Thousands petition to stop government’s cruel welfare changes; call on Labor to block the bill
Labor and the crossbench must not be bullied into passing dangerous, half-baked changes to supercharge the poverty machine
An online petition calling on the government to abandon its rushed ‘mutual’ obligations bill that will harm welfare recipients, timed to apply pressure as parliament returns, has surpassed 22 000 signatures within days of launching.
The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Streamlined participation Requirements and Other Measures) Bill 2021, due to be tabled when parliament resumes, has attracted the ire of welfare recipients and advocates alike.
The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is demanding that the Labor party and crossbench commit to block the bill if the government attempts to push it through.
The Bill would allow the government to rip hundreds of millions of dollars from unemployed workers, who are forced to survive on about half the Henderson Poverty Line.
The proposed legislation also introduces a dangerous increase in automated decision-making, and forces people into brutal free labour programs like Work for the Dole sooner and more often.
“This bill takes financial support away with one hand and uses the other to beat us,” Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union spokesperson, Jeremy Heywood said.
“The intensification of automated decision-making processes is the biggest concern for us. The government has designed a poverty machine that is only gaining strength with each change they make.”
“We saw these automated processes used to disastrous effect during the Robodebt scandal. We’ve seen, first-hand, how these tools work to destroy the lives of our members: we refuse to allow that to happen again.”
“There’s a clear consensus here: an overwhelming number of welfare recipients and their allies do not support these cruel changes to social security law. The rules need to be overhauled, but this bill only serves to make a bad system even worse”
“The Labor party and the crossbench must do right by their constituents who are affected by this -- some of the poorest people in their electorates -- and join us in standing up to the government. There can be no compromise or negotiation here: this bill will supercharge the government’s poverty machine, and must be rejected in the strongest possible terms.”
Media contact: 0421 283 037 / media at auwu.org.au
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