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Post by elizabeth on Mar 19, 2012 21:20:43 GMT 7
From the Explantory Memoranda of the Unlimited Portability legislation: STATEMENTS OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Disability Support Pension Participation Requirements) Bill 2012 Schedule 3 - Portability of disability support pensionThis Schedule is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .
Overview of the Schedule The Schedule inserts new provisions that will allow disability support pension recipients who have a severe and permanent impairment and no future work capacity to have their disability support pension paid overseas for greater than 13 weeks. These changes acknowledge that some disability support pensioners who have a severe and permanent impairment and no future work capacity should not be impacted by the portability rules applicable to the majority of disability support pension recipients. Human rights implicationsThis Schedule promotes the right to social security as it changes the portability rules for disability support pension recipients with a severe and permanent impairment and no future work capacity to allow them to receive their payment overseas for greater than 13 weeks. For the majority of disability support pension recipients the maximum time they can receive their payment outside Australia will remain 13 weeks. This Schedule is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .
Conclusion The Schedule is compatible with human rights because it advances the protection of human rights.[ signed by] Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs,
Minister for Disability Reform, the Hon Jenny Macklin MPNote: The " international instrument" referred to in this statement is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtmlSpecifically, Article 18 of the Convention: "Article 18 - Liberty of movement and nationality 1. States Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with disabilities to liberty of movement, to freedom to choose their residence and to a nationality, on an equal basis with others..." |
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Post by Banjo on Mar 20, 2012 3:07:19 GMT 7
Welcome back.
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Post by lynne on Mar 20, 2012 5:05:47 GMT 7
When does this come into effect??
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Post by latindancer on Mar 20, 2012 7:05:42 GMT 7
Too bad this is not compatible with fairness and simple logic.
If a person on DSP who has been deemed by Centrelink to have the capacity to work 8+ hours per week is not forced to work in Australia, why should they not be free to travel / live overseas ?
And why are they being forced to return by having their payments stopped if they stay overseas ?
Furthermore, why does Centrelink claim to assess people on a case by case basis, but then go on to ignore peoples' circumstances, as they have in my case ??
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Post by elizabeth on Mar 20, 2012 9:52:30 GMT 7
When does this come into effect?? Lynne, Thankyou for taking an interest in the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The "Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights" was written and signed by Fahcsia Minister Jenny Macklin, and was published in the Explanatory Memoranda of the Unlimited Portability Legislation, the legislative bill that will allow unlimited portability for severely disabled DSPers: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r4752As you can see on the homepage of the Bill, the bill has passed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and has not been opposed by the non-government parties, so it should be passed and then presented to the Governor-General or the Queen to be signed into law, the law taking effect on the 1st of July 2012. Keep watching the home page of the bill to see when it receives Royal Assent. Note to Banjo: There seems to be some problem with the link to the homepage of the Bill, which is called the Social Security and Other Legislation (Disability Support Pension Participation Reforms) Bill 2012. Can you please go to the Australian Parliament website and try to fix up the link. Thanks. |
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Post by elizabeth on Mar 20, 2012 10:04:21 GMT 7
Yes, thanks for the warm welcome, Mr. B. I'm just on holiday with my family at the moment, but I will be returning to Myanmar soon   |
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Post by elizabeth on Mar 20, 2012 10:16:54 GMT 7
Here is a draft letter, for Banjo or others to improve upon, and send to Senator Mitch Fifield (I have not sent it): Dear Senator Mitch Fifield, We are a group of Disability Support Pensioners, "who wish to have the right to travel and live where they please". At the moment many of us have chosen to gather at the website "http://dspoverseas.proboards.com", where we are trying to allow the voice of Disability Support Pensioners to be heard. Usually disabled people are not listened to by the wider society, they are expected to sit down and be quiet, and take whatever is given to them. We would like to thank you for your actions as Shadow Minister for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector and Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate, in delaying and frustrating the passage of the Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2010. This is a cruel piece of legislation that will destroy the lives and families of hundreds of Disability Support Pensioners who have chosen to travel and live overseas. I am sure you have read the submissions to the Senate Community Affairs Committee in regard to this legislation www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/fahscia_2/submissions.htmBut this is just the tip of the iceberg, there are hundreds of families and lives that will be disrupted and destroyed. This legislation violates the human rights of disabled people, it violates Article 18 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: "Article 18: Liberty of movement and nationality 1. States Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with disabilities to liberty of movement, to freedom to choose their residence and to a nationality, on an equal basis with others.." Senator