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Post by agonydan on Feb 6, 2020 11:03:16 GMT 7
Hope there will be a massive stink that flows through the country over this. Government seems to forget people on welfare and pensions vote too.
But then again people who voted for this government were warned that they will try and push the CDC card through.
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Post by bear on Feb 6, 2020 15:07:59 GMT 7
I feel sick thinking about being forced on to cashless welfare. It's so insulting
This government is consumed with telling poor people how to live. Why do you care how I spend my money?
When it comes to listening out for government announcements on welfare, I am something of an old hand. It becomes a kind of compulsion when you are reliant on Centrelink payments to survive; scanning the headlines to see what other monstrosity they will foist upon you is necessary, and also incredibly dejecting.Finding out about the current government’s push to put all welfare recipients on the cashless welfare card made my stomach drop. I felt physically sick every time I thought of it, and still do. For a few days, I had to stop scanning the headlines. For those who don’t know, the cashless welfare card is a card that is issued to welfare recipients where 80% of your money is locked onto the card. Only 20% can be accessed for cash. The original form was the Basics card, pushed onto remote Aboriginal communities during the Intervention and framed as a solution to social problems. Andrew “Twiggy” Forest came up with this newer, flashier version with all his non-existent expertise in social work. I know nothing about mining. I guess this means Twiggy would welcome my non-existent expertise in his billion-dollar business. Don’t worry Twiggy, my suggestions on how you can stop wasting money are on their way to you posthaste. Oh, you don’t want my instructions on how to spend your money? Yeah. I don’t want yours either. Cashless welfare card: how does it work and what changes is the government proposing?It is frequently touted by certain MPs as “just like an Eftpos card, except you can’t buy alcohol or gambling products”. I cannot tell you how many times I have felt enraged reading this absolute falsehood. Having watched the progression of the cashless welfare card in Australia and listening to people who are on it, nothing could be further from the truth. Eftpos cards don’t stop you buying goods online. Eftpos cards don’t stop you buying things second hand. Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, garage sales: these are all off limits to someone on a card. For someone like me on Newstart (now called Jobseeker’s allowance), this can be an absolute disaster if I don’t have access to ready cash. If my fridge breaks down, I can buy one second hand for $50 online. From a big appliance store, it can cost $400. Using large amounts of money requires the approval of Indue, the faceless corporation making $10,000 a year per person for administering my money. Please wait kind stranger, hold onto that fridge, while I go begging Daddy Indue for permission to use my funds. Eftpos cards don’t make me feel like Oliver Twist.I am struggling to describe the anger I feel when forced to contemplate a future on a cashless welfare card. Anne Ruston in her latest interview claimed it was a “financial literacy tool”. Excuse my language, but what a bloody insult to me and every other person relying on Centrelink payments. We are not poor because we have trouble managing money. We are poor because payments are so low on Centrelink it requires financial gymnastics to survive. We don’t magically lose financial literacy just because we are on payments. How stupid do you think we are? It is the highest insult to tell the poor they could just stop being poor by budgeting. Living on Centrelink payments forces me to budget incredibly carefully, and I am damn good at it. It is an intricate ballet of moving money around like dancers on a dance floor, ensuring they don’t crash into each other. I have a mental tally of which bill is due when and I move my money accordingly. I use a prepaid mobile. I buy secondhand goods. I dumpster dive. I use charities when necessary for food. Do you know what doesn’t help? Having restrictions on my money. Being told where to spend my pittance of an income is just cruel. Having had relatives go through domestic violence, I am aware of the financial control exerted on them in violent relationships. Being denied agency and control over your own funds wears away at you, to the point where you start believing you can’t do anything. It is not a way to encourage financial literacy. It is financial abuse. So why is it now a government policy? If you have never been on Centrelink payments it is very difficult to describe the lack of power and control you feel when you see announcements like these. Imagine that your only form of income is at the whim and mercy of a few men and women in a room, whose daily accommodation budget for Canberra is more than what you get in a week. You are told you are incapable of managing your funds lest you waste it on booze or drugs or gambling. Never mind that you actually don’t have these issues. Would you feel angry at being labelled a drug-addicted spendthrift incapable of managing your funds? We see politicians like Bridget McKenzie misusing money yet no one has suggested she go on a cashless welfare card. Yet this government seems consumed with telling the poor how to live. In the immortal words of Regina George from Mean Girls: “Why are you so obsessed with me?” When the country is dealing with bushfires raging, people and animals dying, and the threat of floods, why do you care how I spend my money? amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/06/i-feel-sick-thinking-about-being-forced-onto-cashless-welfare-its-so-insulting
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Post by nomadic on Feb 6, 2020 16:38:16 GMT 7
Because of their fanatical religious belief. There can be no other logical reason. Not possible for any other reason but insanity. clap clap clap.
