The Australian: Welfare changes 'won't save money' [November 24, 2005]

As one of those people the Government has done nothing to help, and is planning on doing nothing to help, I fully agree with the following quote.

"'Despite the Howard Government complaining for years about the 'problem' of having 700,000 people stuck on the disability support pension, it has admitted that its plans do nothing to help them into work,' said Labor family and community services spokesman Chris Evans. 'These 700,000 Australians have been abandoned by the Government, with officials today confirming that the Government's package provides no new assistance to help those who want to work.'"

What would really help is providing incentives (bribes) to employers to employ people like me, and providing structural incentives to promote part-time work, especially in Gobernment Positions. Hats off to DEWR who have done this in thier recent advertisements.

I hope when they actually make decisions that they WILL employ some disabled people who can only work part time.

Devil in detail deprives disabled of welfare - National - smh.com.au

lthough the Government has consistently said people would have to look for 15 hours of work a week, a parliamentary inquiry into the new system heard yesterday that people could be required to work up to 25 hours a week.

'There is no upper hours, part-time work limit in the legislation,' the executive director of the National Welfare Rights Network, Michael Raper, told the inquiry.

'If they refuse a suitable job offer of up to 25 hours a week when they are working at, say, 13 hours a week, they can be hit with an immediate eight-week no-payment penalty and will lose in excess of $2000 [in welfare payments].'"

ACOSS and the New Regime

“ACOSS supports the Government’s goal of transitioning more people into work but urge all Members of Parliament to amend the welfare package to ensure rules are applied fairly and no one is left financially worse off.”

I fully support the following ACOSS statement.

“We know that one of the main pathways out of poverty is secure employment. However, areas that are job-rich are often the most expensive to live and many jobless people have a low level of experience and skills with which to find work.”

“These barriers to work that people with disabilities and single parents have are not those that can be solved by changes to payment rules. The payments system must be part of assistance to ensure that single parents and people with disabilities have access to appropriate education, training and support so they can get jobs in today’s economy.”

What is needed is real, positive, affirmative action to tear down the barriers and attitudes that block the disabled from getting a job. A DEWR employee told me that their own modelling shows 98% of a disabled person's chances of getting work are beyond their control once they are disabled.

If the Government wants to focus on ability, it must lead the way in providing positions suited for people with disabilities.