would be good for my health and well being for me to be able to extend my stays as long as possible.
As a consequence of all the assurances and reassurances I received I decided to return to the Philippines as often as I could and told Centrelink International of my intentions,
1. depart Australia on 20/11/2011 returning 21/02/2012;
2. depart Australia on 21/02/2012 returning 16/05/2012; and
3. depart Australia on 19/05/2012 returning 12/08/2012.
In August 2012 it was and is my intention to apply for portability of the DSP and I will remain in Australia for as long as required for the application process to be completed.
When I returned to Perth in February I rang Centrelink from Perth Airport and advised I was leaving that same day and would be returning in May, which they duly noted.
At that time I also found out that I had made the same flight departure and arrival calculation mistake and hence had to be reinstated because the computer system automatically drops you off if you are outside the 13 weeks and I lost another day from my next DSP payment. But it was no problem for them to reinstate me.
At that time I flew to Darwin because Jetstar has direct flights to Manila.
GEORGE ORWELL TIME
On the 17th April 2012 I received a letter from Centrelink that told me that my Pensioner Concession Card would expire on the 21 May 2012 and from payment date of 8/6/2012 my Pension Supplement would reduce from $60.20 to $21.00.
No explanation. No nothing.
So I tried to contact Centrelink International. And I could not contact them, at least not from where I am in the provinces.
And you cannot contact them.
So I sent an online message. It took them 12 days to respond with,
To maintain the privacy and security of our customers we are unable to release personal information over the internet.
If we can be of more help, please call a Customer Service Adviser on 13 2717, 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday to assist you with your enquiry. Customers calling from overseas can phone +61 3 6222 3455 reverse charges via an operator.
And every time I send an email I get the same response.
Talk about laugh and kick sand in your face. When you are as deaf as I am the telephone is frightening.
So I searched the internet and found a site called
DspOverseas.proboards.com and I joined them on the 8th May. Unfortunately I did not read enough of their posts before returning home on the 15th May. Arrived on the 16th.
On my return to Australia on the 16th May and though I had lined up an appointment with a doctor I went to check in with the local Centrelink office in Knuckey Street where I was sat down by a "Customer Service Advisor" called T Mane.
And Senator, if you have been able to read this far kindly understand that no animals nor robots will be harmed by me, the rest will have to look after their selves.
It took some time for T Mane to identify me, I am deaf remember, but I worked out she was calling me.
Innocent as the lamb I asked why was my Pensioner Concession Card destroyed and I was going to have my Pension Supplement reduced.
She actually never answered the question.
What she said was “ask Centrelink International about that”.
And then she started how the law had changed and I was outside the law. And I am going “please put this in writing because I cannot hear properly” and she kept on and on.
And it takes me some time these days to comprehend.
Now Senator you would have no idea of the hatred I have for that person and the one she kept running to for answers.
She had to sit alongside me and loudly talk in my ear, and I was told that there had been a change in the law from 1/1/2012 and I no longer qualify as an Australian resident.
This absolutely stunned me, it sent me into shock actually, and T Mane then determined that I had a partner as well and reduced my DSP to the partnered rate.
I was told that they could give me 2 weeks to return to the Philippines to sort out whatever I might need to do or I could ask for a Review of the decision but it would probably mean that I will lose the DSP.
I returned the next day and signed the necessary paper for the review of residency but it did not include a review of the partnership status.
I HAD TO GET BACK TO SOME SAFETY AND I NOW CONCLUDE THAT AUSTRALIA IS A HOSTILE NATION.
THE QUESTIONS
1. Why not grandfather all existing Overseas DSP people as they will die anyway?
2. Will the Secretary or his/her delegate tell me what job/work I can do in 2 (two) hours?
3. If I publish/advertise my entire record with Centrelink in the Canberra Times and The Australian does that make my details public and hence a robot/animal/Centrelink employee can respond to me by email?
4. How do I ensure that a “public servant” is dismissed?
5. Does the Guide to Social Security Law at
www.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssg-rn.htmlhave any meaning at all or is it just there to make people look good?
If I may I will give you a brief outline of what I live with every day.
I see the edge of a truck lined up with my head;
I see the truck drive over the top of my car’s bonnet;
I feel my head hit the top right hand corner of the windscreen;
I see us in the car going through the side of the bridge;
I do not remember the fall to the water nor sinking in the water;
I remember the feeling of being underwater and the feeling I was going to drown;
I remember the desperation to get to the surface to breath;
I remember urging my younger sisters and brothers to swim to the bridge pylons;
I remember swimming back to the spot where the car went down to dive to get my mother;
I remember my mother coming to the surface in front of me;
I remember grabbing my mother;
I remember seeing the life go out of her eyes.
I got the pigeon pair because I held my father’s hand when he died.