Leveraging GetUp's years of tech expertise, and powered by the generous donations of more than 3,000 GetUp members, FraudStop lets anyone challenge their debt claim online in less than five minutes, instead of waiting hours on the phone with no result.
Got a debt letter to appeal? Visit FraudStop.com.au
PICKLE has been launched and you may have seen it advertised on Metro Adelaide buses recently. The PICKLE app has been developed by Shelter SA, with support from a DCSI Community Benefit SA grant. The idea behind PICKLE is to connect young people who are experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, or in unsafe situations, to the nearest possible service organisation, ensuring they get the help they need right when they need it. PICKLE will appeal to people who might be more inclined to search on-line for assistance rather than making a phone call to a generic help centre, where they may or may not find the support they are looking for including people living with disabilities, from different cultures or experiencing mental health issues. The technology is easy to use – PICKLE is free, quick and private.
Visit the PICKLE website here: www.pickle.org.au and to download the PICKLE app, go to the App Store or Google Play and search 'Pickle by Shelter SA'.
pickle.org.au
Youth Homelessness Gateway. Your first step in finding help. Pickle can connect you to the closest place to get some help and advice. It's free, quick and private.
Anti-Poverty Network SA shared Eileen Darley's post.
Hey everyone, the event has just completely sold out! If you didnt get in on time and are really keen you can turn up at the door on the chance there are some no-shows or wait till the next showing sometime in winter.
SNAP ACTION!!!!
TOMORROW!!!
END THE DEBT DEBACLE!!!!!!
The Turnbull government is using a faulty data matching system to issue FALSE Centrelink debts to hundreds of thousand of citizens. Anyone who has every received money from the government through a welfare payment is affected.This includes all pensions, Newstart, Student Allowance, Disability pension, Age pension, and Family Tax Benefit. Come along to our snap rally on Tuesday 31st January 12.30 pm, Parliament house, Adelaide to show your disgust at this horrific policy that is ruining thousands of lives. This rally is held in solidarity with the Melbourne "Dignity, Not Debt" rally.
Stand up and be counted! Don't let the government bully the citizens of Australia with false debt demands. This is extortion on a mass scale!
Make sure to snap a picture for the virtual rally as well:
www.facebook.com/events/100492787135167/
Speakers:
-Liz Temple, CPSU (Union for Centrelink workers)
-Lyndsey Jackson from the very successful #NotMyDebt
-Nijole Naujokas from Anti-Poverty Network SA (APN-SA) and Women in Poverty (WIP)
-Senator Sarah Hanson-Young from the Greens
-Mark Parnell from the Greens
- Spokesperson for Uniting Communities (to be announced)
Come along and voice your anger! Strength in numbers, show everybody this will not stand.
Demands
1. Abolish Debt Recovery Scheme
Since the Coalition (supported by Labor) introduced the Debt Recovery System in July 2016, Centrelink have sent 20,000 debt notices per week to social security recipients. At least 20% of these notices are wrong. As a result of the Government's broken system, tens of thousands of vulnerable Australians are being harrassed by Centrelink and private debt collectors for debts they do not even owe. This is a disgrace.
2. Dignity for Social Security Recipients
The Coalition has gone out of its way to make dealing with Centrelink a humilating and difficult experience for millions of low income Australians. Despite the well documented problems with Centrelink's phone system, online portal, application process, and frontline offices to name only a few, the Coalition has continually refused to address these problems let alone acknowledge them. Austraila's social security recipients deserve better.
3. Restore Adequete Funding to Centrelink
Over the last 5 years, more than 5,000 Centrelink staff have been sacked. Consequently, Centrelink have been unable to keep up with the rising demand for its services. Last year alone 36 milion calls to Centrelink went unanswered. Due to Australia's rising population, it is estimated that each year the number of calls to Centrelink increase by 3 million.
4. Lift Payments Above the Poverty Line
Australia's expenditure on social security payments is one of the lowest in the OECD. As a result, every social security payment sit well below the Henderson poverty line.
