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Post by Banjo on Mar 1, 2013 17:48:51 GMT 7
Hi aussieinusa, Sorry if my response to your message came across as curt, I actually have been enjoying your posts and have not welcomed you to the board!! I am actually left of centre and typically vote Greens, I don't really have a rose tinted view of the ALP, I think I was defensive of the party as it tends to get a lot of criticism by News Ltd papers and everywhere I look people seem to be blaming Julia for everything. I do believe there is a sexist element to those criticisms by the masses. I also think there are lots of people on this board who are right wing conservative, hence my pointed response. I think you copped some of my pent up political frustration!! I agree with you that the new assessment tables are very unfair and yes, the ALP does give with one hand and take with the other. I just feel the LNP will probably take and not give anything. I totally agree with you, that the discrimination against DSPensioners and lack of employment opportunities is the elephant in the room, the government sees us as the problem rather than changing the culture to accept us in the workplace. I also agree the the Job services networks are a joke, in fact an inquiry found 60-70% of all claims were fraudulent, yet of course none of these companies were charged with fraud but the government is quick to charge welfare cheats. The right wing media is in on this by vilifying welfare cheats but ignoring the billions lost through fraudulent claims by the disability employment services. I am enjoying your passion and your level of enlightenment, and glad that you have no great love of the Liberals! Nice to have more women on this board too! Newtodsp I really want to see more serious female contributors on the board. Since we lost spaceyone a casual looker/potential member would be excused for thinking that we come across as a group with typical male expat, or in many cases former expat, problems. Women also get victimised by Centrelink, many have chosen to spend time outside of Australia while on the DSP and because they often choose to stay with family, or... sorry if this sounds like typecasting, settle into a homemaker role... Centrelink finds them easy meat for "rule" breaches. Few seem to stay in the lone wolf pattern that makes it so hard for Centrelink to prove overseas residency. Please stay girls, there are days when I think we need all the female common-sense we can get.
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Post by Banker on Mar 1, 2013 18:42:48 GMT 7
I agree Banjo. We need the girls. ;D
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 2, 2013 18:50:38 GMT 7
newtodsp: No worries. Nobody's ever mistaken me for a right winger before, so that gave me a small laugh! Gillard's done good things and bad things in her time in office; I know she's not always judged fairly on her record (she does cop a bunch of criticisms male politicians don't, especially re her personal life, appearance etc.) but as far as I'm concerned, there's zero 'scandalous' or even wrong about her de facto relationship, lack of children or outfit choices (which sometimes make it clear fashion isn't her #1 priority, when she has a country to run too)... but policy-wise, many of the things she's done harm and marginalise already-vulnerable people, and that is scandalous and wrong. And re the employment woes of PWD... when I first got too sick to work for a while, guess where I was working? If Gillard was serious about getting PWD into work, she'd start by reversing the decline in employment of PWD in the federal government, and encourage ever ALP state government to do the same... not by kicking us off DSP for any reason she can think of, whether it's fair or not. That doesn't create jobs for us, it just makes us even poorer. (Even full DSP is 2/3 the current 'poverty line' amount, which is scandalous in itself.) I hadn't seen that re the fraud rates in the job network, but it doesn't surprise me. The couple of times I've been strong-armed into going to see them, I was stunned by the sheer lack of help they offer. I didn't see how what they were offering would help anyone get work, except the barely-skilled people they stick at the desks in their own offices. If I were designing a system for helping people get back to work, I'd look for staff who'd worked for at least half a dozen employers and a couple dozen bosses, ideally in both public and private sector, and so had good knowledge of a range of workplaces and management styles, and how people with different skills and abilities would fit into them... like, say, the army of highly skilled 50-somethings in this country who are long-term unemployed due to age discrimination. You can get them cheap, too, if you're running a 'business'. I keep up with politics a lot, so the fact that I hadn't seen that figure re fraud rates says it all re what the media chooses to cover. By my calculations, if 60% of Job Services claims are fraudulent, that's $820 million of taxpayers' money being misappropriate each year (based on the $4.1 billion over 3 years up for grabs in the 2012-5 tender)... i.e. more than the total amount being paid to Australian pensioners overseas. Wonder why that never gets a mention.
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 2, 2013 19:43:06 GMT 7
Banjo: If I can make one possibly-controversial comment re encouraging more women to participate here... I've read a few comments on the board re women and money, basically along the lines of 'bitches be gold-diggin' whores'; 'no money no honey' etc. If you want to create an online space where women feel welcome, there can't be too much of that. There are corners of the internet that are just for guys, and whole conversations where someone says something like that and just gets a whole lot of 'yeah's in reply are one of the trademark features of those places. Clearly, not all women get the message that it's a 'guy place' and go away... but many do. I'm not disagreeing that some women want financial stability more than anything else in a relationship; I've met a few of them myself. But not all of us XX-ers are like us... some of us choose men as penniless as ourselves, charmed by things that don't cost a cent like walks in the woods, conversation, and the hot body he got from cycling everywhere 'cos he can't afford to fix his car.
