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All Governments will try to reduce their expenses on Social Security. The better Governments do it by making their services operate as efficiently as possible.
CentreLink’s 2 day notice system All people in receipt of CentreLink payments are governed by the same laws. John Howard introduced legislation that allowed CentreLink to cease payments within 2 days. Howard also made it law that 2 days must pass before payments can be made. CentreLink will cease your payment without informing you. (They will try and phone you they claim - But if your on dialup and online then they give trying to contact you and cut your payments off). The first thing you will know about it. Is when you get to the bank and find out that there is NO MONEY this fortnight. So if your payment is stopped due to not handing in a form, or missing a meeting, and its a Thursday you normally get paid. Under Current legislation (John Howard legislation) CentreLink will make you wait 2 working days before they will re-instate payments. Therefore making you wait until Monday. So from Thursday until Monday you (and your family) will go without. Unless you can borrow some money from a friend, Or attend one of the Aid organisations, your weekend will be pretty bleak. Then there is the fact that if you had organised your Telephone or Utility bills to be paid by direct debit from your Bank account. Then your Bank account will be overdrawn and you will have to pay a fee. ($30) Vote Link: Should CentreLink give more than 2 days notice of their intention to cease payment? Loans are available from CentreLink. You are allowed one loan every 12 months. However, your $500 loan must be repaid in 6 months. The deductions are automatically taken from your payment over the following 6 months until the loan has been fully repaid. Even though you no longer owe CentreLink money. The Legislation makes you wait 12 months from the date of the initial loan. The repayment amount that CentreLink determines cannot be extended to cover the full 12 months. The Legislation (or CentreLink) determines that the loan must be repaid in 6 months and that you must wait 12 months between loans. Vote Link: Should CentreLink allow Loan re-payments to extent to 12 months? Vote Link: Should CentreLink allow Loans every 6 months? (Once a previous loan has been repayed) 2008-09-19 CentreLink
ContentsLife on a CentreLink PaymentLife is getting tougher in 2008. While pensions and welfare payments in general have risen. It is not consistant with general price rises. Therefore we are again worse off. Supermarket and Petrol costs more every weekPetrol prices and their impact on the weekly tab at the supermarket checkout has become obvious. (Either that or the Woolworths Corporation are going to post higher profits again this quarter..) CentreLink REDUCE support for low income peopleCenterlink contacted me to inform me that due to the increases in the cost of living.. (Im thinking they are going to give a pay rise..) They have determined that the MINIMUM rent someone on welfare must be paying to recieve rent assistance has risen. (So no pay rise.. in fact a pay cut for some) Let me explain this to you. People who have previously been in reciept of Rent Assistance are no longer eligable because it costs more now to live.. Rudd Government doesn't help usWhat the…??? Are they insane? They just made it a lot worse for many many people.. Rudds way of forcing up Real Estate prices?Hey not only that… But they force the people who own the houses to increase their rent. Many people on welfare will now approach the owner and ask them to increase the rent so that they are again covered by rent relief. Many Owners will (happily) respond by doing just that.. Lets increase the cost to rentSo.. Mr Rudd basically inflates the rent prices (overall) for those who (already) can ill afford it. Why dont politicians help us?Politicians really smell off dont they? The more you know about a politician the less you like em. Im waiting for some employment initiatives to come from this Federal Government. Work from Home?I would like to see them tackle unemployment with an aim to getting people to work from home. Over their computers. Maybe get them to key punch phone books or something. (I havent given that idea much thought because its out of my control what they do - Maybe I should come up with some ideas?) ATO EmployeesI know… OMG Im so evil.. Get everyone of welfare to do the Governments Job. Make them ATO employees. Get them to look up how someone else is cheating the system. Give them access to only look up the records of ALL the government departments data bases on the people on their roster for that day. Make sure that you have proceedures in place to disallow records from anyone they know. (Make penalties for them knowingly doing this.) Basically get them to operate an automated electronic surveillance system and report on any found cheats.
