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!
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Centrelink Grandfather Scheme in Need of Urgent Reform
The following is a letter I have sent to Centrelink concerning the Grandfather Scheme causing disadvantages for parents on a financial scale, especially effecting parents so far away from a Centrelink and/or Work Place Office.
C/- The Federal Manager/Complaints
Centrelink
13th November 2007
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to bring to your attention the faults of the Grandfather Scheme. It is not a scheme that intakes and distributes to the needs of the parent/s and guardian/s, and their children, so they obtain their full fortnightly pension. This scheme is placing some of us at a distinct disadvantage or being taken advantage of by some of the private work place offices.
Grandfather Scheme July 2006 Register
I will begin, and for this, I will also sarcome to stating that ‘being taken advantage of’ may in fact have been ill informed and incorrectly educated personnel at private work placement facilities by way of giving these work place offices ‘a fair go’, to even the scales of opinion.
In July 2006, parents who were new to the Centrelink system, immediately started the Grandfather Scheme. This was prejudice towards these parents and such advantages to be given to parents, like myself, should not have happened. These parents had to go through changes, usually very emotional, on top of this disadvantage, where registered parents before this date only had to ‘adapt’ their way of life.
In July 2006, some pre-registered parents also thought that the scheme took place immediately on July 2006, and they went in to work place offices and registered, and were not told differently. Once registered these parents were ‘forced’ by the work place offices to attend with threat of their payments being cut off.
When these parents were asked what they wanted to ‘learn’, they were then told what they had to ‘learn’ first before attending courses that were of their interests. Even if these parents had ‘background’ in any of the courses, they still had to attend the course, by way of the previous threat mentioned. The advantage was for the private institutes, not the parent, who were just a source of ‘money’ for these institutes.
I made a couple of complaints to the front counter staff at Centrelink, Maryborough, in regards to this issue, and each person I spoke to confirmed this procedure was incorrect, but stated they couldn’t do anything about it. When the complete change over to the Grandfather Scheme took place in July 2007, I spoke to a Grandfather Scheme Coordinator what had been previous happening and the gentleman agreed that this had happen as he had received a number of complaints during the pre-interviews about this mistreatment. Again, there was nothing that could be done about ‘the past’ treatment of these parents.
Only because it is in the ‘past’ doesn’t mean you can’t do something about this unfair treatment and threats. I suggest that you do a survey to all parents and find out a bit more about this, and action taken if necessary towards work place offices who took advantage of the change of law, accidental or otherwise. Parents need to know that they are supported by law, and by Centrelink, when such incidents occur in relation to Centrelink.
Grandfather Scheme July 2007 Register
The main complaint I have is the form system. Dropping the form in two days before being paid is putting myself at a financial disadvantage. I live at Brooweena, 45 kms from Maryborough. I’m not just down the road from a branch, and frankly there would be few people who wouldn’t need to take transport of some kind into Centrelink to deposit the form. With me, however, it can cost between $8 to $13 approximately (depending on fuel prices) to just ‘drop in a form’ every fortnight. I only go into to Maryborough once a week for food, every Tuesday night for my children to attend St. Johns (there’s no entertainment or sporting facility for children in remote areas like ours, and once a fortnight, on a Saturday, to visit family and friends. I’m very restricted on when I spend money on petrol, and now I have to find extra money to ‘slot in’ the dropping off of a form.
I’ve been informed that I can post or fax it in. Posting the form in means I don’t get paid until two days after my regular pension day, which puts me at a risk of bank fees, due to my bills and house payments coming out on my regular pension day. For each ‘bill’ or ‘house payment’ that’s not in there it’s a $30 fine/fee. So I have no choice but to ‘get it in’, wasting money that I don’t have to waste, so not to put us into a scary debt!
To fax it in it costs $6 from a normal Post Office - $4 for the first sheet and a $1 for every sheet after. To fax it in, however, doesn’t mean I know for certain if something is ‘wrong’ or ‘unreadable’ on the sheet. It’s not worth taking the risk of non-payment to save $4, when you’re risking $60 (Centrelink fine).
Then there is the extra money to ‘attend’ private workplace assistant offices. My previous knowledge of these facilities is not an encouraging one, but I am not like many of the parents who have been ‘taken advantage of’ as I am well educated and I have been searching for work since 2004. Not finding work I went into a TAFE course , paying $1600 (approximately) for it. Unfortunately when I was on the last six books, I have not been able to find Vocational Placement to assist in the completion of those books.
I also have an ‘unstable’ and ‘unreliable’ 11 year old son, and that’s putting it nicely seeing twice he’s nearly set fire to the house in the last three months. They have been accidents, he is impulsive, does first and panics later. This means I have to take risks when leaving him at home alone, to his own devices, and while he’s not one to ‘get into mischief’, he does, unthinkingly, places himself into danger.
This is an issue that is not going to be solved easily, but until I can obtain employment in an area, which will allow me to afford private babysitting, I’m at disadvantage in respect to employment. There is no babysitting facility, before and after school, out here, and the last time he was placed in an after school facility he ran away from the Daycare Mother. He had to stop going because she couldn’t safely look after the other children if chasing after my son.
