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Report shows compulsory income management must be abandoned 29-11-12

STICS                                         Media release                                                                                  29 November 2012


Report shows compulsory income management must be abandoned

The Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney has renewed calls for the Commonwealth to abandon the system of compulsory income management, following the release of a damning evaluation report today.

Paddy Gibson from STICS said:

"This report vindicates longstanding calls to abandon compulsory income management. It documents a significant experience of humiliation, discrimination and hardship. There is no 'strong' evidence the program has met it's goals. Only one third of people forced onto the income management say it has provided benefits - and these could easily have come through expansion and improvements to the voluntary Centrepay system."

"It is outrageous that FaHCSIA prohibited the researchers from conducting a cost benefit analysis until 2014. More than half a billion dollars has been wasted in the NT on this failed system while people languish in third world living conditions."

"Unable to face the truth, Minister Macklin has used this report to expand powers to put people onto so-called 'vulnerable' income management. There is a strong community campaign and union bans on the implementation of income management in NSW and we will fight this every step of the way", concluded Mr Gibson

The report can be accessed at http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/node/17196/

For comment contact:
Paddy Gibson 0415 800 586

STICS is organising a major forum on the struggle against the NT Intervention on December 6 to mark Human Rights Day.

Speakers include Aboriginal Elder Rosalie Kunoth Monks from the Utopia Homelands.

More details at www.stoptheintervention.org