Make it co-operative like seti with data matching on shared key field searches across the system which then creates secure master listings of suspects which the system allocates to each operator. Operator can select or generate a new suspect.
Work for the Dole?Do it on their home computers for 6 hours a day and get paid a reasonable amount for it. An average of how many frauds are normally detected per 100 cases. If the participant doesnot detect their average (+/- whatever percent to make it fair) They get paid less. No incentive to become an idiot. In fact idiots who detect everyone of fraud should be dissallowed access. lol 2007-10-24 CentreLink
Busy Busy BusyShopping day again. In to Millicent. I need to do that Interview. Did the interview. Was granted the exemption. I have to attend other interviews as well of course. Uh oh.. CentreLink think I'm a crazy drug addictIm going to be placed on intensive assistance. I wonder what that will mean? I ‘HAVE’ to have a ‘MENTAL EVALUATION’? I also have to attend a ‘DRUG REHAB CENTRE’? CentreLink must think I’m a drugged out nutter. Hmmmm.. Personally I never saw much wrong with smoking some grass occasionally. But typical of Government Departments who have a Zero Tolerance policy towards untaxed (illegal) drugs. Aparently I am now considered a druggy in need of a Drug Rehab Centre. This is what happens if you actually tell em the truth. sigh The mental evaluation will be interesting. I don’t think I’m ready to be considered crazy. But I am easily upset lately. Maybe they are trying to discredit my comments on the net? Who knows?? So I agree to everything they want. Lets see what happens next. I really don’t have a choice do I? They already beat me with the financial stick. I don’t want to be ‘Breached’ for not agreeing with them. Short in the BankAfter the interview I go across the road to the bank. Hmm I seem to be maybe $140 short? Whats going on now? The 'Sneaky' Rent Relief FormSo back to the CentreLink office. They contact Mt Gambier CentreLink. Im now told that I needed to contact CentreLink advising them within 14 days of moving house and prove to them what my current rent is. They have now withheld the rent assistance I was receiving. So I ask If I can get a form so that I can get it re-instated. Now I am told that these forms are special. Well they must be. The CentreLink office in Millicent is ‘NOT ALOWWED’ to have copies of that particular form. I ask for a copy to be faxed to the Millicent CentreLink. Now I am told that this form cannot be printed out. It ‘MUST’ be mailed. This is again the Government making sure that all us ‘thieves’ dont rip em off. But in the process slowing down the system to a crawl and frustrating those that are forced to use the system. Are they 'trying' to make us angry?Why does this form have to be mailed out? Too piss us off. Make us wait. Plain and simple. So now to get this form. I will have to wait for it to turn up. The next time I will be in town will probably be next Wednesday 31st. So i cant fix it before then due to their system and my remoteness. Oh Great! - More delays in paymentHmmmmm I wonder if they backdate it? I am not gonna be too surprised to find out they dont. We shall see.. Fixing the CustomlinePayed $50 more on the Customline. Picked up the finished driveshaft. Went and asked a friend to help me get the Customline home tomorrow. Didn’t pay rent. Due to being short about $140. *sigh Put more petrol in than normal and only really did a light shop. The money ran out too fast. I got $30 left in my wallet for Naracoorte on Friday. 2007-10-19 CentreLink