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Post by Banjo on Mar 2, 2013 23:34:23 GMT 7
Yeah, I'm guilty myself, some times it's easier to blame others when things go wrong, and if that person happens to be the former light of your life we remember the bad times and forget the good. The "no money, no honey" catch phrase refers to Asian prostitution, something we joke about occasionally many of us having been around that scene at some time if only for the cheap beer and the cheap hotels. Believe it or not anyone into paid for sex would quickly find out it works out a lot cheaper in Australia.
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Post by hypoman on Mar 3, 2013 5:08:38 GMT 7
yeah I agree-i would like to see more women on the board, so if any are visiting please get involved. I have a wife and kids abroad. It would be interesting to have my wife join the board to see her opinions on how SHE is affected by these changes.
The only thing keeping us strong is being able to 'skype' each other daily. I've been away nearly 5 months now but return in 3 weeks for a measily 6 weeks. The only thing allowing me to support my family is the fack that i dont have to pay rent or food as Im looking after my sick mum.
My family misses me so much and I do them. Soon Ill be writing to welfare rights. Im so pissed off by all this and the actual humanitarian effect of these changes. as Ive posted on various sites before: supposed changes to DSP are DESTROYING aussie families abroad... The posts were met with various comments, no one really that interested.
I can manage but only just. I really feel for the families effected due to the changes. How the f--k can someone on DSP support ANYONE else if you have nothing to come back to? I would be totally buggered if I had to pay rent and food.
I woish i was more political and knew what AWLR SST AAR and all that means. but i dont. luckily through here im learning as i go and soon as i get into it and start writing letters etc may be able to contribute more instead of just bitching all the time in here. hope im not sounding too negative,,,
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Post by aussieinusa on Mar 4, 2013 14:20:59 GMT 7
hypoman: Yes definitely get your wife on here if she's interested! Even if she's not an Australian citizen yet, she's still effected by our government's current callousness, and I think will find a lot of people supportive of her position here. (I'm separated from my partner atm, too, and don't even have skype atm to talk to him... we chat every day, but it's really not the same.)
It's also a really important story to be told. So far, the government has painted this as being about people going on indefinite vacation at taxpayers' expense, and that's so far from the real story, for most of us. So many of us have genuine, meaningful ties to other countries -- family members and other loved ones there, etc. -- meaning that there is a huge humanitarian cost to these changes.
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Post by latindancer on Mar 4, 2013 15:50:53 GMT 7
Centrelink International obliged me to separate from my wife only 2 months after marriage overseas. It's been a horrible, senseless experience. Saw her subsequently for 3 months during the last 14 months. Couldn't afford more ! Hopefully ending soon when she arrives here. I can't imagine what it's like for those with children.
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Post by chrisnouy on Mar 4, 2013 18:55:43 GMT 7
For some of us with children it invokes feelings so murderous that we cannot trust ourselves to be face to face with the heartless mindless pompous righteous a***holes that make these decisions in the name of the Australian people
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Post by melnee on Mar 4, 2013 22:23:35 GMT 7
JUST A SUGGESTION BEFORE WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME GOING FOR CLASS ACTION WHY DON'T WE HIT THEM WITH THE U.N DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ? They respond to complaints within 7 days, initially letting you know they have received your complaint & it goes from there. This will be faster, they have more powers than any lawyers & it will be a media frenzy, oh & it's an election year so all the lying politicians can pretend to agree with us (until they win the election of course) and to my knowledge they can do this faster than a class action. Then if we win with the U.N & you still want to do a class action you have the U.N on side & a lot of the legal stuff already done & you will have lawyers begging for the case. I am happy to do the ground work if it's a group thing as I am already doing it for myself & C/l doesn't like it when I mention what violations they are making poor babies, Mel
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Post by melnee on Mar 4, 2013 23:00:59 GMT 7
Also the UN HRD as has the Oz version has strong rules & feelings about families being seperated, humantarian issues & cultural issues especially when caused by changes in government. I don't like the fact that you start a new life/family etc based on the rules that the government has at the time you started your new whatever or based your financial, family & lifestyle choices on then suddenly they can change it & "back date" it (so to speak) & that this is ok. When the governments do changes like this it should apply to ONLY the people given a benefit from that same date. ie; If you are granted a DSP on or after the 1st January 2013 ONLY those people are affected by the changes. How dare they make a rule that can be back dated, they are playing with peoples lives. If we were able to work or below retirement age etc it is illegal for your employer to walk in & say "from the 1st of January 2013 you will no longer be entitled to your pay rate of $17.00 an hour, it will be reduced to $7.00 an hour & you cannot leave this company & get another job." "this is in line with other countries & supported by changes in government legislation. It's not our problem you entered into a mortgage for 25 years based on previous legislation that you will always be paid a minimum of $17.00 per hour, not our problem you thought you could afford to have a child & give that child a roof, food & education. Not our problem you are trapped by people making decisions about your life. Just suck it up, put your house on the market, take your kid out of school, eat less & only use your electricity when you absolutely need it because now you will be paying high rent because milllions of others have to sell their house & rentals will be more expensive, simple supply & demand ! Someone please explain to me the difference.