This doesn’t mean that I won’t keep looking for work or going back to studies. I have worked out some things in respect to this, but I use my situation as an example for other parents, who have similar situations. I will also be ‘sticking to my guns’ when attending work place assistance offices, and I will not stand to be punished by the system because I’m a ‘good’ mother working to the benefit of her children!
Talking about punishments, my first form was left in Brooweena when I was in Brisbane. I had to get a copy from Chermside office – not an issue. Since then I have lost or haven’t even had sent out to me forms and have only put in two of the sent forms. I have been warned that if I get a ‘not so nice’ front counter assistant that I may be refused a form, so fined, even if I have come in to the office, with my list of researched jobs, all the way from Brooweena! What right does anyone have to refused the print out of a form!!!!! Sorry that is not even close to fair and I will make a lot of noise in the media on that one if I’m ever in that position. Don’t try to punish me for trying to do the right thing! Heaven’s know who else have been the unfortunate person to cope that one. You really do need to be respectful.
The complete system should have not been placed on parents with children under 12 years of age. It’s just not viable or workable in many situations. My suggestions are as follows on the improvement of the Grandfather Scheme, which makes a heck of a lot more sense, doesn’t place families at a financial disadvantage, or causes/increases an unstable family life.
Reconstruction of the Grandfather Scheme
The 1st mistake of the Grandfather Scheme was that prejudice was involved. This needs to be investigated. Ask for any parents who where registered with a work place assistance office, from July 2006 to complete, at Centrelink, a questionnaire concerning their registration and attendance at these centres; why they attended, how were they treated, were their needs attended to, etc… If there were parents who were taken advantage with, then deal with those involved and show that your centre is not a bully, but as supporter of parents!
I am a firm supporter in respect to parents needing to prepare for the event of going into the workforce when they have no children relying on them at home. What’s wrong with the scheme is that you’re bulling parents to ‘go into the workforce’ with young children who are in serious need of mum/dad through their Lower Primary Years. The age of the youngest child should not be 7! Parents, to support their children through school, actually have to learn to ‘write’ all over again, assist in home reading, learn course instruction that is not what it was when parents where at school! There are very few parents that I have ever known, during six years of volunteering at my children’s primary schools, that don’t do this. You are not only punishing the many parents for the very few parents who don’t ‘interact’ with their children’s schooling, but you’re also putting these many children at an extreme educational disadvantage! There are three things you can do here: a) You put the age up to youngest child turning 9 or 10 years of age (Grade 4 or 5) or better still if the child is in Grade 4 or 5 (this is better for parents who have children who need to be ‘kept back’ due their education. In my case, the youngest child being 12 is a better outlook for my family. b) If you stick to the youngest child being 7 then make it that there is a course for parents with this age group of children about what their children are learning and why it’s in place for their education, but I’d still suggest the 15 hours a week should be reduced to 5 (yes five) hours a fortnight, a better induction into the workforce than this larger amount of hours. c) If the youngest child has proven or needs to have proven behaviour issues (like my son impulsive behaviour) then the responsibility in the Grandfather Scheme should reflect the parents’ need to attend to the child, during school hours and outside school hours AND give them support with this – you don’t need a child on a disability/carers pension to have a ‘problem child’ you’re in need of attend to! I have enough educational supportive material to show my son’s issues and I’ve got enough proof to show that I’ve been working within their schools to support my son in ATTENDING school and yet, you don’t take any of this into consideration. If I have to give up on my son because you’ve told me I have to due this Grandfather Scheme then – sorry - but you’re department is looking at a law suit! A better age would be 12, but what would I know, me a mother with a issues as pre-mentioned! Beside a child at this age, in most cases, can be responsible enough to be alone for an hour after school (wouldn’t dare consider before school; not locking the house up safely, turning off heaters, stoves or similar in their rush to leave the house, getting to school late, nightmares, nightmares, nightmares, nightmares. It’s scary enough to consider after school! Most parents ARE NOT going to fork out money for before and after school care for older children – it costs too much considering that all institutes add other costs NOT covered by the government! It’s just not financially viable in most, low paid positions.
Forms should be considered from the time the youngest child turns 7, but the form should be put in/sent in after a parent’s pension day. This gives time for Centrelink to process the forms without putting a curfew of two days before pension day. I don’t get why on earth you didn’t do this in the first place! Why wasn’t the ‘first meeting’ we had considered the first form and then the arrangement of forms take place on the day of payment or after payment, these are the days we are IN town, so if you’re not going to financially reimburse us for travel, then change the form process! It’s not going to harm anyone to keep the form process from the age of youngest child at 7, just change the ‘when to put the form in’ process.