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Post by bear on Feb 13, 2020 7:47:59 GMT 7
Opinion: the cashless debit card is not a ‘financial literacy tool,’ and Big 4 involvement won’t change that
By Accountable Income Management Network
With the government’s recent announcement of its plan to start rolling out the Cashless Debit Card beyond its trial phase, thousands of people currently struggling to get by on low rates of the Newstart Allowance are poised to have their lives made even harder.
The revelation that the Morrison government is working with the big four banks, Coles and Woolworths on technical measures and payment systems that will enable the roll-out the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) nationwide is highly concerning, particularly considering the framing of the card as a ‘financial literacy tool’. The Accountable Income Management Network (AIMN) condemns this characterisation of the card by Minister Anne Ruston, noting that people on income support have developed expert skills in managing their meagre social security payments. The minister’s suggestion that the CDC has achieved its stated goals in reducing social harm is not substantiated by an evidence base and fails to acknowledge the experiences of many people subjected to the trial who have suffered significant stigmatisation, restrictions of consumer choice and the collection of their private data without their consent. The further roll-out of the card will subject thousands more Australians to these negative and humiliating effects. Despite failing to provide evidence of the efficacy of compulsory income management and the CDC, the Coalition still seeks to expand the program across the country. This broader expansion is proposed to commence with the extension of the CDC to the Northern Territory and Cape York through the provisions of the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Income Management to Cashless Debit Card Transition) Bill 2019. If passed, this Bill will impact over 22,000 more people — the majority of whom are Indigenous. The Bill, which affected communities have not been consulted on, will be back before the Senate in the first sitting weeks of this year, commencing this Tuesday, 4th February. The Northern Territory community sector has raised serious concerns about the lack of consultation or community engagement from the Department of Social Services in relation to the roll-out of Cashless Debit Card. According to Dr Josie Douglas from the Central Land Council: “As with the Intervention, the cashless debit card is being rolled forward without consultation or consideration of what might work best for people on the ground. This is extraordinary given the fact that more than 35,000 Territorians have had direct experience of income management over the past 12 years, the majority of them being Aboriginal and living in remote communities where life is already very tough … yet their views are not being sought. Information sessions or briefings being conducted by DSS staff do not constitute consultation, a lesson that should have been learned by governments long ago. Following this week’s meeting of 90 CLC Aboriginal delegates, it is abundantly clear that very few people are aware that the change is coming or understand the details.” Removing technological barriers to the national expansion of the CDC does nothing to address the social exclusion and impoverishment caused by compulsory income management and reflects a shift towards outsourcing Australian’s social security systems in the interests of private companies such as Indue Limited, the big banks, Coles and Woolworths. The Coalition’s announcement also distracts from the dire need to raise the rate of Newstart and other social security payments, which currently fall well below the poverty line. The AIMN notes that the effects of the CDC and of inadequate social security payments have also been compounded by the recent bushfire crisis. People in fire-affected communities are usually reliant on cash transactions and informal payment arrangements. Those on the CDC in the Ceduna area have had their access to vital financial assistance compromised by power outages which, in the absence of access to cash, has left them unable to use their Indue card to purchase essential goods and services. In the absence of appropriate policy responses to bushfires as well as reliable energy supplies, the national roll-out of the CDC will increase levels of vulnerability across an increased number of Australians. The Accountable Income Management Network calls for an end to compulsory income management in Australia and urges all senators, including Senator Jacqui Lambie, and Senators Rex Patrick and Sterling Griff of the Centre Alliance to vote against the Bill in the Senate. Noting that the implementation and administration of compulsory income management requires additional resources and government infrastructure, costing the government a projected $1 billion over 10 years, we call on the government to end compulsory income management and the implementation of the Cashless Debit Card across all sites, to reinvest in local community services and initiatives, and to develop appropriate policies to safeguard communities from the ravages of disasters such as bushfires. We also call for the big four banks to disinvest in compulsory income management programs in Australia and heed the recommendations of the Banking Royal Commission around ethical consumer engagement. www.themandarin.com.au/125075-opinion-the-cashless-debit-card-is-not-a-financial-literacy-tool-and-big-4-involvement-wont-change-that/
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Post by mulloway on Feb 13, 2020 11:08:54 GMT 7
It seems very rushed and cloak and dagger. The LNP are clearly ignoring the negatives and cherry picking data that makes the CDC look good. To say it has had some positive effects in Kalgoorlie, W.A. does not mean it will be beneficial to someone living in Kooyong, Victoria. As Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer said there could be "unintended consequences" to such a person.