CentreLink created StressGetting serious here. I need to get some cash. Called CentreLink. I feel like I’m hitting the wall now. CentreLink decide that they will contact St Vincent de Paul to assist us through the weekend. But I will have to get into Millicent and home again without cash. Thank goodness I started this horror week with an almost full tank of petrol in both cars. The 92 Ford has a full tank of Gas too. I also have a ‘Jerry Can’ with 20 litres of petrol. But due to the Customline breaking down I had used up some extra fuel going to work on it. Go to a Welfare OrganisationSo I go into Millicent again. sigh I attend the St Vincent de Paul outlet. The lady there is highly critical of John Howard and I’m just too depressed to care. So I get some UHT Milk, a small Bread, a small Butter, etc a few greens. I go and borrow some money from some friends. Promice to pay them back when I get paid. Get some ‘fresh milk’ so I can at least enjoy a coffee. Get some smokes cos I’m stressing and If I dont get a smoke I will explode. Get some cat food for the cat. Put some petrol in the car. Whoops $50 gone. :( Warning Lousy Weekend AheadWhen the kids get home from school. They see what we have been given to survive on. They decide that they can go to Mums and avoid a horror weekend with no goodies at home. So I take them to their Mums (Greenways) for the weekend. (Thank goodness for having the foresight to maintain sufficient fuel for emergencies) 2007-10-18 CentreLink
Here we go again!The Kids go off to school. 9am rolls around and I hit the phone. I’m determined to find out what went wrong with the CentreLink payment and fix it ASAP. What I think has happened to stop paymentI had been contacting CentreLink complaining about the expenses I was suddenly exposed to due to their requirement that Single Parents lodge Fortnightly forms. I had been informed by CentreLink, after numerous complaints (as the weeks went by) that I would no longer be required to lodge fortnightly forms. I was told by CentreLink that I would be given an exemption to lodging these forms. So as a result. I didn’t lodge the form they normally would have required on Monday. I had been told that I had been granted the exemption? What CentreLink said had happenedObviously I only thought I had an exemption. According to the CentreLink system. I did not. Or could not have an exemption. The reason for this is due to the fact that I had not been initially correctly processed by the job search provider. Due to my house move my file had been returned to CentreLink unprocessed. Only the job search provider, according to CentreLink, can grant the exemption. So although CentreLink agreed I should have an exemption. I needed to be granted this by the job search provider. Or so it seems. I missed an Interview with my Job Search provider?But CentreLink and my Job Search provider knew I was in a highly unstable situation at the time they set the ‘appointment’ date. They knew I would be out of contact for a few days. I had told them my situation so as to avoid exactly what had transpired. AUGH!! CentreLink Reinstate PaymentCentreLink agreed to re-instate my payment immediately. But demanded that I attend an interview on the 24th in Millicent with my job search provider for payments to continue. CentreLink instructed me that my payment had been re-instated and would be in my bank on Monday the 22nd. Payment delayed by 5 daysI protested that I needed some money before that date. They said that legislation will not allow them to process this any faster as 2 working days are required. Today is Thursday. Im out of the basics. The weekend is coming. I don’t know how we are gonna do this. No milk. No butter. No bread. I’m pretty angry about the fact someone at the Mt Gambier CentreLink had granted me an exemption. But then hadn’t made it happen. StressThey knew my situation. They gave no concession for the fact that I had just moved house. They knew (or should have realised) that I would be at my lowest financially at this time. This is how much CentreLink care about your circumstances. At my weakest they make my family go without for 5 days. So I rang the Ombudsman. The Commonwealth Ombudsman is a complete pawn of John Howard. The Ombudsman will not lift a finger to help me. Emergency PaymentBut I am instructed that I should apply for an emergency payment and that due to my situation It should be ok. I asked the ombudsman to directly intervene but I was instructed basically that I had created enough work for them. (Still ongoing) So.. Go away..