Please feel free to invite all your friends!
If you would like to help paint banners, please join us here on Sunday:https://www.facebook.com/events/1197336910373968/
Sources
20% of debt notices are wrong: thewest.com.au/business/finance/centrelinks-automated-debt-system-flops-bc-5276376154001
230,000 debt notices have been sent: www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/centrelinks-debt-230000-have-now-been-hit-20170110-gtp8zt....
36 Million Calls went unanswered: www.couriermail.com.au/business/public-sector-union-calling-on-federal-government-to-suspend-cent...
Centrelink staff cuts: newmatilda.com/2015/05/21/cut-staff-and-services-suffer-union-links-centrelink-waits-job-losses/
Dignity Not Debt: End Centrelink Debt Debacle (Adelaide)
January 31, 2017, 12:30pm - January 31, 2017, 2:30pm
The Turnbull government is using a faulty data matching system to issue FALSE Centrelink debts to hundreds of thousand of citizens. Anyone who has every received money from the government through a welfare payment is affected.This includes all pensions, Newstart, Student Allowance, Disability pension, Age pension, and Family Tax Benefit. Come along to our snap rally on Tuesday 31st January 12.30 pm, Parliament house, Adelaide to show your disgust at this horrific policy that is ruining thousands of lives. This rally is held in solidarity with the Melbourne "Dignity, Not Debt" rally. Stand up and be counted! Don't let the government bully the citizens of Australia with false debt demands. This is extortion on a mass scale! Make sure to snap a picture for the virtual rally as well: www.facebook.com/events/100492787135167/ Speakers: -Liz Temple, CPSU (Union for Centrelink workers) -Lyndsey Jackson from the very successful #NotMyDebt -Nijole Naujokas from Anti-Poverty Network SA (APN-SA) and Women in Poverty (WIP) -Senator Sarah Hanson-Young from the Greens - MLC Mark Parnell from the Greens - Spokesperson for Uniting Communities (to be announced) ALSO -Grace, who has lived experience of false Centrelink debt and has successfully appealed it. We are very excited about this late edition to our speakers! Come along and voice your anger! Strength in numbers, show everybody this will not stand. Demands 1. Abolish Debt Recovery Scheme Since the Coalition (supported by Labor) introduced the Debt Recovery System in July 2016, Centrelink have sent 20,000 debt notices per week to social security recipients. At least 20% of these notices are wrong. As a result of the Government's broken system, tens of thousands of vulnerable Australians are being harrassed by Centrelink and private debt collectors for debts they do not even owe. This is a disgrace. 2. Dignity for Social Security Recipients The Coalition has gone out of its way to make dealing with Centrelink a humilating and difficult experience for millions of low income Australians. Despite the well documented problems with Centrelink's phone system, online portal, application process, and frontline offices to name only a few, the Coalition has continually refused to address these problems let alone acknowledge them. Austraila's social security recipients deserve better. 3. Restore Adequete Funding to Centrelink Over the last 5 years, more than 5,000 Centrelink staff have been sacked. Consequently, Centrelink have been unable to keep up with the rising demand for its services. Last year alone 36 milion calls to Centrelink went unanswered. Due to Australia's rising population, it is estimated that each year the number of calls to Centrelink increase by 3 million. 4. Lift Payments Above the Poverty Line Australia's expenditure on social security payments is one of the lowest in the OECD. As a result, every social security payment sit well below the Henderson poverty line. Please feel free to invite all your friends! If you would like to help paint banners, please join us here on Sunday:https://www.facebook.com/events/1197336910373968/ Sources 20% of debt notices are wrong: thewest.com.au/business/finance/centrelinks-automated-debt-system-flops-bc-5276376154001 230,000 debt notices have been sent: www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/centrelinks-debt-230000-have-now-been-hit-20170110-gtp8zt.... 36 Million Calls went unanswered: www.couriermail.com.au/business/public-sector-union-calling-on-federal-government-to-suspend-cent... Centrelink staff cuts: newmatilda.com/2015/05/21/cut-staff-and-services-suffer-union-links-centrelink-waits-job-losses/
Anti-Poverty Network and our fight against the calculated infliction of "robo-debt" feature in this cracking podcast from Jon Piccini and Dave Eden.
thewordfromstrugglestreet.wordpress.com
In this episode of Living The Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) go through the entrails with an inverted periscope to try to see what we should expect for 2017. We chat about Inv…
Anti-Poverty Network SA added an event.