Initially they wanted the card rolled out nationally to all Social Security recipients and to have 100% of their benefits quarantined. That was how Twiggy Forrest envisioned his "Healthy Welfare Card". But consider the "unintended consequences" it could have say on a 75 year old single man on the Old Age Pension. That man may be single because he lost his wife to cancer. He might feel lonely as a result of this and want to have a beer while watching the cricket, but he can't because the LNP says he is not allowed to buy beer. He wants to bake a cake on the anniversary of his wife’s death but he can’t because the LNP said he can’t buy vanilla essence (as it contains alcohol). He wants to go to the RSL and put $5 on a horse on Melbourne Cup Day, but he can't because the LNP says he can't gamble.
There needs to be a lot more public debate on this. Is this the kind of Australia we want to live in? Should people on social security benefits have their finances micromanaged by governments and big corporations?
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Post by nomadic on Feb 13, 2020 13:26:23 GMT 7
I think there will massive riots on the streets like never before if it is rolled out. banjo, bear and I will start riots in Bangkok even. it will be world wide. Maybe Woolies will open branches in every country where there are Oz pensioners. It is total madness to believe it will ever happen but yes Morrison is mad.
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Post by bunyip on Feb 13, 2020 15:08:25 GMT 7
I think there will massive riots on the streets like never before if it is rolled out. banjo, bear and I will start riots in Bangkok even. it will be world wide. Maybe Woolies will open branches in every country where there are Oz pensioners. It is total madness to believe it will ever happen but yes Morrison is mad. The liberasl would love it if there were riots on the street, remember the corporate Murdoch mainstream media is on the liberals side, l can see the headlines in the Murdoch daily telegraph ' Dole bludgers riot' ' Dole bludgers riot to protect their drug and drink money' and for all us on the DSP ' if they are well enough to riot they are well enough to work" Because the media is against us rioting could work against us, l think our best argument is to let the general public know the massive cost of a national rollout to the taxpayers would could come to more then $1 billion , let the public know that a billion dollars that could be going to hospitals or education of useful things
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Post by latindancer on Feb 14, 2020 16:08:39 GMT 7
From The Bega News : Deliberately cruel welfare policies our growing national shame I am finding myself rubbing my eyes, as if to clear away the disbelief, every time I see the news. I have to be honest - I'm struggling to come to terms with what we are seeing emerge from government leadership and I just cannot rationalise the social welfare policies that have been rolled out since the last election, in particular.
My naivete refuses to let me believe wholeheartedly that anyone elected to represent the people could deliberately intend to be cruel.
I want to believe that those in positions of power are just not understanding the reality of the situation, or can't empathise with something they've never experienced themselves. Or, perhaps, have been swayed by data that can so easily be stacked to say whatever the author want it to say.
I don't want to be a cynic. But I'm becoming one. As a nation, we continue to be labouring under the belief that people who don't have a job have something wrong with them - that if you don't have any money, it's because you can't manage it; that if you receive welfare payments, you are going to waste income support on drugs, alcohol and gambling.
The 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey states that people experiencing unemployment are "3.1 times as likely to have used meth/amphetamines". This oft-quoted line from the report is regularly trotted out to justify the quarantining of income support payments on the basis of preventing social harm. However, what this figure actually refers to is the difference between 1.5 per cent of employed people and 4.6 per cent of people experiencing unemployment. It is not an encompassing statement about drug use across the board and does not equate to people experiencing unemployment being three times more likely to take drugs in general.
Would it surprise you to know that 74.3 per cent of people experiencing unemployment don't use drugs, or that more employed people are "lifetime risky drinkers" or "single occasion risky drinkers (monthly)", according to this same survey? Perhaps it would floor you to realise that one in five Newstart recipients actually have a job? They just don't have enough hours to completely lose their Newstart payment.
