Thread by @kristin8X

I had so many things to say and there was never going to be enough time to cover all my thoughts and feelings about #Budget2021.

I’ll be doing a thread here shortly with everything I didn’t get to get to at the @ACOSS budget event.

https://twitter.com/acoss/status/1394503942671724551

There was only one way to feel about the bullshit we heard from @MichaelSukkarMP + @JEChalmers: despairing. They’re detached from reality.

We can’t trust the gov to care for vulnerable people + the Labor party has given us no hope that they will either. They are NOT on our side.

This IS an austerity budget. Constantly repeating the gov’s line that they’re spending big + that they’ve “increased” payments is gaslighting every poor + vulnerable person in this country. It’s a lie.

Ppl on JobSeeker are $15 FURTHER BELOW the poverty line than before COVID.

This gov is full of ghouls who deny our humanity + repeatedly use unemployed ppl as a political football. They continue to demonise those of us on income support payments to serve their own agenda of forcing us to live in poverty and driving down wages for those who have a job.

While the gov crows about the so-called snap back we have 1.7 times the # of ppl on unemployment payments than Feb 2020.

There are at least 3.6 times the # of EMPLOYED ppl on unemployment payments.

They’re intentionally creating bad jobs that trap people on poverty payments.

Unemployment payments are a DROP IN THE OCEAN, comprising just THREE PER CENT of spending. It’d cost less than $15b/yr over the forward estimates to pull millions of ppl out of poverty. And guess what? That would create jobs! Reducing the number of unemployed ppl! Saving money!

But it doesn’t matter how many unemployed people there are. There’s only one moral policy position, and neither party supports it: income support above the #HPL poverty line of $85 per day.

They have shown how easily it can be done. They have exposed that poverty IS A CHOICE.

We all have the same basic needs and rights. But #Budget2021 excludes even more ppl than before. Migrants will have to wait even longer for payments. Everyone who needs it should get income support, regardless of their visa status, occupation or who they live with.

So many ppl overrepresented in the welfare system – Blak, trans, disabled + others – are overrepresented in homelessness + suicide statistics. Mental health, crisis services + close the gap funding are a bandaid on probs that are drastically worse bc of poverty + discrimination.

There’s no safety for women in the “safety” net. The welfare system is the worst contributor to women’s disadvantage. Low payments + partner income tests trap ppl in unsafe homes. Unpaid work is being performed on poverty payments. Nothing in #Budget2021 helps unemployed women.

Last yr when MOs were suspended + payments were above poverty line ppl felt better equipped than ever to find a sustainable job. In #Budget2021 Work for the Dole is expanded + the DobSeeker line throws millions away on a problem that doesn’t exist. They made getting a job harder.

Ok I took an unexpected break but I am back, briefly.

In #Budget2021 billions is being thrown at "training". But we know most unemployed ppl re forced into pointless, demeaning courses that funnel public money to private providers, while TAFEs + unis are cut to the bone. Unemployed ppl should be supported to study what they want.

And just like all the failed hiring subsidies, training doesn't create jobs. The gov is actively planning to keep 100s of 1000s of ppl unemployed. But instead of making payments liveable for those locked out of a job, they're throwing MORE money at subsidies + worthless training.

Jobactive is a failure + it hurts ppl. Before COVID the avg time on unemployment payments went up from 2 yrs 2 mths in 2014 to 3+ yrs in early 2020. BUT – and you'll be shocked to hear it – they are replacing it with something that is also bad!

The New Employment Services Model was planned before the pandemic. It ignores what unemployed ppl asked for + further divides us. Ppl in online services will get no support, but job agencies will make even more profit from those who forced to deal with them. It WILL hurt ppl.

The changes to jobactive mean that the government is taking hundreds of millions of away from employment services at a time when there are more unemployed ppl than ever. This money needs to be directed to meaningful, voluntary, public sector employment services, not ripped away.

A major change is the scrapping of the racist forced labour program called CDP. This gives immediate relief to 30,000 (mostly First Nations folks) people across 1500 remote communities. We need to closely monitor to make sure that what comes next is community-designed and -led.

However, the other forced labour program, Work for the Dole, has been brought forward. Ppl will now be pushed into WftD after 6 mths instead of 12.