You need to have a tighter communication process with the work place assistance offices. As before mentioned, the process is at present, go into town to put a form in, on a different day, attend a work place assistance office, and on another completely different day, attend the work place assistance office again. If you were enrolled in a course you’re entitled to additive money to support your needs towards the attendance, equipment/stationary for the course or postage, etc … Why is it that these work place office attendances aren’t considered putting families into a financially stressful situation? The pension is there to cover the cost of living! It doesn’t cover these additive costs. You need to set up a reimbursement of travel and costs of study/attendance. In my case, I choose to buy a house for the future stability of my family, which, by moving to a country area has given me that opportunity and has even helped in the social interactions and stabilising of my children. I chose this position because it was the same cost of buying as it was in renting, even without rent assistance, but that choice should not mean I should be punished by a system that is not taking my family’s living position into consideration. Also, being a remote area, there is only a school bus that goes into Maryborough once a day and returns once a day on school days only! On public holidays and school holidays there is no alternative transport. My car is old and at this time needs $1100 in repairs. I believe it is reliable and safe enough at present, but what if it breaks down! I can arrange to go shopping once a week, but I can’t attend Maryborough more than that if I have no car. With school holidays as of the 14th December, please explain to me how I will be able to say I’m reliable enough for form and meeting attendance, let alone work attendance. I’m not going to go into a panic of the what ifs, but you are not placing safe guards down for people like myself.
Get rid of the ridiculous punishment of ‘refusal of a replacement form’!
Conclusion
When I go into to my workplace assistance meeting on the 14th November, I will be asking for reimbursement for my petrol, and for any other meetings that take place after. Put it this way, if an employed person was told that they had to attend a seminar, once a month, costing $40 to $75 every month and not being reimbursed on the cost of travel or other (comes out of their own pocket), and they’re not getting paid to attend, how on earth do you think this situation would play out? Is it fair? Is it legal? This is how much it costs at the end of the month to put a form in and attend these meetings!
I have been informed that I can go to St. Vincent DePaul for travelling assistance. I have twice had to ask for help towards food assistance in the last 3 years from this wonderful charity. I will avoid going back because it is on the other side of town (more petrol), and it’s a set time and day when to attend (more petrol to go in just to ask for help – where does that make sense?), and an hour or two waiting at times, to get assistance. I, nor should any other parent, have to go through this routine every fortnight just to survive just to put a form in!
Again, in my case, I will hopefully become employed as soon as possible, because, like any home owner, there’s a few things around the house that are in serious need of attention, especially as I’m on tank water and my plumbing needs to be improved for the purpose of rain water reliability. Yes, this private information is of no concern to Centrelink, but during this letter I have given you insights into my life to show how the Grandfather Scheme is putting my family at risk, when there wasn’t any risks when I choose to move out here in November 2006.
I knew or guess at many of the issues that had arisen or about to arise with the Grandfather Scheme, but I couldn’t tell you anything officially until I was more informed by others, and had personal experiences of the issues, so I could ‘raise’ them with your department with more true prior knowledge.
If this scheme is to continue, you are going to have to consider parents and their children as human being, not just a form or number. You need to teach some of your staff about respecting each case individually, not as an over view of all parents, and you’re going to have to keep a close eye on the private work place offices. In reality, this scheme would be better off if you brought back the government work place offices of the 80s (CES?). The Grandfather Scheme is more suited to this original work placement than private work place offices plying for funds from the government. With technology today, I suspect it would be more successful and viable for parents.
I look forward to your reply/replies and to future developments of the Grandfather Scheme, though, unfortunately, you’re likely to hear from me or about me sooner than you will be able to reply to this letter, or consider and/or implement improvements towards the scheme, either from my suggestions or your own determinates. I will continue to keep track of what I’m told by others and may even offer my assistance to others in similar situations to my own. I can promise you that I’m no trouble maker, just someone who cares enough about the positions of others, and my family, that are punished or placed into financial hardship, for the most ridiculous reasons in regards to this scheme.
I can only hope that you will take these insights and suggestions as serious, and that you will act as quickly as possible in rectifying and improving the scheme, which in itself, is not a bad idea, just not thought through thoroughly.
C/- The Federal Manager/Complaints
Centrelink
13th November 2007
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to bring to your attention the faults of the Grandfather Scheme. It is not a scheme that intakes and distributes to the needs of the parent/s and guardian/s, and their children, so they obtain their full fortnightly pension. This scheme is placing some of us at a distinct disadvantage or being taken advantage of by some of the private work place offices.
Grandfather Scheme July 2006 Register
I will begin, and for this, I will also sarcome to stating that ‘being taken advantage of’ may in fact have been ill informed and incorrectly educated personnel at private work placement facilities by way of giving these work place offices ‘a fair go’, to even the scales of opinion.
In July 2006, parents who were new to the Centrelink system, immediately started the Grandfather Scheme. This was prejudice towards these parents and such advantages to be given to parents, like myself, should not have happened. These parents had to go through changes, usually very emotional, on top of this disadvantage, where registered parents before this date only had to ‘adapt’ their way of life.
In July 2006, some pre-registered parents also thought that the scheme took place immediately on July 2006, and they went in to work place offices and registered, and were not told differently. Once registered these parents were ‘forced’ by the work place offices to attend with threat of their payments being cut off.
When these parents were asked what they wanted to ‘learn’, they were then told what they had to ‘learn’ first before attending courses that were of their interests. Even if these parents had ‘background’ in any of the courses, they still had to attend the course, by way of the previous threat mentioned. The advantage was for the private institutes, not the parent, who were just a source of ‘money’ for these institutes.
I made a couple of complaints to the front counter staff at Centrelink, Maryborough, in regards to this issue, and each person I spoke to confirmed this procedure was incorrect, but stated they couldn’t do anything about it. When the complete change over to the Grandfather Scheme took place in July 2007, I spoke to a Grandfather Scheme Coordinator what had been previous happening and the gentleman agreed that this had happen as he had received a number of complaints during the pre-interviews about this mistreatment. Again, there was nothing that could be done about ‘the past’ treatment of these parents.