APN Southern Branch Meeting
February 25, 2017, 11:00am - February 26, 2017, 12:29pm
February 25th will be the first monthly meeting for the Southern Branch. We plan to hold a meeting on the fourth Saturday of each month. For now we have chosen the location of Signatures Cafe at Marion Shopping Centre. Come to the meeting to discuss plans for the future of the Southern Branch, to make the group more active in the Southern suburbs.
"The most left-leaning of the seven initial candidates in the Socialist race, his programme has been built around the radical proposal of a universal monthly payment for all French citizens, regardless of income. He also wants to legalise cannabis, to tax the wealth created by robots and to ditch the labour law passed last year that made it easier to hire and fire.
The income plan he has outlined would be put into effect in three stages.
First, the current minimum welfare payment for France's poorest would be increased by 10% to €600 (£515; $640) a month. The payments would then be extended to all those from 18-25 years old. Finally the programme would be rolled out to all French citizens sometime after 2022, with the monthly payment increased to €750 a month.
By finishing several points ahead of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls during the first round of voting on Sunday, Mr Hamon has drawn attention to some important questions for France's ruling left-wing party: most obviously, the deep split between the Socialist party's left-wing supporters and the more liberal, centrist line taken by the current Socialist government.
Manuel Valls was the prime minister who pushed through some of that government's most unpopular labour reforms and security measures. That left a rift with the party that may force him out of the presidential race in the run-off on Sunday.
If Mr Hamon wins, it will reorient the Socialist party away from the centre of French politics, and back to its traditional left-wing positions.
That may not help him much during the presidential race. Whoever wins the Socialist nomination is tipped to come fifth, according to the opinion polls.
A nomination for Mr Hamon is likely to funnel centrist votes towards liberal former banker Emmanuel Macron, whose growing popularity is starting to worry the far-right National Front (FN), which is now banking on a place in the second round of the presidential poll."
France's Benoit Hamon rouses Socialists with basic income plan - BBC News
bbc.com
What does the rise of left-wing presidential hopeful Benoit Hamon say about France's Socialists?
This is the kind of reform that actually might make a difference. Monsieur Hamon is also putting a Universal Income on his agenda if he becomes the next President of France. Why do we not see this kind of basic creativity from any Australian politicians?
France may start a four-day work week
indy100.com
There seem to be calls from experts every other day for us to have fewer working hours, shorter weeks and later starts. While it sounds like a great idea, no government has been willing to entertain the idea. But now, French Socialist politician Benoit Hamon has proposed a 32-hour working week.
Last night in the early hours of the morning whilst creating a new budget spreadsheet for 2017 - to include less hours working to meet government requirements for a Certificate course :( I noticed a piece on Al Jazeera news about the Finnish UBI. Looking all over the interwebs this morning I can't find it! It was very interesting because they spoke to people already on income support and those that are not. They compared how they felt about their situation, especially the way in which income is tested against other earnings. The feedback from the participants although short is very positive and they hope to get jobs to complement the UBI payments. Friends who were in the same interviews and not receiving the UBI were obviously disappointed and both recipients reported the struggle and difficulties of getting by without being able to work without constraint!