It's important to let people know that they are NOT required to do WftD and can choose an alternative activity.

In #Budget2021 the've scrapped a "compliance" program targeting single parents bc it found basically no fraud. But they've also injected another $30m into an "integrity" program designed to recoup funds from unemployed ppl. The gov has learned nothing from the #robodebt disaster.

Another cruel, expensive + pointless program is #CashlessDebitCard. It's supposed to end in Dec 2022, however the budget papers indicate the gov is planning for it to run until at least 2025. Forced income management breaches human rights, is paternalistic + must be scrapped.

The gov is willing to spend millions on PR exercises to demonise unemployed ppl + hand dodgy employers more tools to bully us with.

The DobSeeker line is costing $2.5m. Between Jul + Dec 2019 fewer than 600 ppl had a work refusal penalty – or less than 0.001% of ppl in jobactive

I have a few more feelings. But before I share them, a reminder of some important statistics.

On 1 April, 1.9 million people had their payment cut by between $100 and $180 a fortnight.

There are about 1 million kids in the households affected by the cut.

As of March there are 1.3 million people on unemployment payments – JobSeeker and Youth Allowance (Other).

There are 1.2 million people in jobactive.

There 122,000 on an unemployment payment who are in Disability Employment Services.

There are 370,000 disabled people who are forced into employment services, and being exploited by job agencies for profit. Many, especially those with intellectual disabilities, end up in Australian Disability Enterprises, where they may be paid as little as $2 per hour.

There are 335,000 ppl older than 50 in jobactive – about 28% of the total number. Older folks face age discrimination that makes it harder to get back into a job + at the same time are bullied + belittled by job agencies, and forced into "volunteering" with unethical charities.

In addition to the 335,000 ppl with a child under 8 who receive a parenting payment, there are another 160,000 ppl on an unemployment payment who are parents or carers. These folks are working full-time unpaid and still have 'mutual' obligations.

There are at least 290k EMPLOYED ppl on unemployment payments. On the min. wage you can work nearly 25 hrs a week + still be on an unemployment payment. With wages + JobSeeker you'll still be living below the poverty line. You can't work your way out of poverty on these payments.

There are 260,000 disabled people trapped on JobSeeker.

People on the Disability Support Pension under the age of 35 are forced to do 'mutual' obligations.

Back of the envelope figures: over the forward estimates it would cost about $15b a year to lift unemployment payments above the poverty line. But, if that happened, it would CREATE MORE JOBS, meaning fewer ppl on payments, meaning that $15b would go down.

One of the budget savings is a change to make ppl in online employment services wait longer for their payment – it'll be paid from when they sign a job plan, not from when they're eligible. This already happens to ppl in jobactive. Payments should start on the day you need them.

Our social security system is racist. The genocidal project called "Australia" is perpetuated and entrenched via the harshest programs, which are used to divide unemployed folks and disproportionately target First Peoples. Migrants are left with no support at all.

Our social security system kills people. Politicians know this because people on income support, researchers, advocates and many others have been giving them the evidence for years.

We expect nothing but more punishment from the Morrison government. But at least they're honest. The Labor party's rhetoric is in stark contrast to the reality. They have done nothing to show that they are on our side.

It's disgusting to watch the ALP claim to care about vulnerable ppl while promising us nothing + playing into the gov's hands by obsessing over debt + deficits while our lives are at stake. They seem determined to learn the wrong lessons from their failures at every turn.

The Labor Party needs to trust the community, and understand that if they stand up for us, people will listen.

We are tired of saying it, but its necessary that we all repeat ourselves ad nauseam until they finally listen. We need:

1. Social security payments above the Henderson poverty line – currently $85 a day

2. A commitment to abolish mandatory 'mutual' obligations like forced labour programs, pointless training and endless applications for jobs that don't exist

3. A public sector employment services provider that offers meaningful support to all who want it.

4. An end to outsourced Centrelink / Services Australia call centres.

5. Detailed work to design long-term programs that are community-led and respond to community needs, and reward everyone for the unpaid work we already do.

So that's the budget carnival fuckery over again for another year. Another round of empty words and media mayhem that all adds up to nothing. No meaningful discussion about what the budget decisions really mean for anyone, let alone the most vulnerable. See you again next year.