Only because it is in the ‘past’ doesn’t mean you can’t do something about this unfair treatment and threats. I suggest that you do a survey to all parents and find out a bit more about this, and action taken if necessary towards work place offices who took advantage of the change of law, accidental or otherwise. Parents need to know that they are supported by law, and by Centrelink, when such incidents occur in relation to Centrelink.
Grandfather Scheme July 2007 Register
The main complaint I have is the form system. Dropping the form in two days before being paid is putting myself at a financial disadvantage. I live at Brooweena, 45 kms from Maryborough. I’m not just down the road from a branch, and frankly there would be few people who wouldn’t need to take transport of some kind into Centrelink to deposit the form. With me, however, it can cost between $8 to $13 approximately (depending on fuel prices) to just ‘drop in a form’ every fortnight. I only go into to Maryborough once a week for food, every Tuesday night for my children to attend St. Johns (there’s no entertainment or sporting facility for children in remote areas like ours, and once a fortnight, on a Saturday, to visit family and friends. I’m very restricted on when I spend money on petrol, and now I have to find extra money to ‘slot in’ the dropping off of a form.
I’ve been informed that I can post or fax it in. Posting the form in means I don’t get paid until two days after my regular pension day, which puts me at a risk of bank fees, due to my bills and house payments coming out on my regular pension day. For each ‘bill’ or ‘house payment’ that’s not in there it’s a $30 fine/fee. So I have no choice but to ‘get it in’, wasting money that I don’t have to waste, so not to put us into a scary debt!
To fax it in it costs $6 from a normal Post Office - $4 for the first sheet and a $1 for every sheet after. To fax it in, however, doesn’t mean I know for certain if something is ‘wrong’ or ‘unreadable’ on the sheet. It’s not worth taking the risk of non-payment to save $4, when you’re risking $60 (Centrelink fine).
Then there is the extra money to ‘attend’ private workplace assistant offices. My previous knowledge of these facilities is not an encouraging one, but I am not like many of the parents who have been ‘taken advantage of’ as I am well educated and I have been searching for work since 2004. Not finding work I went into a TAFE course , paying $1600 (approximately) for it. Unfortunately when I was on the last six books, I have not been able to find Vocational Placement to assist in the completion of those books.
I also have an ‘unstable’ and ‘unreliable’ 11 year old son, and that’s putting it nicely seeing twice he’s nearly set fire to the house in the last three months. They have been accidents, he is impulsive, does first and panics later. This means I have to take risks when leaving him at home alone, to his own devices, and while he’s not one to ‘get into mischief’, he does, unthinkingly, places himself into danger.
This is an issue that is not going to be solved easily, but until I can obtain employment in an area, which will allow me to afford private babysitting, I’m at disadvantage in respect to employment. There is no babysitting facility, before and after school, out here, and the last time he was placed in an after school facility he ran away from the Daycare Mother. He had to stop going because she couldn’t safely look after the other children if chasing after my son.
This doesn’t mean that I won’t keep looking for work or going back to studies. I have worked out some things in respect to this, but I use my situation as an example for other parents, who have similar situations. I will also be ‘sticking to my guns’ when attending work place assistance offices, and I will not stand to be punished by the system because I’m a ‘good’ mother working to the benefit of her children!
Talking about punishments, my first form was left in Brooweena when I was in Brisbane. I had to get a copy from Chermside office – not an issue. Since then I have lost or haven’t even had sent out to me forms and have only put in two of the sent forms. I have been warned that if I get a ‘not so nice’ front counter assistant that I may be refused a form, so fined, even if I have come in to the office, with my list of researched jobs, all the way from Brooweena! What right does anyone have to refused the print out of a form!!!!! Sorry that is not even close to fair and I will make a lot of noise in the media on that one if I’m ever in that position. Don’t try to punish me for trying to do the right thing! Heaven’s know who else have been the unfortunate person to cope that one. You really do need to be respectful.
The complete system should have not been placed on parents with children under 12 years of age. It’s just not viable or workable in many situations. My suggestions are as follows on the improvement of the Grandfather Scheme, which makes a heck of a lot more sense, doesn’t place families at a financial disadvantage, or causes/increases an unstable family life.
Reconstruction of the Grandfather Scheme
The 1st mistake of the Grandfather Scheme was that prejudice was involved. This needs to be investigated. Ask for any parents who where registered with a work place assistance office, from July 2006 to complete, at Centrelink, a questionnaire concerning their registration and attendance at these centres; why they attended, how were they treated, were their needs attended to, etc… If there were parents who were taken advantage with, then deal with those involved and show that your centre is not a bully, but as supporter of parents!