In light of this, I can understand why Senator Anne Ruston recently said that the scope of the cashless welfare card needs to have a "broader application than perhaps the social harm reduction that the original policy was designed on", because that initial purpose is such a flimsy basis that it simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
There have been many stories in the media recently about how people are struggling on the cashless welfare card.
How they get behind in their bills because of CWC processes and while waiting for approval for their rental payments to go through, they find themselves in arrears and have even been evicted, increasing the risk of homelessness, financial insecurity, stress and mental health decline.
This government is first making thieves and then punishing them.
I looked into how a person would go about applying for an exemption from the card and the list of criteria was astounding.
According to the exit application and support documentation, to successfully exit the program "you must show reasonable management of your affairs, including financial affairs."
To do this, they will assess your Indue account information including transactions made and transfer history AND cashless debit card hotline information (presumably the recordings of calls "for training purposes"), applications for urgent Centrelink payments, suspensions, protection orders made against you, and even health information including episodes of medical care relating to drug and alcohol issues, to name a few. This breach of personal privacy dumbfounds me. That you are put on the program regardless of whether you actually have a history of drug, alcohol or financial issues, and then are forced to prove yourself capable when the very program stunts your agency and restricts your capacity to pay the bills they require you to in order to exempt you is preposterous.
As a citizen, the current investigations into a national rollout with the big four banks involved to further curb our freedoms are frightening. The rollout itself is terrifying enough, but it makes you wonder what's next? What's the bigger picture, here?
I have no answers, just a growing sense of dread. I think Thomas More must be in office, because it is quite clear that this government is first making thieves and then punishing them. But Utopia, this is not.Zoë Wundenberg is a careers consultant and un/employment advocateat impressability.com.au www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/6621771/deliberately-cruel-welfare-policies-our-growing-national-shame/?fbclid=IwAR1N2GLf-RFfzWTTzduCIa2HuZoj2oqeBCjBFRof-JRjlOVlfAelFTOPvX8
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Post by paddy on Feb 14, 2020 16:21:18 GMT 7
I hope the rorts scandals continue to blow up. Need to tear this government down.
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Post by bunyip on Feb 15, 2020 9:01:43 GMT 7
Jacqui Lambie just sold us out to the liberals, looks like the card will go ahead now independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/wrens-week-senator-lambie-commits-to-supporting-cashless-welfare-card,13599 enator Jacqui Lambie has backed plans to expand cashless welfare card trials despite the humiliation associated with the card, writes John Wren. THERE HAS BEEN consternation about the cashless welfare card rollout over the last week with much of the criticism levelled at independent Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie, who has committed to supporting it. Why she has committed to it is unclear. The card itself a full-force attack on the most vulnerable people in Australia, especially battlers who Lambie once pledged to support. Last year, Lambie also rolled over on the Medevac repeal Bill, revealing to the public her apparent lack of morality, so it comes as little surprise to many that she would screw over her traditional support base by backing it. A bit of history. The Indue card was founded by a group of former Coalition MPs led by Larry Anthony, the son of former Country Party leader Doug Anthony. He and others supposedly still hold significant shareholding in the card via complex family trust arrangements. WA mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest also seems to have a strong financial interest in the card. Forrest has been at the forefront of the campaign to gain Lambie’s support, lobbying her in Canberra and arranging visits to remote indigenous communities who have been using the card so that she can see how it works in the real world. Importantly, she was accompanied by the staff of the Minderoo Foundation, which is Forrest’s own “charity”. So, the staff members were effectively his employees. They seem to have acted like tour guides in the DPRK, who strenuously ensure tourists never get to see the real poverty-stricken North Korea. The card is income management — no more, no less. It has been trialled in remote communities where alcohol abuse is a problem. A welfare beneficiary has their benefits paid into the card which can then be used as a debit card to pay for things such as food. It cannot be used to pay for alcohol. This all sounds well and good so far. Few people would argue that taxpayers’ funds should be spent on alcohol over basic needs of food and clothing. It is interesting to note that the coalition parties often hold the power of the free market as the solution to all society’s ills. Income management is the direct opposite of free market thinking. As usual, the wealthy get the free spending option, battlers get controlled. Hypocrisy reigns. But the card supposedly costs somewhere