Search Results: Centrelink
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 31 July 2018
10 Comments
Australians have been caught up in yet another data project whose design confounds even the most basic notions of privacy. My Health Record is the latest example of a system that lures us with proclaimed benefits and convenience, but enhances government power without balancing responsibilities to ensure citizens' civil liberties.
READ MORE 
-
AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 01 May 2018
12 Comments
The Turnbull government holds the view that tax relief for companies and middle-income earners is necessary to improve the economic prosperity of Australia, offering a financial hand up to households struggling to pay their bills. For those on Newstart, though, those same increased costs of living are being all but ignored.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 09 April 2018
7 Comments
Employable Me follows a group of neuro-diverse young people as they search for meaningful work. The insights the program offers are a call to think about the world of work and the role of employment as a social good rather than a purely economic one, and how we make employment more inclusive.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Fatima Measham
- 01 February 2018
14 Comments
Too few inversions of this power dynamic come along. So we are allowed to laugh a) that some careless handling of furniture can go a long way toward embarrassing people, and b) that those same people have expanded surveillance mechanisms and presided over lapses in data security. It schadens our freude, for sure.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Jennifer Pont
- 10 November 2017
13 Comments
Services are stretched. My son was discharged from services due to the loss of staff in the public system. Success with applications can come down to what a doctor emphasises in their report. At eight, he could reach out and place a piece of bread in a toaster, so the doctor ticked the 'prepare a basic meal' box.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Amelia Paxman
- 23 October 2017
9 Comments
Increasing the feelings of shame of being unemployed and restricting freedoms doesn't create more jobs and only grinds down a vulnerable group who are subsisting on a meagre payment. But the government is yet to show any meaningful concern over the significant risks of these draconian welfare policies.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
The Federal Government's recent announcement that Serco will be delivering some of the income support system, Centrelink, is another blow to core public services that serve some of the most disadvantaged Australians. No one should make a profit out of people being poor.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 26 September 2017
9 Comments
The Senate is currently inquiring into the Cashless Debit Card Bill that will further expand the income management program. Welfare is a redistributive mechanism that supports the dignity and self-determination of the individual. In tying conditions to payments government is denying the self-determination of welfare recipients, counter to the very purpose of welfare.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Daniel Fleming
- 14 August 2017
16 Comments
Sometimes ignorance can be a virtue in political decision-making. The great 20th century political philosopher John Rawls had a thought experiment called the “Veil of Ignorance” which he suggested should be applied to any political decision to test whether or not it is just.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
Plagued by sluggish uptake, clinician reticence and a substantial privacy backlash, the $1.2 billion My Health Record has proven, thus far, something of a lemon. The putative benefits of an electronic health record have been expounded at length by the government. But for success there must be buy-in, and for buy-in, there must be trust, according to the Productivity Commission. Both are lacking, and it is important to consider why.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
It would be nice to believe, as the Treasurer wants us to, that better times are around the corner. But while wages stagnate and company profits surge, inequality is at its highest since the 1950s. This is not going to get any better any time soon. By 2019, the highest income earners will have received an effective tax cut of 1.5 per cent compared to all other taxpayers who will be paying an extra 0.5 per cent. For young people especially, Budget 2017 boosts inequality instead of building a better future.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 20 March 2017
17 Comments
ACTU secretary Sally McManus' comments about the rule of law have sparked a lot of chatter on news and social media. While the rule of law arguably does assume citizens will obey the law, it also assumes government will behave lawfully. Further, it might be argued that the rule of law encompasses the principled application of government power. In this respect, the Australian government is itself falling well below adhering to the rule of law. I offer Centrelink #notmydebt as a case study.
READ MORE