I am a firm supporter in respect to parents needing to prepare for the event of going into the workforce when they have no children relying on them at home. What’s wrong with the scheme is that you’re bulling parents to ‘go into the workforce’ with young children who are in serious need of mum/dad through their Lower Primary Years. The age of the youngest child should not be 7! Parents, to support their children through school, actually have to learn to ‘write’ all over again, assist in home reading, learn course instruction that is not what it was when parents where at school! There are very few parents that I have ever known, during six years of volunteering at my children’s primary schools, that don’t do this. You are not only punishing the many parents for the very few parents who don’t ‘interact’ with their children’s schooling, but you’re also putting these many children at an extreme educational disadvantage! There are three things you can do here: a) You put the age up to youngest child turning 9 or 10 years of age (Grade 4 or 5) or better still if the child is in Grade 4 or 5 (this is better for parents who have children who need to be ‘kept back’ due their education. In my case, the youngest child being 12 is a better outlook for my family. b) If you stick to the youngest child being 7 then make it that there is a course for parents with this age group of children about what their children are learning and why it’s in place for their education, but I’d still suggest the 15 hours a week should be reduced to 5 (yes five) hours a fortnight, a better induction into the workforce than this larger amount of hours. c) If the youngest child has proven or needs to have proven behaviour issues (like my son impulsive behaviour) then the responsibility in the Grandfather Scheme should reflect the parents’ need to attend to the child, during school hours and outside school hours AND give them support with this – you don’t need a child on a disability/carers pension to have a ‘problem child’ you’re in need of attend to! I have enough educational supportive material to show my son’s issues and I’ve got enough proof to show that I’ve been working within their schools to support my son in ATTENDING school and yet, you don’t take any of this into consideration. If I have to give up on my son because you’ve told me I have to due this Grandfather Scheme then – sorry - but you’re department is looking at a law suit! A better age would be 12, but what would I know, me a mother with a issues as pre-mentioned! Beside a child at this age, in most cases, can be responsible enough to be alone for an hour after school (wouldn’t dare consider before school; not locking the house up safely, turning off heaters, stoves or similar in their rush to leave the house, getting to school late, nightmares, nightmares, nightmares, nightmares. It’s scary enough to consider after school! Most parents ARE NOT going to fork out money for before and after school care for older children – it costs too much considering that all institutes add other costs NOT covered by the government! It’s just not financially viable in most, low paid positions.
Forms should be considered from the time the youngest child turns 7, but the form should be put in/sent in after a parent’s pension day. This gives time for Centrelink to process the forms without putting a curfew of two days before pension day. I don’t get why on earth you didn’t do this in the first place! Why wasn’t the ‘first meeting’ we had considered the first form and then the arrangement of forms take place on the day of payment or after payment, these are the days we are IN town, so if you’re not going to financially reimburse us for travel, then change the form process! It’s not going to harm anyone to keep the form process from the age of youngest child at 7, just change the ‘when to put the form in’ process.
You need to have a tighter communication process with the work place assistance offices. As before mentioned, the process is at present, go into town to put a form in, on a different day, attend a work place assistance office, and on another completely different day, attend the work place assistance office again. If you were enrolled in a course you’re entitled to additive money to support your needs towards the attendance, equipment/stationary for the course or postage, etc … Why is it that these work place office attendances aren’t considered putting families into a financially stressful situation? The pension is there to cover the cost of living! It doesn’t cover these additive costs. You need to set up a reimbursement of travel and costs of study/attendance. In my case, I choose to buy a house for the future stability of my family, which, by moving to a country area has given me that opportunity and has even helped in the social interactions and stabilising of my children. I chose this position because it was the same cost of buying as it was in renting, even without rent assistance, but that choice should not mean I should be punished by a system that is not taking my family’s living position into consideration. Also, being a remote area, there is only a school bus that goes into Maryborough once a day and returns once a day on school days only! On public holidays and school holidays there is no alternative transport. My car is old and at this time needs $1100 in repairs. I believe it is reliable and safe enough at present, but what if it breaks down! I can arrange to go shopping once a week, but I can’t attend Maryborough more than that if I have no car. With school holidays as of the 14th December, please explain to me how I will be able to say I’m reliable enough for form and meeting attendance, let alone work attendance. I’m not going to go into a panic of the what ifs, but you are not placing safe guards down for people like myself.
Get rid of the ridiculous punishment of ‘refusal of a replacement form’!
Conclusion
When I go into to my workplace assistance meeting on the 14th November, I will be asking for reimbursement for my petrol, and for any other meetings that take place after. Put it this way, if an employed person was told that they had to attend a seminar, once a month, costing $40 to $75 every month and not being reimbursed on the cost of travel or other (comes out of their own pocket), and they’re not getting paid to attend, how on earth do you think this situation would play out? Is it fair? Is it legal? This is how much it costs at the end of the month to put a form in and attend these meetings!
I have been informed that I can go to St. Vincent DePaul for travelling assistance. I have twice had to ask for help towards food assistance in the last 3 years from this wonderful charity. I will avoid going back because it is on the other side of town (more petrol), and it’s a set time and day when to attend (more petrol to go in just to ask for help – where does that make sense?), and an hour or two waiting at times, to get assistance. I, nor should any other parent, have to go through this routine every fortnight just to survive just to put a form in!
Again, in my case, I will hopefully become employed as soon as possible, because, like any home owner, there’s a few things around the house that are in serious need of attention, especially as I’m on tank water and my plumbing needs to be improved for the purpose of rain water reliability. Yes, this private information is of no concern to Centrelink, but during this letter I have given you insights into my life to show how the Grandfather Scheme is putting my family at risk, when there wasn’t any risks when I choose to move out here in November 2006.
