I really believe Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a very low opinion of welfare recipients, which is why he seems to go out of his way to do things to them to make their lives even harder than they currently are.
Sure, I would agree there are some recipients out there who have chosen welfare as a lifestyle and yes, they are enough to give anyone the pip, but I’m not talking about them right now. I’m talking about those on welfare because, through no fault of their own, they have found themselves either out of a job or at retirement age and no longer able to take retirement because the Morrison Government has decided they should continue to work instead. We are talking people in their fifties and sixties here.
But the big problem with insisting older Australians reapply for work is that no employer will consider a sixty-plus year old applicant for a position. Even fifty-plus is pushing it, because employers want much younger staff so an older applicant just isn’t going to cut it. And so they have found themselves unceremoniously put onto the vastly inadequate Newstart Allowance. Vastly inadequate because it has not increased in twenty-something years, despite the cost of living going up and up. Which is why there has been a push from several ministers to have Newstart increased to allow those forced to try and live on it to at least be able to afford to live, but Scott Morrison has refused to consider any increase. Because he has been pushing another agenda he likes better.
The Cashless Welfare Card.
This card has been trialled in selected regions since 2016, with the trial due to end on 30 June 2020, but the government wants to extend the trial period for a further 12 months, which will see it continuing to operate until 30 June 2021. I think this is really just the first step in making it a permanent fixture, but it doesn’t end there. The Coalition wants to roll the card out nationally, but the plans to expand it have hit a stumbling block via key crossbenchers who have stated they intend to refuse to support the legislation until they have completed a comprehensive “fact-finding mission” on the pros and cons of the card. The Labor party have also said they will oppose the move unless the card is voluntary.
So how does a cashless welfare card operate? Well, it doesn’t work in favour of the recipient, which is why it is generating so much flack in government circles. Essentially, what it does is quarantine welfare payments. The majority of the payment goes onto the card, not into the recipient’s bank account. It cannot be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco or gambling products. The recipient cannot withdraw cash from it. It also does not allow online purchases and can cause other disadvantages as the card is not accepted everywhere. Guaranteed there will be glitches with it which may leave welfare recipients who are forced to use it, unable to do so. There have already been cases where the card has been refused at various outlets and the financial authority, Indue, will not allow the release of funds for essential things like car repairs and other living expenses. It has far more negatives than positives and will make life even harder for those struggling to get by on an inadequate welfare payment.
Under the current cashless debit card scheme, 80 percent of the recipient’s welfare payment is quarantined to a bank card with restrictions on how it can be spent. The new legislation though, would be expanded to allow a restriction of 100 percent of the payment in some circumstances. But who would decide which circumstances? The Morrison Government wants to impose these new controls on Social Security payments and has reinstated calls for a national expansion of the card and Social Services Minister, Anne Rushton, is supporting having it rolled out nationally as a “financial literacy tool” (whatever that is) as she claims there is “absolutely” a case to support introducing cashless welfare in major cities nationally.
While initially focused on the cashless card as a policy to reduce “welfare-fuelled alcohol, gambling and drug misuse” the government is now arguing the card is also a “broad financial and budgeting tool” but welfare groups strongly disagree on the grounds that it is “discriminatory and not backed by solid evidence”.
Thing is, it will cost far more to implement the card than it would to adequately increase the Newstart Allowance to a liveable amount, and the Australian Council of Social Services describes the expansion as a “shameless attempt” to distract from mounting support to increase the Newstart Allowance, one in four recipients of which are people aged over fifty-five, thanks to the government raising the retirement age. Those who are not self-funded retirees have to work longer now before they can claim the Age Pension, and if they cannot find work, the are forced to do fifteen hours of “voluntary” work per week in order to received their Newstart Allowance, which is disgusting.
Meanwhile, the Social Services Minister, Anne Rushton, is praising the card’s benefits as part of what the government is hoping will be a national roll-out, with the Morrison Government claiming the card will “help welfare recipients manage their money” with Morrison adding it is just part of his “compassionate conservative” welfare agenda…that also includes trialling drug-testing of those receiving welfare payments. How stupid does he think people are, that they will not see it for what it really is? It’s all about unnecessary and uncalled for control, and a blatant attack on the basic human rights of those on welfare to manage their own lives. Australian Council of Social Services CEO, Cassandra Goldie, has slammed the card and the Morrison Government’s murky reasons for wanting it expanded further “People on Social Security know better than most about budgeting” Ms Goldie said “so they don’t need the Federal Government to ‘teach them’ how to do it.”
I’m with Ms Goldie on that.