Update on Grandfather Scheme

This relates to the letter below which I sent by email to - (political parties in Australia) ALP, Nationals, Democrats and Independent (state) Chris Foley. I couldn't understand one of the websites, being Liberal, on how to email the letter to them, and considering the Liberals, as a Coalition Party with National, is in 'rule', you'd think they'd display it a little easier, and as clearly as their 'donations' to the party link. Let's hope the Nationals do the Coalition 'thing' and speak with their 'party partner' about it.

So far Chris Foley's office has replied and has forward the letter on to National Party representative (Coalition) Warren Truss. So that saved me a personal drop in of the letter to his office.

ALP has replied that they recieved the letter.

Centrelink, due to circumstances, recieved the letter, personally by me as their website is not the best to pass on 'complaints' easily, an hour before my Workplace Office appointment.

The appointment went well, the staff offering me a cuppa while waiting and Wesley United offered me external studies. I was so excited as I had expected as much trouble as my neighbour (who's with Mission Australia) that I forgot to ask for a refund of my travelling costs for the day. However, I am going to overlook this as they are also going to let me 'visit' them on the day I'm in town so no extra costs, at this time other than the form visit, unlike my neighbour.

Mission Australian is not working with her and still expecting her to attend at $10 a day, 2 days a week, without assisting her financially to attend or at least changing one of her working days to the day she's in town for shopping each week. They're also expecting her to 'find a way' to attend during school holidays when we DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC TRANSPORT out this way on school holidays (She has no car so relies on me or the school bus - I have no issues in assisting anyone in such a situation as I've "been there, done that" before). Basically, this means she needs one of us out here to take her in as 'Centrelink's Taxi Service' (my nickname for the situation) so she won't be penalised the $60 a fortnight and the eventual 8 week complete suspension of pension.

Guess who else is recieving one of my letters!

Then there is the case of my other neighbour, who has been working for five years part-time pernament.

Centrelink keeps asking for her to attend 'meetings' with threat of penalities (as mentioned), even though she works 54 hours a fortnight AND has only 6 weeks to go before her youngest child turns 16, so she won't be on the pension anymore! So she totally lost it with them on friday and eventually, with her losing it on the phone to them after she got home that they were harrassing her unfairly (Marborough Centrelink refused to explain what was going on or try to find out), she was told it was a mistake and to ignore future letters for meetings.

I informed her NOT to ignore future letters as this has the same penalties and you can't rely on the office to correct it without her notifying them.

I IMPRESS ON ANYONE, DO NOT IGNORE CENTRELINK MEETING FORMS, EVEN IF STAFF TOLD YOU TOO. RING AND CONFIRM THAT THE 'MISTAKE' HAS BEEN CORRECTED, GET A RECEIT NUMBER FROM THEM AND NOTE THE DAY AND TIME OF YOUR CALL AND THE CALL CENTRE'S STAFF NAME YOU SPOKE WITH.

This week my rural community really has been 'letting it be known' that Federal Politics are not going to bully us, that we have the shoes and THEY have to fit them!