I knew or guess at many of the issues that had arisen or about to arise with the Grandfather Scheme, but I couldn’t tell you anything officially until I was more informed by others, and had personal experiences of the issues, so I could ‘raise’ them with your department with more true prior knowledge.
If this scheme is to continue, you are going to have to consider parents and their children as human being, not just a form or number. You need to teach some of your staff about respecting each case individually, not as an over view of all parents, and you’re going to have to keep a close eye on the private work place offices. In reality, this scheme would be better off if you brought back the government work place offices of the 80s (CES?). The Grandfather Scheme is more suited to this original work placement than private work place offices plying for funds from the government. With technology today, I suspect it would be more successful and viable for parents.
I look forward to your reply/replies and to future developments of the Grandfather Scheme, though, unfortunately, you’re likely to hear from me or about me sooner than you will be able to reply to this letter, or consider and/or implement improvements towards the scheme, either from my suggestions or your own determinates. I will continue to keep track of what I’m told by others and may even offer my assistance to others in similar situations to my own. I can promise you that I’m no trouble maker, just someone who cares enough about the positions of others, and my family, that are punished or placed into financial hardship, for the most ridiculous reasons in regards to this scheme.
I can only hope that you will take these insights and suggestions as serious, and that you will act as quickly as possible in rectifying and improving the scheme, which in itself, is not a bad idea, just not thought through thoroughly.
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Dead Beauty
Shining at it's full
Embracing the night
Cold and dead
Marred beauty in age.
Grey mist floats over it
Blighting the body
Eerie silence in Space
Echoed in nature.
Diamonic, jewel of sky
Shimmer and smile
Look upon the living
And guide them at night.
Embracing the night
Cold and dead
Marred beauty in age.
Grey mist floats over it
Blighting the body
Eerie silence in Space
Echoed in nature.
Diamonic, jewel of sky
Shimmer and smile
Look upon the living
And guide them at night.
Friday, 9 November 2007
What does being an AUSTRALIAN mean to you?
I'll start, but I would like you to add to this blog.
If it's negetive, please try to end with a positive 'lesson' for you or others to work towards.
Lets' produce a blog that is about the support of your nation.
If you are from another nation and would like to produce a positive outlook on your nation, put in your blog address.
Any address, however, which is demeaning to any other nation will be removed!
Many years ago I went outside of Strathpine Shopping Centre (Brisbane) to have a cigarette (horrid habit I still haven't broke from yet).
An elderly lady was on the only seat and I won't smoke near someone who isn't smoking. I find it ill mannered.
I said 'hello' and we got talking.
Her husband and herself came to Australian as English Immigrants in the 50s. The trip over wasn't so bad and the crew was very nice to her, but as she got further and further away from home, the days and nights on board the boat brought with it memories of what she was leaving behind - comfort in the only life she knew - rarely, if ever fears, of family interactions - job and financial survival - interacting with uneducated and rough Australians.
When she walked off that ship and onto Australian soil, all her fears were vanguished. The first words she heard was 'Gidday' and 'Welcome to Australia'.
She said to me how this dock's welcoming was echoed every where she went and how Australia made her feel happy to be a part of this country.
As she has gotten older, however, she has seen Australian pass over their own way of life and language for 'other' countries and cultures, and we are becoming lost to who we were, and are!
No-one says Gidday to her anymore. She couldn't remember the last time she was greeted with it.
What got to me was that normally I do say Gidday, but recently I had been slipping into 'hello' and 'howdy'! I felt horrid as this one word could have brought such simple joy and acceptence to this lady.
So to this lady, and every person on this planet, a very welcoming 'GIDDAY!'
If it's negetive, please try to end with a positive 'lesson' for you or others to work towards.
Lets' produce a blog that is about the support of your nation.
If you are from another nation and would like to produce a positive outlook on your nation, put in your blog address.
Any address, however, which is demeaning to any other nation will be removed!
Many years ago I went outside of Strathpine Shopping Centre (Brisbane) to have a cigarette (horrid habit I still haven't broke from yet).
An elderly lady was on the only seat and I won't smoke near someone who isn't smoking. I find it ill mannered.
I said 'hello' and we got talking.
Her husband and herself came to Australian as English Immigrants in the 50s. The trip over wasn't so bad and the crew was very nice to her, but as she got further and further away from home, the days and nights on board the boat brought with it memories of what she was leaving behind - comfort in the only life she knew - rarely, if ever fears, of family interactions - job and financial survival - interacting with uneducated and rough Australians.
When she walked off that ship and onto Australian soil, all her fears were vanguished. The first words she heard was 'Gidday' and 'Welcome to Australia'.
She said to me how this dock's welcoming was echoed every where she went and how Australia made her feel happy to be a part of this country.
As she has gotten older, however, she has seen Australian pass over their own way of life and language for 'other' countries and cultures, and we are becoming lost to who we were, and are!
No-one says Gidday to her anymore. She couldn't remember the last time she was greeted with it.
What got to me was that normally I do say Gidday, but recently I had been slipping into 'hello' and 'howdy'! I felt horrid as this one word could have brought such simple joy and acceptence to this lady.