John Howards pawns. What would you expect? Justice? Fairness? Not likely.. So I called back CentreLink. Waited in the endless que. Listened to the plastic symphonys (designed to calm, but don’t) Eventually I got to ask for an emergency payment. Back on hold. That hated musak again. Finally a reply. Not an Emergency? Going without for 5 days?No.. I am not eligable for an emergency payment. Because I am ‘responsible’ for the breach I’m told. Responsible for the breach?? How? I ask. CentreLink explain to me that I have failed to respond to mail that they have sent c/o the post office at Millicent as I had nominated. True. I had missed the mail the week due to the post office being closed. So now they are claiming that they had breached me due to not responding to a ‘request’ for me to attent a job provider interview that I knew nothing about. They hadn’t ceased payment because I hadn’t returned the ‘form’ on Monday which under normal circumstances would have ensured payment on Wednesday. (That’s 2 Working days later) Today is Thursday - You will be paid on Monday!So the official CentreLink attitude after all this is… CentreLink doesn’t care that you and your kids will now go without essentials for 5 days. They say “This is your fault for breaching our rules. Contact a welfare organisation every 2 days to sustain your lives. You will be paid 2 working days after we received your ‘request’ to be reinstated. We received that request today. Therefore you will be paid on Monday the 22nd”. What does this 'cost' me to comply with CentreLinkBut wait. Lets workout what CentreLink have ‘cost’ me so far over this:
Note: Welfare Organisational policy at breaking point dictates only 2 days food per visit to be provided. Now do you see why I get angry? Do you see the impossible situation? I am expected to have all this disposable income for fuel to run my car so I can comply with their ‘requests’. Otherwise… Well.. Lets just say the alternative is bleak. So I end up borrowing money from people who need it back stright away when I get paid. :( Just to run my car. And then do it extra tough next week because of all the money CentreLink made me waste. This BS really stresses me out. Howard is a Coward - He attacks the weakest members of our societyThis is how Howard ‘manipulates’ legislation. Social Security Law clearly states that the Government are not allowed to create laws that place ‘undue financial preasure’ on people who are trying to comply with those laws. Now do you see why I harp on about this? What I and many other rural people are going through with CentreLink, is exactly what that paragraph in the Social Security Act is supposed to protect us from. I have told this to the Ombudsman. That office has no interest in it. Heartless SystemSo. At the end of it all. After all the BS and stress and rules and regulations. After the Ombudsman and being granted exemptions from lodging a forms. I still have to “Go Away. Wait till Monday for your cash.” If it wasn’t for the Welfare Organisations my little family would starve for 5 days. Hey this ‘intensive assistance’ thing for people doesn’t seem to work at all. Does it? Nah.. Not for me.. It doesn’t matter what you tell CentreLink. They will follow their program. It doesn’t matter what CentreLink tell you either. Because that could be changed by the next person you speak to. So welcome to CentreLink and welfare under John Howard. 2007-09-17 CentreLink
Kids are at School. CentreLink (After the move to 'Clovelly')The 17th is stuck in my mind as being the day I HAVE to return a CentreLink form. Amazing that I even remembered this. They need me to report back to them what my earnings and/or work attempts have been over the last fortnight. LimboThis will be the 3rd form I am supposed to return. I am still in CentreLink limbo. They almost had me processed. But due to the house move. The Employment Agency that CentreLink selected to process me, returned my file to CentreLink due to inactivity in the timeframe allowed. (Because of the house move.) Just Lodge the form!So.. Instead of them re-initiating the processing. They are acting like it’s a done deal. So now they require me to complete this form and sign it and send it before I receive payment. What happened to my interviews?But.. I’m not playing their game. They initially indicated that I was to receive ‘intensive assistance’ with an exemption due to the low probability of finding available work in this area. But now they just send the forms and demand I fill them in. I was never instructed on my requirements? I have signed no compliance agreements? Even though I was never instructed that fortnightly form lodgement was going to be a requirement by them. Missing ExemptionI repeat. All I was ever told was that I will receive ‘intensive assistance’ and probably be granted an exemption due to my circumstances. ??? So I really wish they would play their own game properly. I’m