between $4,000 and $12,000 per card to administer. It’s hard to get a fix on an exact number as there are many conflicting accounts, but even at the lower end of the scale, it’s exorbitant. Why has got me stumped until, of course, we think back to the ownership of the card. That money is almost all profit — for every individual placed on the card, taxpayers’ funds are funnelled straight into the bank accounts of the card company’s owners. Remember them from above? The former coalition MPs. As we know, the Coalition is adept at siphoning public funds into the hands of themselves and their cronies. This is no different. The card is also effectively a form of the old company store scam. I suspect this is where Forrest gets his kicks. Company stores are stores owned by the company usually in remote locations such as mine sites. These stores sell supplies to employees often at inflated prices due to their effective monopoly in the region and will often rack up very large credit accounts that are then deducted straight from an employee’s pay. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang his famous song ‘Sixteen Tonnes’ about the company store. In these remote locations, the company store can be the only retail outlet for hundreds of kilometres and is the only place cardholders can spend their money. This means they have no cash to buy fresh meat or vegetables from neighbours or things like second-hand clothes. They are trapped in paying high prices through the company store, meaning the already meagre amount they are allocated effectively becomes even less. They will often struggle to buy low-priced items online with the card. The card is also humiliating. Its use is a mark of shame. Using one implies that one cannot support oneself. Food stamps are a common welfare item in the USA. These are effectively vouchers that can be exchanged for food in certain stores. Those who rely on these stamps will often tell you how humiliating it is to pay for food with them at the checkouts. The cashless welfare card serves the same purpose. It is deliberately humiliating. And it is deliberate. Remember, the current government is led by a Pentecostal who follows an unchristian prosperity theology. A follower of this doctrine considers poor people to be lazy, ungodly and unworthy. The humiliation is quite deliberate. But above all else, the card simply does not seem to work. In areas where it has been trialled, alcohol abuse rates, domestic violence and other crime rates have not significantly dropped. In fact, there is evidence that petty crime has increased as the only way many people can get by on the card is via theft such as break-ins. It is very clear that the long-term plan for the card is for it to be used ubiquitously across all welfare sectors. Once the remote locations are rolled out, expect it to be rolled out to Newstart recipients in the cities, aged care pensions will likely be paid on it, as will Defence Veterans payments and many others. These new cardholders will be faced with the same challenges Indigenous card recipients have faced. There will be limited outlets in which to use the card (it’s unlikely that your corner store will accept it). Buying cheap fruit and vegetables with cash at farmers’ markets — forget about it. It’s already rumoured that there are many ways to circumvent the card to get cash and/or alcohol as well. The simplest being paying for your mate’s groceries with the card and him/her paying you the cash for them. I have no idea how they’ll police that Lambie has pledged to look after ADF veterans (she is one herself). I wonder how she will explain her action to them if she supports this card and they find they too are inflicted with it. Maybe not next year, or even the year after, but it will catch them in the end. It’s coming. Lambie can stop it, but has she the guts? Based on her Medevac rollover, I’d say not.
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Post by isleboy on Feb 15, 2020 9:16:59 GMT 7
No surprises there bunyip & as expected, they are not really there to serve the nation. They will put their self interest before, 1st & foremost. They must have made a great deal ($$$) with her. Australia well & truly, has been sold out, by these traitors & criminals.
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Post by bunyip on Feb 15, 2020 10:39:21 GMT 7
No surprises there bunyip & as expected, they are not really there to serve the nation. They will put their self interest before, 1st & foremost. They must have made a great deal ($$$) with her. Australia well & truly, has been sold out, by these traitors & criminals. Here Jacqui is with her new mate Twiggy forrest
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Post by bear on Feb 15, 2020 11:11:52 GMT 7
Not sure what's going on with "Independent Australia" site. Once again links aren't working. Thanks for copying & pasting bunyip. Cheers bear
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Post by prodius1 on Feb 16, 2020 5:47:51 GMT 7
No surprises there bunyip & as expected, they are not really there to serve the nation. They will put their self interest before, 1st & foremost. They must have made a great deal ($$$) with her. Australia well & truly, has been sold out, by these traitors & criminals. Here Jacqui is with her new mate Twiggy forrest The fools are well and truly in the drivers seat, while we get dragged along for the ride. I feel sick..
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Post by rainyday on Feb 16, 2020 8:26:33 GMT 7
Too many turncoats in politics!
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