So to this lady, and every person on this planet, a very welcoming 'GIDDAY!'
Throwing Out History
I wrote this piece some months ago. I wrote it because of my interests in collecting Australiana and how much of it has been lost, because early historical pieces weren't considered collectable in respect to financial terminology. History, not matter how new, is always collectable and worth saving for a nation like ours that is so young.
It’s Thursday and I visit our local tip were the usual garbage, broken furnishings, and bottles are piling up around the lip of the tip’s hole.
Tomorrow the local council’s bulldozer attends to its weekly errand and scrapes the rubbish into the gapping mouth.
Scavenging is an interesting activity for children, rubbish calling to them “…come look…”
The lure of throwing an empty beer bottle into the mouth, to watch as the bottle breaks and scatters, the shards like dark amber trinkets skipping away from its broken parent.
Or there’s the creative projects that children create, contemplating the use of “…all that broken wood…?”
What interests me is the good stuff that people throw out along side of the refuse!
Kitchen utensils, magazines, books, canvas, to name but a few recyclable objects.
In a country community there’s few second hand stores to send your recyclable items to, garage sales are virtually non-existent because of the stretch of distances between houses and properties, and there’s no base for a Life Line bin.
Yet we all head into town, once per week or fortnight, where such places certainly exist!
The tip is, however, many people’s first thought to discard their household, garage, or shed spring-cleaning, and sometimes they throw out history with the rubbish.
This Thursday I was a rescuer of history, not of anything ancient or antique, but valuable all the same.
Newspapers, two different types, many, many editions dating from 1949 and 1950, torn, cut to fit under the old lino that was from the same era, yellowed with age and fragile to touch.
The results of the local shooting competition announced in a couple of pages, where I find local generation families’ names from around the district amongst the competitors and winners alike.
The price for beef or sheep, in pounds and shillings, not monetary terms that I understand, but would surely be of interest to would be writers of fiction, history or just for the locals to compare the meat market value changes from then and now.
Get this Menzies visited a neighbouring district!
Menzies!
He bothered with a small country area like ours?
It was before he became an Australian Prime Minister and then became one of the biggest Australian mysteries when he disappeared into thin air.
These newspapers thrown out uncaringly at the edge of foul smelling, rotted food and wriggling maggots would have been lost to Australian history within 24 hours.
It was fortunate that these newspapers had been discarded far enough away from the surrounding refuse, and were not further stained, or worse, ruined.
Rescuing them meant I was able to show the local schoolchildren there local communication history and donate two complete newspapers to the local Woocoo Historical Society.
This early local history wasn’t recognised as important to the community or valuable in monetary terms.
The local museum, seven minutes from the tip, was not considered when the old lino was uprooted and discarded.
It is so easy to throw away history and not see the value for the generations of here and now, and those to come.
Why were these newspapers not considered as interesting local history and not given to the local museum, or framed and used as a talking piece for a newly renovated home?
It amazes me what people throw away, such as the fruit bowl from an Australian Ceramic Company lies broken, but the missing piece lies beside it, slotting perfectly into place.
The piece was easy to mend and the previous owner could have passed the item on to family members or the museum?
Like so many early Australian products (but not antique), it would have been lost, because people do not look further ahead, only to the here and now.
It’s Thursday and I visit our local tip were the usual garbage, broken furnishings, and bottles are piling up around the lip of the tip’s hole.
Tomorrow the local council’s bulldozer attends to its weekly errand and scrapes the rubbish into the gapping mouth.
Scavenging is an interesting activity for children, rubbish calling to them “…come look…”
The lure of throwing an empty beer bottle into the mouth, to watch as the bottle breaks and scatters, the shards like dark amber trinkets skipping away from its broken parent.
Or there’s the creative projects that children create, contemplating the use of “…all that broken wood…?”
What interests me is the good stuff that people throw out along side of the refuse!
Kitchen utensils, magazines, books, canvas, to name but a few recyclable objects.
In a country community there’s few second hand stores to send your recyclable items to, garage sales are virtually non-existent because of the stretch of distances between houses and properties, and there’s no base for a Life Line bin.
Yet we all head into town, once per week or fortnight, where such places certainly exist!
The tip is, however, many people’s first thought to discard their household, garage, or shed spring-cleaning, and sometimes they throw out history with the rubbish.
This Thursday I was a rescuer of history, not of anything ancient or antique, but valuable all the same.
Newspapers, two different types, many, many editions dating from 1949 and 1950, torn, cut to fit under the old lino that was from the same era, yellowed with age and fragile to touch.
The results of the local shooting competition announced in a couple of pages, where I find local generation families’ names from around the district amongst the competitors and winners alike.
The price for beef or sheep, in pounds and shillings, not monetary terms that I understand, but would surely be of interest to would be writers of fiction, history or just for the locals to compare the meat market value changes from then and now.
Get this Menzies visited a neighbouring district!
Menzies!
He bothered with a small country area like ours?
It was before he became an Australian Prime Minister and then became one of the biggest Australian mysteries when he disappeared into thin air.
These newspapers thrown out uncaringly at the edge of foul smelling, rotted food and wriggling maggots would have been lost to Australian history within 24 hours.
It was fortunate that these newspapers had been discarded far enough away from the surrounding refuse, and were not further stained, or worse, ruined.