getting a bit sick of pointing out the obvious to them. They need to finish processing me. Then they are playing by the rules. At the moment I’m in CentreLink limbo. (Read: Hell) Lodge the CentreLink formSo I ring them up on the phone this morning. I identify myself to them and inquire what I can do about complying with their requirement of form lodgement. Well CentreLink have a variety of methods. Including Fax. After exploring all possibilities with the CentreLink staff member. She suggests that I should save a little money each week and buy a fax machine. But in the meantime. There is nothing they can do. I will just have to attend Millicent or Beachport and lodge the form today if I want to receive payment on Wednesday like usual. But isn't that requirement illegal?Now there is a clause in Social Security Law that says the Government are not allowed to make laws that place people under “undue financial hardship”. I pointed this out to the CentreLink staff member. That due to my home location. Having to travel 42 klms one way, just to lodge a form. Will force me to spend money I can ill afford to waste. I told her I consider this to be CentreLink placing me under ‘undue financial hardship’. Which is in breach of Social Security Law. But she was unmoved by my arguement. I told her that I would take this up with the Commonwealth Ombudsman. She invited me to do so. So I did. Commonwealth OmbudsmanThe Commonwealth Ombudsman said that this (again) was outside of their ability to respond or react to with 7 days as per legislation imposed upon them. They suggested I contact The CentreLink Customer Relations Unit. So I did. Lip ServiceThe CentreLink Customer Service Unit staffmember listened to my story. She sounded like she understood where I was coming from. She indicated that she would advance the idea that remote rural people may need alternate legislation so as not to place them under ‘undue financial hardship’ from having to comply with this form lodgement rule. She explored the possibility of being able to access a remote assistance benefit. But I dont live remote enough for that. Remote AssistanceI laughed out loud when she said that. The kitchen windows look across the open paddocks for miles surrounding Clovelly. We dont have a mail delivery here. So I have to pay for a PO Box in Millicent. We don’t have a garbage service here. So I have to spend money on petrol to take our rubbish to the dump in Furner periodically. My nearest town is 35 klms away. So anytime I need an item unexpectedly. I either go without or spend money on petrol. I am 6.5 hours away of Melbourne. 4.5 hours away from Adelaide. No matter how many times I tell them otherwise. CentreLink think that Clay Wells is a suburb with shops. They have no concept of a locality without shops. The CentreLink staff are unable to find my location (without my help) on their computerised geo maps. But this location still isn’t considered remote enough to qualify for their ‘Remote Assistance’. I See!! Getting the Cash to SurviveBut If I wanted my payment on Wednesday. I would still have to lodge my form today somehow. Working out the Cost to ComplySo I bit the bullet. Made up my mind to lodge the form. So I took note of a few things:
So with the return trip. That adds up to 17.64 litres of fuel wasted on that one trip. At $1.26 per litre.. It cost me $22.23 to lodge that form. This is an expense that I didn’t have to suffer before, due to the lodgement of fortnightly forms not being a requirment for Single Parents previously. Moving house after informing CentreLink of every stepWhat is worse is that due to my not being correctly processed by CentreLink in the first place. (Because of loosing contact over what they considered to be a vital period in their timeframe for processing me into their new system) What Interview?I was unable to attend an interview that I hadn’t been advised of. Because Clovelly has no mail delivery - I am yet to organise the PO Box for Clovelly. I told CentreLink to send any correspondance C/O Millicent Post Office. Millicent Post Office was closed when I was last in Millicent. I assume this ‘request’ from my Job Search provider either at the Millicent Post Office or was sent to my old PO Box back at Beachport. Failed to ComplySo over that ‘moving house’ period my ‘file’ was returned to CentreLink by my ‘Job Search’ provider because I failed to comply to a request as per CentreLink guidelines. Lodge the form or you wont get paid..So now because of all this. I find that continue to obtain money for my family to survive. I basicaly dont fill out anything on their form except for my signature. But I must give them their form on the day they specify or my family WILL be expected to go without. Head in the SandWhat is really annoying is that they knew I was under a lot of stress about finding a suitable house to move into. They knew I was right against the wire and