The Prime Minister has told single parents (most of whom who have custody of their children are women) that they will lose their Newstart allowances of $432 a fortnight if they fail to take jobs merely because they can’t find childcare. The Daily Telegraph in Sydney reported on June 3 that the Prime Minister has confirmed that from July 1 next year when the new workforce obligations regime comes into effect, lack of childcare will not be a valid excuse for turning down a job. Is the government going to increase the number of child care places? Is it going to perhaps reserve places for single parents needing to take jobs under the new regime? Will pigs fly?
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WORK OR BE DAMNED7 comments to WORK OR BE DAMNED |
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Having recently read the relevant budget information, I was shocked to find out about nature of the budget changes to work obligations for parents on centrelink payments. Further to this, the government took great joy in trumpeting the increases in child care places – however, llok beyond the cloak and daggers and it becomes clear: 84,500 of these places are for before and after school care (which is sorely needed!) but only 2,500 places Australia wide for pre-school aged children and a further 1,100 place for in-home care. It has been structured so that one parent (the mother) has to stay home unitl her children are all of a school age (could be up to 10-12 years) after which time she is expected to just jump straight back into the workforce. If the goverment wants women to remain in the workforce to contribute to supporting the rapidly ageing population, to carry the burden of looking after their elderly parents and to raise their own families while also holding down paid employment, they are going to have to ante up when it comes to workplace reform, flexible working hours and parental and maternity leave. A lack of political and social discourse on this issue is due to the goverment’s attitude that women should just grin and bear it – just like they always have – and soldier on. It is not good enough and we need to take the fight to the politicians in any way that you can. You can’t afford to wait for them to get around to it themselves.
Apparently the PM released a statement a couple of days ago saying that sole parents who could not find suitable child care wouldn’t be penalized for not working. However he hasn’t said what the terms of ‘no suitable child care’ are, some of the centres around are a disgrace.
As a studying parent I lose not only the $77 p/ftnt difference between the parenting allowance and the dole, but I lose austudy also which is $62 p/ftnt. All in all my family loses $280 p/mth after July 06. If the pm’s agenda was truly to improve the lot of sole parents and get them from welfare to work, would he really deny them the opportunity to study by targeting them this way. It looks more like he is trying to instantly produce large numbers of menial workers.
It’s about bloody time someone put their foot down.
No more bon bons, time to get your system draining asses of the couch!!!!
Good for him.
to the anonymous engineer, my purty little arse on the couch is exactly the kind of economic stimulus your ‘system’ requires to drive it. get the fuck out of my kitchen pig face.
Your ‘purty little arse’ is not what the system requires. what the system requires is for people to stop wasting government dollars. If it’s not the government supporting your asses, it’s the ex-husband. Why?, simple, because your to fucking lazy to get a job and support yourself. Get out of your kitchen?, why?, I paid for the fucking thing.I have a much better idea “pig face”, how about you get the fuck out of my house and back to the street corner, where by that mouth, I can see you have spent the better part of your life,and by the way,leave the keys to the car I paid for, while you sat on the couch eating your bon bons, drinking wine and becoming …………………………………………………………………………….
As a sole parent I have been offered a job which I desperatly need and want I have managed to find some child care but my children will be left alone between anywhere from an hour up to 3 hours in the morning, then my case manager who I dont know wants me to allow her access to my children to sign them in child care in the mornings, what rights do I have? if I turn this job down I’m being an unfit mother by leaving my chilren alone and then in care of a stranger if I turn it down then I risk losing the money I use to support them not to mention any legal rights there father will then have to take them away from me? what are my rights?
Can someone advise Kelly as to her rights in this very difficult situation? What state are you in Kelly?