Rescuing them meant I was able to show the local schoolchildren there local communication history and donate two complete newspapers to the local Woocoo Historical Society.
This early local history wasn’t recognised as important to the community or valuable in monetary terms.
The local museum, seven minutes from the tip, was not considered when the old lino was uprooted and discarded.
It is so easy to throw away history and not see the value for the generations of here and now, and those to come.
Why were these newspapers not considered as interesting local history and not given to the local museum, or framed and used as a talking piece for a newly renovated home?
It amazes me what people throw away, such as the fruit bowl from an Australian Ceramic Company lies broken, but the missing piece lies beside it, slotting perfectly into place.
The piece was easy to mend and the previous owner could have passed the item on to family members or the museum?
Like so many early Australian products (but not antique), it would have been lost, because people do not look further ahead, only to the here and now.
Reconciliation Day - Australian Day of Repeative Sorries or a Day of Achieving Unity?
I am 38 and a woman, a mother and a volunteer within my community.
I am a believer of God but will never choose any religion.
I believe in the after life and lost souls and even magic.
I believe in helping my neighbour if I am capable of doing so.
I believe in taking pride in what I have achieved and not laying down and dying if I haven't achieved, but taking time out, reassessing my history and getting 'back to it'.
I believe in equality, respect, community and family.
I believe as a woman I'm am capable of doing what's needed and not having to call upon a man for anything other than to assist me, but also knowing, acknowledging and accepting that a man's strength and interests can be of an advantage when my strength or knowledge is not enough.
I'm an Australian, born and breed, and my heritage on one side goes back over a hundred years, while my heritage on another side comes into play in the 60s, but I am white!
I have been taught since high school that I am invader to Australia and I am not a true Australian!
Since high school I have been made to feel like a parasite because I am white.
The generalisation of my white history is still a reflective factor on how differenct races see me because I'm white.
Sorry, to me, is not acceptable without action, yet Australian Reconciliation Day is a day where white people are encouraged to say sorry for the past.
To say sorry every year is depressing to me as it feels that my sorrow for the actions of the past is forgotten quickly and so I need to say it like a broken record in the knowledge that it will never be accepted.
I am not sorry for doing anything racist as being racist will never be supported by me. It is inexcusable to consider or advertise or educate that a person is any less a person than another, for the purpose of demening or for a power-trip.
I believe that Australian Reconciliation Day should be a world-wide event, but the purpose of it is not so we are to continually repeat a word, but to express our sorrow for past racial, prejudice, and sexist crimes in the dawn and then produce postitive celebration of the achievements and interactions and future initiatives, till the end of the day, that will contiunue to dispell such history and work towards a unite people of the planet Earth, NOT just a country.
Maybe when the white in me can be accepted for the truth of the word SORRY and the actions that I repeat in every second of the day are recognised, will I finally know that I am accepted as an Australian!
How does a white person get accepted for their tainted colour by an era that will never be allowable by me to ever exist in my life time, or the life time of my children, or their children?
How do I help to unite the world and eliminate injustices to all people, so I can be accepted as an a true Australian, no matter what the colour of my skin.
I am a believer of God but will never choose any religion.
I believe in the after life and lost souls and even magic.
I believe in helping my neighbour if I am capable of doing so.
I believe in taking pride in what I have achieved and not laying down and dying if I haven't achieved, but taking time out, reassessing my history and getting 'back to it'.
I believe in equality, respect, community and family.
I believe as a woman I'm am capable of doing what's needed and not having to call upon a man for anything other than to assist me, but also knowing, acknowledging and accepting that a man's strength and interests can be of an advantage when my strength or knowledge is not enough.
I'm an Australian, born and breed, and my heritage on one side goes back over a hundred years, while my heritage on another side comes into play in the 60s, but I am white!
I have been taught since high school that I am invader to Australia and I am not a true Australian!
Since high school I have been made to feel like a parasite because I am white.
The generalisation of my white history is still a reflective factor on how differenct races see me because I'm white.
Sorry, to me, is not acceptable without action, yet Australian Reconciliation Day is a day where white people are encouraged to say sorry for the past.
To say sorry every year is depressing to me as it feels that my sorrow for the actions of the past is forgotten quickly and so I need to say it like a broken record in the knowledge that it will never be accepted.
I am not sorry for doing anything racist as being racist will never be supported by me. It is inexcusable to consider or advertise or educate that a person is any less a person than another, for the purpose of demening or for a power-trip.
I believe that Australian Reconciliation Day should be a world-wide event, but the purpose of it is not so we are to continually repeat a word, but to express our sorrow for past racial, prejudice, and sexist crimes in the dawn and then produce postitive celebration of the achievements and interactions and future initiatives, till the end of the day, that will contiunue to dispell such history and work towards a unite people of the planet Earth, NOT just a country.
Maybe when the white in me can be accepted for the truth of the word SORRY and the actions that I repeat in every second of the day are recognised, will I finally know that I am accepted as an Australian!
How does a white person get accepted for their tainted colour by an era that will never be allowable by me to ever exist in my life time, or the life time of my children, or their children?
How do I help to unite the world and eliminate injustices to all people, so I can be accepted as an a true Australian, no matter what the colour of my skin.
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