almost at breaking point. Am I offered an alternate method of compliance? Or given a slight time extension to enable my living arrangements to settle? Nope. Adding Insult to InjurySo now, to add insult to injury, they want me to spend money to lodge a form with only a signature on it before I can obtain future money to feed us. Who is Responsible?Am I crazy or did this happen because they completely stuffed up processing me? Sheeeet!! CentreLink under Howard, is annoying!! Financially Worse OffSo basically it all boils down to the fact that as a direct result of them changing the requirement for Single Parents to lodge forms. I am $22.22 per fortnight worse off. Why does 'Howard' instruct CentreLink to break the Law?I thought there was a ‘clause’ in the legislation so that this couldn’t happen?? The Government under Social Security Law are not to create laws that have an ‘undue financial impact’ on people who receive a benefit. GlobalisationSeems the Howard Government ignores the laws of this country. To futher it’s own adgenda? Whatever that is. From what I see. It’s a new new world order with George Bush at the top of the tree and Globalisation running rampant over all. 2007-09-05 CentreLink
I have a few issues today. Lets take them in order of annoyance. Partial Power Outage in South Australian Data Centre8.30pm last night, the Kids and I were on the net. When splat! No Internet. Well this isn’t the first time I have lost the net. Occasionally the net will drop for a few mins here or there. But after 15mins of no success i decided to call my ISP. So I waited.. and waited.. and waited.. after 45 mins on hold. I get thru to my ISP to find out that . “There has been a partial power outage in ‘our’ South Australian Data Center. Which has caused several ‘key devices’ to become unreachable.” As a result all internet has been knocked out in South Australia. As have some telephone lines. This has effected all ISP’s in South Australia. Obviously the Data Center was a “Telstra” installation. With no estimate available to determine the effected timeframe. I went to bed annoyed at not being able to re-enable my servers. At 7.00am I woke up. Imediately I enabled the DSL connection and jumped on the phone to my poor ISP. To find out how long the net had been off for. My ISP reported to me that the net had become available again at 6.30am. So for 10 hours, from 8.30pm Tuesday evening until 6.30am Wednesday morning people in South Australia were without service. Peoples Lives put at Risk?Since some telephones were effected, people’s lives were put at risk. Communications are an ESSENTIAL service in 2007. Especially for those of us who live remote from the cities. “Partial Power Outages” that effect thousands of people should not be permitted to happen. Haven’t they ever heard of a UPS. No honestly. This is un-acceptable in 2007. Telstra post a huge profit. They are the only ones who provide infastructure across this country. When Telstra was taxpayer funded they wouldn’t have hesitated to allocate money to protect this essential area from interuptions. But now that Telstra are no longer owned by the taxpayers of this country. They cut corners to post huge profits. This is just one example of it. ETSA says no power outage in AdelaideJust for the heck of it. I called ETSA to ask how long the power outage was for. They didn’t know what I was talking about. It has been a quiet night in Adelaide. Hmmm When I explained to the ETSA staffmember what had occured they double checked the information and again reported that there had been no faults recorded. TIOSo I called the Ombudsman. If you contact the Telecommunications Ombudsman don’t be fooled for one second into thinking that this is an “Independent” organisation. This is an example of Self Regulation. Their Ombudsman will solve your minor issues. But don’t take a major one like this to them. Because they just dont want to know. I highlighted to the “Telecommunications Ombudsman” that this was a Telstra issue. But he insisted that if I wish to follow this up.. (and I do) that I contact my ISP and lodge the complaint. Umm.. I just lodged the complaint against Telstra to the Ombudsman and he wants me to contact Iinet?? I don’t understand. Shouldn’t the Ombudsman just take the complaint? Yes.. They have a protocol that must be followed. Even if it wastes time. This is what is refered to as RED TAPE. Think about it. Telstra is the BIGGEST ISP etc etc in Australia. This independent Ombudsman would be funded by each of the ISP’s according to their ‘load’ that they place on the Ombudsman. So Telstra would be the largest contributer. See.. The problem is the fact that the Telecommunications Ombudsman‘s dept is completely funded by the ISP’s themselves. Thats why they call it “Self Regulating” Ok? Understand? That’s Right.. SuperOmbudsman?We need a real independant “SuperOmbudsman?”