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Post by newtodsp on Mar 5, 2013 17:34:47 GMT 7
Hi Melnee Just wanted to thank you for trying to hold Centrelink accountable for all of us and for planning on going to the UN. I think the recent cuts to single parents were referred to the UN who found the cuts to be impinging on their human rights. I don't really know the details, but if the UN ruled in favour of the single parents, surely our case has more merit. Not only the witch hunt of overseas DSPensioners, but also the changes to the impairment tables. The changes to the impairment tables mean that the mentally ill are discriminated against, and are less likely to be given the pension as the requirements are far tougher than for physical disabilities. I would read this as not treating all of the disabled, or individuals, equally. Also, the fact that we need to score 20 points in one table means that those with multiple disabilities are discriminated against. To me, this seems like really obvious discrimination against the mentally ill, and those with multiple impairments. The fact that there are some people who are too sick to get out of bed, or wipe their a*se yet do not qualify for DSP, surely this impinges on their human rights also. Frankly the new tables are too strict and many will fall through the cracks, I wonder what the UN has to say about that. We certainly need more people like you, it seems you really get a kick out of holding centrelink accountable! The only thing is, even if the UN rules in our favour, does this really do much aside from getting some publicity? Publicity is a good idea though, I don't think most Australians realise how discriminated against the disabled are. Also, don't you have to go through the Australian Human Rights commission first? latindancer, good to hear you had some success with magnesium. I am very much into supplements and have found many to be useful. Its really opened my eyes to how doctors are completely indoctrinated by big pharma when certain vitamins and minerals can make a tangible difference to dealing with sickness.
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Post by newtodsp on Mar 5, 2013 18:34:12 GMT 7
Apparently Bill Shorten has announced the Fair Work Act will be amended such that a disability will be grounds for asking for flexible working conditions: www.ahrcblog.com/Although this doesn't mean your employer is necessarily going to be sympathetic or cooperative! But a step in the right direction in my view. Does anyone have any experience with Graeme Innes, the Disability Discrimination Commissioner? Apparently he is blind to some extent, and in the online videos he seemed quite passionate about the rights of the disabled. I wonder if he would be a useful person to talk to for anyone who wants to raise the profile of our plight. Aussieinusa, yes much is scandalous and wrong when it comes to the policies of the ALP (not to mention the LNP). It always boggles my mind when the working class welcome Abbott with open arms for photo ops, when it is self evident the LNP is anti union and anti working class. Bill Shorten said on Q&A last week that the government would be looking to increase its employment of disabled workers, however without any policy or change in numbers its hard to believe. We seriously need a lobby group. The UK has an interesting scheme which provides a lot of support for the disabled to work such that they save on some welfare, get some tax dollars from the newly employed, and increase employment in disability support services, not to mention increase the morale of the those able to work. Apparently the scheme isn't very costly because of all of the additional tax dollars through employment. I wish Australia had more foresight. But I don't think anyone should be forced to work, I think this should be just for those who are truly willing and able to work a little. Here is an article about the fraud rates for Job Services Australia providers: JUST 42 per cent of job-finding fees claimed by employment agencies were found to be genuine in a top-level audit released yesterday of the $4.7 billion welfare-to-work program.
The audit reveals that in one case 77 per cent of job brokerage fees claimed by a provider were false or could not be verified.www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/job-agencies-facing-fraud-inquiry-after-audit-of-fees-20120420-1xcfz.htmlYes, its completely hopeless at Centrelink and any associated establishment, I'm sure. I was shocked when I had my first JCA and the woman who was in charge seemed illiterate and didn't know what my qualifications were...she had clearly not been to a university. I felt quite rattled that such an unskilled person would be assessing my condition. I think the employment services networks are set up that way as its the cheapest way to spin money. They don't even pretend to be serious! And they can try to 'investigate' the fraud but if there are no serious fines or legal charges, there is no incentive for the firms to change their behaviour. The government is quick to make any wayward pensioner an example, yet these fraudsters don't even go to court it seems. Its ok to rip off the government, as long as you're a company...
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Post by newtodsp on Mar 5, 2013 18:42:00 GMT 7
Thanks Banjo for helping us feel welcome. I've read a few comments on the board re women and money, basically along the lines of 'bitches be gold-diggin' whores'; 'no money no honey' etc. If you want to create an online space where women feel welcome, there can't be too much of that.
I wholeheartedly agree! . .. some of us choose men as penniless as ourselves, charmed by things that don't cost a cent like walks in the woods, conversation, and the hot body he got from cycling everywhere 'cos he can't afford to fix his car. Yes, some of us are interested in emotional/intellectual/physical connection! Money is so secondary. Aussieinusa your hot bodied cyclist has certainly caught my attention
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Post by Banker on Mar 5, 2013 18:57:29 GMT 7
Aussieinusa your hot bodied cyclist has certainly caught my attention I think your talking about me again. ;D
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