Whether you are a proponent of the UBI or prefer a Jobs Guarantee (I barrack for both), and without constraints on how much a person is earning, its obvious due to technological changes in the workplace that less people will be working less in the future, less hours and in different ways. On a recent trip to visit family in Europe (Sweden) I noticed huge differences in the labour market. Firstly, there were huge proportions of small businesses absolutely everywhere. Many of the businesses were run by people 50+ and although less educated than their children 15 -30 years, they were able to support themselves and other employees. The government provided much needed assistance for people to grow and create their own businesses. As a result there are entire areas of residential sections that are serviced by a huge diversity of services in small shops lining the streets under the apartments and in the lane ways from hat shops to cafes. These people told me some interesting things about the population. Firstly one man in his 50s told me that 30 years ago Sweden had a "big problem with teenage pregnancy". He went on to say that the government focused on retaining all school age teens in school until they matriculated. You can imagine how this has changed the cultural and economic fabric of their society. The younger women in their early 30s who have children all work. I noticed childcare in the neighbourhoods was about roughly one per block. Of course the population density is much higher, and places for children are tight but at least they have more access for women to work. The younger generation are highly educated and virtually all people that I met 25-40 were in technology based jobs. There were so many differences I can't write about them all here but I noticed too that on the streets many men walking together in groups pushing prams and sitting in parks. Apparently men take a year off their jobs to take parental leave whilst their partner works and vice versa. Until recently men would often give their parental leave to their partners, however, now the government requires them to 'use it or lose it'. The education levels, access to work, assistance to create businesses, parental leave seemed to make the community so much more secure.
There are of course so many problems in Sweden that I have not mentioned here and I did notice, and after I visit again this year for my daughter's wedding I will definitely be interested to learn about some of those problems and what lessons we can learn from them.
Should we focus more on some of these issues such as technology - especially renewables industries, education at the very early stages i.e. 3 years onward - NZ and many European countries start 'preschool' at 3 years, and at the critical ages of 15-18 to retain children in school? Should we be creating more businesses for people to support themselves and other workers; in conjunction with a UBI and job guarantee? We would benefit not just people such as ourselves struggling in a poverty trap, but all people and communities.
I have a personal opinion that no job should be more than 20-30per week and all jobs currently over 30 hrs per week should be shared. One of the ideas I have been thinking about is that many businesses could stay open longer hours if they cut their staffing shifts in half, making more money and employing more people. Not that I see capitalism as the way forward at all but preparing the population to work less and in more highly educated roles is a way forward to a future with less work and more security.
Some quotes from the following article - "From the start of 2017, a two-year trial will see 2,000 randomly-selected unemployed Finnish citizens each given €560 (£477) every month, (794 Australian) regardless of whether they look for work or not. The trial participants will also not be required to report how they spend their money and will continue to receive the money even if they manage to find a job."
"The trial is designed to simplify the Finnish benefits system and reduce unemployment. Under the current arrangement, jobless people in Finland are allowed to refuse low-income or short-term jobs if they fear that they will have their benefits significantly cut because of their increased income."
"Finland has an unemployment rate of 8.1 per cent – a figure that hasn’t changed since 2014 – with around 213,000 residents having no job at all. The average private sector worker in the country makes €3,500 a month."
"Two Scottish councils are also considering universal basic income as a way of tackling poverty. Glasgow and Fife councils are currently designing trials of the initiative but have not yet settled on an income level or the scale of the experiment.
Glasgow is the poorest local authority in Scotland, with a third of all children living in the city thought to be living in poverty. In Fife, more than 34 per cent of workers earn less than the living wage of £7.85 an hour."
"...a poll in May 2016 suggested that two-thirds of British people support the idea."
www.wired.co.uk/article/universal-basic-income-finland
Finland trials universal basic income of €560 every month
wired.co.uk
The trial will see 2,000 unemployed people in Finland receive the monthly payment, regardless of whether they secure a job or not
TODAY There is a working bee for Sunday's rally against Centrelink's robo debt collection. Tomorrow's rally will coincide with rallys in Victoria, Perth and even a virtual rally online. Check out the working bee below and come along to see APNSA's newish city locaion if you haven't already. There is always good conversation to be had while getting paint on your hands, pants and shoe laces. Just me? : )
Banner Painting for Not My Debt rally