Earlier this week, Human Services Minister Marise Payne and the member for Patterson Bob Baldwin visited the Department of Human Services’ Maitland service centre to promote its strong relationship with local support services (Mercury, January, 15).
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There is no doubt that the Maitland service centre and its hardworking staff provide vital support to many vulnerable members of the Maitland community. Community organisations like those the minister referred to are the backbone of the community.
What the minister didn’t mention is that her government has taken the knife to hundreds of important community organisations, many of whom will now be forced to close their doors for good.
In late December, as the rest of the country went on holidays, the Abbott government wrote to community organisations around the country telling them that they had been defunded. As a result, services will be reduced and jobs will be lost.
While it is all very well for the minister and Mr Baldwin to praise DHS staff for putting people in touch with the services they need, what good is it when the legal aid service has been defunded? What good is it when the financial counselling service has been defunded? What good is it when the housing and homelessness services have been defunded? What good is it when the government’s cruel welfare changes are forcing more people to seek charity?
What good is it when the Abbott government has no plan for jobs? The only jobs plan the Abbott government has for the Hunter is the loss by the end of this year of another 660 jobs from Forgacs dockyard.
All this comes at a time when unemployment is too high and many of the government’s own budget measures are putting extra pressure on families, forcing many of them to rely on the support of welfare agencies.
Let’s not forget that this is the government that wants to cut the indexation for the pension, leaving pensioners with less.
This is the government that has slashed $5.5 billion from family payments.
This is the government that wants to leave young jobseekers with nothing to live off for six months.
If the minister really cared about ensuring a strong and sustainable community sector, she should be opposing Tony Abbott’s cuts. Saying you care about the community sector while ripping away their funding is hypocrisy at its worst.
- Senator Doug Cameron, Opposition spokesman for human services, Senator for NSW