. One that has X-ray vision and the ability to fix broken things on the fly. I contacted the real Governing Body. They are out to lunch. Like most Government departments in Howards Government they aren’t manning the phones and they are not returning calls. Howard will be Gone!Howard WILL be voted out. The question is. Will the ALP allow the general non-careing, harsh attitude to remain, in the various Government departments? I wish I had a crystal ball on that one. Rudd better fix it!If Rudd allows the system to remain the same. Then he is no better than Howard. There is nothing to be gained by having Departments that do not function due to insufficient funding. Howard was the expert at stripping funds from Departments so that their function could not be performed. Legal Aid comes to mind… Which leads me into my second item for today. CentreLinkSince Howard’s latest tightening of the Social Security system. Single parents now recieve ‘dole’ forms that MUST be returned on a certain date. Just like a Newstart form. If you miss that ‘date’ then your payment gets delayed. OK? Good? Did I hear you say? Hmmmm.. What about legitimate situations where people get delayed? Or just confused about the day? What about if you remember all fortnight and then forget at the end and miss it by 2 days? Well. You get cut off. Instantly. You will not get your money. They will not ‘tell’ you. I was told that I had “missed” their phone call. So they hold back payment. But I have Kids? So you say .. You should be responsible enough to make sure you DONT forget to put the form in. I agree.. But we are not all perfect. The weeks go past and mistakes can and do happen. This is only the second time I was supposed to put a form in. This is a new system afterall. Previously the money just turned up in my account. CentreLink always kept in contact. StressShould CentreLink hold back payment from parents who they know have kids over a form being late? I had been ‘in contact’ all week over CentreLink wanting me to participate in their ‘interviews’. They were aware that I am moving house under high stress with no known destination at that time. Is it fair to hold back payment under those circumstances? 2 kids? Moving House? No Destination? No Money? Hmmm All this just adds up to JOHN WINSTON HOWARD, Australian PM (Prime Mangler). CentreLink from time to time require a review to be completed. They also regularly require copies of my rent certificates threatening my rent relief if I dont comply. Basically, to the unemployed, CentreLink is a BIG NASTY GOVERNMENT ENTITY that threatens your very existance if you can’t fit into the narrow range of holes that they provide. Remembering the PastNow I remember the old Social Security. They used to treat people as individuals. They acted more as social workers. The found solutions for people in hardship. After an interview at Social Security you would be refered to the CES (Commonwealth Employement Service) They WOULD give you a job. If you didn’t take it. You knew the outcome. Social Security wouldn’t put you back in the system for 6 weeks. The system worked well. It was compassionate for those in need. It actually helped people who really needed it. But at the same time it directed those able to work toward employement through the CES. Nowadays thanks to Mr Howard we have Centerlink. No CES. No Social Security.. (Literally) The once proud legitimate organisations who found employement for “Professionals” are all psuedo mini CES offices. No longer the stamping ground of the professional. Totally reliant on the dwindling available revenue they are able to squeeze from the remaining unemployed actually able to work. What about the aid organisations who have also been lured into acting in the same capacity by Government Job Network funding. The religious organisations I am discussing here. Didn’t they turn their backs on the plight of those caught up in a system that they couldnt fit for some Government income? So exactly who champions for the Unemployed? Being UnemployedThe Unemployed want jobs. As soon as you get a job. Your no longer unemployed and therefore you dont care about the unemployed anymore. So being unemployed is temporary. The problem is temporary. But for some in our community unemployment can become a long term issue. I would dare say the the longer a person is unemployed the more effected they become by the process. Financially, Physically, Mentally they slowly become more effected. ConclusionThe solution is obvious. Don’t allow this to happen. Find out what is wrong and help to fix it. This is the real solution for people. Productivity would increase overall in a socially balanced system. Because people would be happier overall. Bring back Social Security and the CES. Let the Religions go back to attracting patrons by their good works. Let the professionals return to the professional employement agencies. | |||||
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