Fifield, you may have read the report of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee on the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 [Provisions] and Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2010 [Provisions]. This report was presented to the Australian Parliament on the 28th of January 2011. www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/human_rights_bills_43/report/report.pdfThis report has important implications for the Disability Support Pensioners who are planning to challenge the legislation about the overseas portability and residency restrictions on the DSP. Page 15 of the report states: "1.13 Australia is also a party to optional protocols to ICCPR, CEDAW and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which allow individuals to take a complaint about human rights breaches to the relevant United Nations committee once domestic remedies have been exhausted." Senator McLucas claims that you are "playing politics" with this legislation. www.janmclucas.fahcsia.gov.au/mediareleases/Pages/coalition_playing_25112010.aspxWell, whatever political games are being played, we would like to encourage you, as long as it delays and derails the legislation. And we can assist you with the playing of politics. One of the more prominent members of the website, "Ruddthedudd", appears to be a very loyal and longstanding Liberal voter, and is a strong supporter of Tony Abbott. As well as being a Disability Support Pensioner who lives in Asia with his family, wife and two children. He is the author of Submission Number Three to the Committee, which you should re-read. You should give him credit for being a very loyal supporter of the Liberal Party, and respect his point of view. Also, many of us have visited your website, www.mitchfifield.com/An interesting and entertaining website. Particularly entertaining is the section entitled "Mitch TV". However, I watched a few of the TV interviews, but I did not see you making public comments about the Disability Support Pension. May we surmise that our good friend Mitch had some say in this new law? Come on Mitch, tell us what you think. We have been wistfully anticipating your Second Reading Speech on this bill. We note that you have been studiously avoiding mentioning the Disability Support Pension in your TV interviews.... www.mitchfifield.com/Media/MitchTV/LatestVideos.aspx....but we know the code words! |
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Post by Banjo on Mar 20, 2012 11:22:17 GMT 7
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2012 11:59:46 GMT 7
29 Feb 2012 Second reading moved No information on when this will happen? |
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Post by elizabeth on Mar 20, 2012 12:11:12 GMT 7
29 Feb 2012 Second reading moved No information on when this will happen? The Australian Parliament will sit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and I expect that the Bill will be passed this week. Otherwise the parliament sits for several weeks in May and June. www.aph.gov.au/?CalendarWidgetTarget=20-03-2012&tab=tab2aIf you have oodles of time on your hands you could try to track down the time when the bill will actually be voted on and then try to watch it live. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2012 15:52:50 GMT 7
29 Feb 2012 Second reading moved No information on when this will happen? The Australian Parliament will sit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and I expect that the Bill will be passed this week. Otherwise the parliament sits for several weeks in May and June. www.aph.gov.au/?CalendarWidgetTarget=20-03-2012&tab=tab2aIf you have oodles of time on your hands you could try to track down the time when the bill will actually be voted on and then try to watch it live. If you took time to read parts in the the link. It has been deferred with no time for the finalising of the reading. |
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Post by elizabeth on Mar 20, 2012 19:11:39 GMT 7
The Australian Parliament will sit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and I expect that the Bill will be passed this week. Otherwise the parliament sits for several weeks in May and June. www.aph.gov.au/?CalendarWidgetTarget=20-03-2012&tab=tab2aIf you have oodles of time on your hands you could try to track down the time when the bill will actually be voted on and then try to watch it live. If you took time to read parts in the the link. It has been deferred with no time for the finalising of the reading. Here is the timetable for the Senate business this week: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Chamber_documents/Senate_chamber_documents/This_week_at_a_glanceAnd as you can see, the Unlimited Portability Bill, which is actually called the "Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Disability Support Pension Participation Reforms) Bill 2012" is scheduled to be debated this Thursday the 22nd of March 2012. The Senate will start sitting at 11am AEST. There will be Question Time from 2pm until about 3.30pm. So if you watch the Parliament live on the Internet between 11am and 2pm on Thursday, and then possibly after 3.30pm, you may be able to see the bill being debated and passing the Senate. You may even get to see Senator Fifield make a Second Reading Speech on the Bill. He should make a speech, after all, he initiated the Senate Inquiry into the portability of the DSP, because of lobbying by Hugh Borrowman. Without the lobbying of Hugh Borrowman, and without Senator Fifield responding to the lobbying, there would have been no Senate Inquiry, no fuss at the Inquiry with all of the Submissions (including from our leader Comrade Banjo) and Witnesses complaining about false accounting and human rights abuses, no fuss in the media (the newspaper article in 'The Australian'), and the bill requiring residency for DSPers would have passed quietly through the parliament, and there would have been no unlimited portability for severe DSPers. That is exactly what happened in 2003 when the portability of DSP was reduced from 26 to 13 weeks: who gives a rats about a handful of cripples: NO-ONEIn this way it can be seen that Senator Fifield is the Great Hero of the DSP Overseas Revolution, closely followed by Hugh Borrowman, who was the only one who