Lived Experience Forum

[kristin]

Hi all,

This is an area where I think the current government and the media have been going to town, particularly on people with MIs - with "leaner" paint. I, for one, am fed up.

Yesterday's article about Hockey's (no) idea of "poor" and the petrol excise impact prompted me to send this to The Age. Don't know whether they'll publish it, but I thought I'd share it given that I know many of you also live in more isolated areas.

Hockey's "Poor"

"Hockey's advisers mustn't have mentioned that poor doesn't = only 1 Mercedes. Working poor people often must live far from their place of work, and in areas where there is little or no public transport (because these have more affordable housing); so they drive long distances in able to access work. Similar issues face poor people with chronic illnesses in accessing medical care. This excise is yet one more way the Coalition is further disabling people on the margins."

[kenny66]

If more people let the pollies and media know what they think, maybe they would listen us. Good on you

kenny

[Alessandra1992]

The great news is Hockey is doing a brilliant job all on his own for getting his party kicked out at the next election! He is losing support even from within his own party, which is ace..hopefully our opposition parties will develop some great alternative policy that sim about investing in people, not taxing everyone who is marginalised though clapping the tax and excise, or a sharing of the load. Someone, please. Ring back the ,I I g tax and make companies like google pay tax here in Australia!n

[kristin]

Well my snip didn't make the paper, but a few that were even better did, so I'm happy!

Here's Tandberg if the image will work(?) and Leunig

[kenny66]

Couldn't agree more, but don't rely to much on the opposition. It was them ,when in government, who introduced the current draconian impairment tables to get everyone off the DSP. Co payments were a labour initiative first raised under he Hawke Government in the 80s but then abandoned. Both sides have a lot to answer for.

Kenny

[kristin]

Hi Kenny,

I'm not holding my breath for Labor to wake up and get their act together either, I just really hope the LNP don't get back in. They seem to be working falt out to totally destroy our swhole society in record time.

Cheers, Kristin

PS Time to get off, I'm having teouble typing my own name! 🙂 'Night all.

[BatGuano]

 IMHO, cuts in government funding follow a 'squeeze and see who squarks' policy.  This is balanced by 'the sqeaky gear gets the grease' in giving funds.

Yes kenny, we need bodies (like SANE) to give official pressure and also us folks at the grassroots to email our local MP to back them up.

[kenny66]

I have a double whammy up here. We have the Federal Liberal National Coalition as well as the state LNP, which is like some sort of right wing dictatorship.

Fortunately at the most recent two by elections, the state LNP was swept away with an 18% swing against them in both seats.

Labor up here were Brisbane centric at a state level and only concentrated on overcapitalising Brisbane. Regional centres were left to wither, as they were by Federal labor.

The Greens-Palmer United Party-Katter Australia Party- a scattered group of one issue parties and the Labor party have been very loud about government intentions about fuel excise-health co payments- work for the dole-university fees-continuity of  J payments and a whole plethora of revenue and social service issues.

I don't see anyone within the opposition parties supporting the core issues we have of support for the disability pension and the people who rely on it with MI. The former families Minister Jenny Macklin introduced the beefed up impairment tabled just before they lost government with the aim of shifting people from the DSP to Newstart or Jobsearch or whatever they call it now. This is exactly the same policy as the current government.

Where is the debate about the adequacy of mental illness support services and financial support. Where is the debate about access to employment. Where is the debate about providing more than the base rate of the DSP for the more disadvantaged among the people with MI.

Not only is disability and the DSP a marginalised issue, it is invisible. MI, from a public policy area is even more invisible.