appeared in person, and stood up at the Senate Inquiry as a witness and fought for the human rights of disabled people, including his own son. (Although the other witnesses, Sybille Kaczorek, Kate Beaumont and Gerard Thomas, were also very important and heroic) Hugh Borrowman at the Senate Inquiry of 15 November 2010: "But to suggest that he and we remain here in recompense for his pension is more akin to a form of social hostage taking than social security, in our view, and it completely ignores the fact that the only way that he can achieve this social inclusion is because my partner has given her life and given up the opportunity of a career to facilitate that social integration." Great words, Comrade, great words. Bedwin, I appreciate your interest in these matters. May I suggest, if you are in Adelaide, you could try to contact Senator Fifield's secretary by telephone and ask about getting the good Senator to pay for air tickets to Canberra, so you can watch the proceedings live from the Senate Gallery, as the Official Envoy and Representative of the DSPoverseas People's Party (pro-Liberal faction). You never know, Mitch just might be sympathetic to this idea, he is the Coalition's Disability spokesperson after all, and he is supposed to help disabled people participate in democracy, for the sake of his own party, and for the common good. |
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Post by elizabeth on Mar 20, 2012 21:58:37 GMT 7
Borrowman is a man we owe a lot to in this fight. He single handedly stepped out on a limb and told the world that his department offered him hush money and compensation for his son's loss of the DSP. He bravely said NO because he wanted a solution for ALL OF US not just special treatment for his well connected family. Wonderful bloke. For those not in the know, his son is on DSP and Mr. Borrowman was offered a diplomatic posting overseas, and he is his son's guardian and his son would have lost his DSP if Mr. Borrowman took the posting and took the family overseas. The department of foreign affairs offered to slightly up his salary to compensate for this loss. He said no to the whole job! He TOOK A STAND in support of ALL AUSTRALIAN DSP RECIPIENTS and he's a brave man. Mr. Borrowman is an honourable man who took a brave stand for us. NEVER FORGET THAT. Thanks for your comments in support, Xeem. We are hoping that Minister Jenny Macklin will approve funding for a statue to be erected on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, featuring "The Heroes of the DSP Overseas Revolution", including Comrade Hugh Borrowman, Comrade Fifield, and Comrade Banjo. |
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Post by rowdy on Mar 20, 2012 22:51:50 GMT 7
If you took time to read parts in the the link. It has been deferred with no time for the finalising of the reading. Here is the timetable for the Senate business this week: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Chamber_documents/Senate_chamber_documents/This_week_at_a_glanceAnd as you can see, the Unlimited Portability Bill, which is actually called the "Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Disability Support Pension Participation Reforms) Bill 2012" is scheduled to be debated this Thursday the 22nd of March 2012. The Senate will start sitting at 11am AEST. There will be Question Time from 2pm until about 3.30pm. So if you watch the Parliament live on the Internet between 11am and 2pm on Thursday, and then possibly after 3.30pm, you may be able to see the bill being debated and passing the Senate. You may even get to see Senator Fifield make a Second Reading Speech on the Bill. He should make a speech, after all, he initiated the Senate Inquiry into the portability of the DSP, because of lobbying by Hugh Borrowman. Without the lobbying of Hugh Borrowman, and without Senator Fifield responding to the lobbying, there would have been no Senate Inquiry, no fuss at the Inquiry with all of the Submissions (including from our leader Comrade Banjo) and Witnesses complaining about false accounting and human rights abuses, no fuss in the media (the newspaper article in 'The Australian'), and the bill requiring residency for DSPers would have passed quietly through the parliament, and there would have been no unlimited portability for severe DSPers. That is exactly what happened in 2003 when the portability of DSP was reduced from 26 to 13 weeks: who gives a rats about a handful of cripples: NO-ONEIn this way it can be seen that Senator Fifield is the Great Hero of the DSP Overseas Revolution, closely followed by Hugh Borrowman, who was the only one who appeared in person, and stood up at the Senate Inquiry as a witness and fought for the human rights of disabled people, including his own son. (Although the other witnesses, Sybille Kaczorek, Kate Beaumont and Gerard Thomas, were also very important and heroic) Hugh Borrowman at the Senate Inquiry of 15 November 2010: "But to suggest that he and we remain here in recompense for his pension is more akin to a form of social hostage taking than social security, in our view, and it completely ignores the fact that the only way that he can achieve this social inclusion is because my partner has given her life and given up the opportunity of a career to facilitate that social integration." Great words, Comrade, great words. Bedwin, I appreciate your interest in these matters. May I suggest, if you are in Adelaide, you could try to contact Senator Fifield's secretary by telephone and ask about getting the good Senator to pay for air tickets to Canberra, so you can watch the proceedings live from the Senate Gallery, as the Official Envoy and Representative of the DSPoverseas People's Party (pro-Liberal faction). You never know, Mitch just might be sympathetic to this idea, he is the Coalition's Disability spokesperson after all, and he is supposed to help disabled people participate in democracy, for the sake of his own party, and for the common good. Excellent - thanks for posting this Elizabeth. |
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Post by immiadvice on Mar 21, 2012 4:03:49 GMT 7
Even more of a nudge for the Liberal party, Senator Birmingham always replied to my letters and was quite helpful with information.
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