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Welcome to the STICS website!
STICS (Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney) is an open collective of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people committed to the repeal of the NT Intervention and the struggle for Aboriginal self-determination.
We meet every first and third Monday of the month to discuss the campaign and plan for actions and awareness-raising. 6pm Monday nights, Federation Conference Centre, Level 1, 23-33 Mary Street Surry Hills (turn off Elizabeth st at Albion St and left onto Mary street) - http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=23-33+Mary+Street,+surry+hills&sll=-24.686952,135.703125&sspn=61.631455,97.207031&ie=UTF8&z=17&iwloc=A. Everyone is welcome. Should you require further information and would like to attend, please call Jean: 0449 646 593 or E-mail: [email protected]
Please note:
Marking SIX years of the NT Intervention
Saturday 22 June 2013 - 12pm
Paul Keating Park
For the flyer: please click here
June 21 2013 marks 6 years since the introduction of Northern Territory Intervention, now called "Stronger Futures". STICS will again be holding a rally condemning this racist policy and giving a voice to communities suffering worsening living conditions, child
removal rates, incarceration rates, suicide rates, by bringing a speaker/s from the NT.
As the site of the expansion of income management into NSW, Bankstown has been chosen as the location for this years rally. Rally will be on Saturday 22nd June at 12 noon. The community of Bankstown has come out in protest against the NT Intervention previously and we will be calling on them and the broader Sydney community to again stand up for human rights and demand an end to "Stronger Futures" legislation.
The rally comes at an important time, with new categories of young people set to be forced onto income management in the NT, Bankstown and all "trial sites" from July 2013.
Saturday 22 June 2013 - 12pm
Paul Keating Park
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Keeping Them Home
The most recent data shows that the number of children being moved into out-of-home care in the Northern Territory has just about doubled since 2007. Two-thirds of these children are being placed with non-Indigenous families away from their communities.
Elder Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra, as spokesperson for Yolngu Makarr Dhuni calls for this trend to be reversed by increasing family support services in communities. He has written to the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Adam Giles, asking him for his support. If you would like to support Dr Gondarra, please read the campaign letter below.
Letter from Dr Djiniyini Gondarra to Adam Giles: please click here
Campaign Letter: please click here
Background document: please click here
Media Releases
'concerned Australians': please click here
Further Background Info/Articles:
NITV newsclip of 20 May 13 - about 6 mins into the video: please click here
WGAR Newsletter of 18 May 2013: please click here
SMH - Jeff McMullen - 15 March 2013: please click here
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PROTEST
On the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination and
'National Close the Gap Day'
RALLY AGAINST RACISM
Thursday March 21
12:30 @ office of Tanya Plibersek MP
150 Broadway, opposite Broadway shops
STOP 'Stronger Futures' - NO to 10 more years of NT Intervention
STOP the expansion of income management: Not in the NT, not in Bankstown not anywhere
STOP Black Deaths in Custody - Justice for Kwementyaye Briscoe and all victims
On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and National Close the Gap Day
Speakers include:
Rosie Pearson, Yirrkala NT
Sue Gillett, Bankstown Aboriginal activist and STICS member
Ray Jackson, Indigenous Social Justice Association
For the poster: please click here
For the media release: please click here
The NT Intervention has been a disaster - but the government is set to expand 'income management' to cover even more people from July this year, including in Bankstown.
Government statistics show that since 2007 in the NT incarceration has increased 75%, reported rates of attempted suicide and self harm are up almost 600%, child removal rates increased 70% and there is more alcohol related domestic violence (sources below).
In 2012, the Labor government passed new legislation, Stronger Futures, that extends the main measures of the NT Intervention for another 10 years.
Stronger Futures legislation also extended income management to five new "trial sites" around Australia, including Bankstown in Sydney. But a strong campaign uniting Aboriginal people, community organisations, migrants and trade unions has stopped income management in its tracks. Virtually no one has been placed on compulsory income management in Bankstown.
The Public Service Association (PSA), who represent Child Protection workers have voted to ban income management and have made no referrals. They are refusing to be part of the expansion of the racist NT Intervention
The government is trying to break the ban. New rules mean that from July 2013, compulsory income management will apply automatically to anyone in Bankstown who is under 25 and exiting prison, along with young people who have an 'unable to live at home' status with Centrelink or who are on a 'special benefit' due to homelessness or other circumstances.
If we act now we can stop this happening and defend the rights of some of the most vulnerable people in our community - prisoners and homeless youth.
Justice for Kwementyaye Briscoe
Kwementyaye Briscoe was an Anmatyere man who died in the Alice Springs watch house on January 5, 2012. Briscoe family spokesperson Patricia Morton-Thomas says her nephew was "a victim of the NT Intervention... The NT has become a police state".
While Kwementyaye was intoxicated, police threw him head first into a counter and gave him no medical check. He never regained consciousness after the assault. He was thrown face down on a mattress and died from positional asphyxia. Police played their iPods and checked the internet while he lay dying.
Greg Barnes, President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance has written an opinion saying police could be culpable for manslaughter or 'failure to rescue' charges. 33,000 people have signed an online petition calling for police to be charged. But the DPP are refusing to investigate the case. We need to keep up the fight for Kwementyaye Briscoe and all those who have died in custody.
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination falls each year on the anniversary of a massacre of anti-Apartheid protesters. This year it is also Close the Gap day.
Join us for a protest to demand an end to Apartheid-style policies in Australia. The gap can not be closed with racism.
More info call Jean 0449 646 593
Statistics on changes in NT from 2007 - 2012 available from
Closing the Gap in the NT Monitoring Report Jan - June 2012
Productivity Commission report on Government Services 2013
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We will have a special meeting on Monday, 29 October 2012
However there will be no meeting on Monday, 5 November 2012.
Instead STICS will be supporting and attending the book launch of
A Decision to Discriminate:
Aboriginal Disempowerment in the Northern Territory
at gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, Sydney.
Our wonderful STICS member Deni Langman will be - along with Graeme Mundine and Jeff McMullen - launching this highly important book. We highly encourage everyone to make every effort to support Deni and attend the launch.
For the invitation to the launch: please click here
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To mark International Human Rights Day, STICS will be holding an NT Intervention / Stronger Futures Forum
For the leaflet: please click here
For the poster: please click here
For the poster in colour: please click here
For the poster: please click here (pdf) or here (jpg)
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We would like to invite all supporters of the Bankstown Say No To Government Income Management Campaign Coalition to the solidarity contingent STICS has organised to support the PSA's work bans on Income Management. This will be at the PSA stop work meeting on Monday 8 October which has been called in opposition to the NSW government attacks on the public sector (more information below).
Monday 8 October, Sydney Town Hall, George Street
9am-1030am (before mass meeting)
11am-1230pm (after mass meeting)
This is a great opportunity to tell these courageous workers 'THANK YOU', to boost their morale at a very difficult time, and to help spread the word about what is happening. We also expect other unionists to attend in solidarity, so it will be a good opportunity to speak to and build solidarity for the bans with other unions as well.
Note that although the PSA ban on Income Management is state-wide in Community Services, workers at three Community Service Centres in the 'trial area' (Bankstown, Lakemba, and Fairfield) are the only ones who are in a position to implement it. Therefore many PSA members in attendance, including those in Housing, may not be aware of Income Management and the problems with it.
PSA website with more information about the stop work meeting: http://www.psa.labor.net.au/news/1346050442_8206.html
ABC article on PSA bans: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-19/sydney-work-bans-on-welfare-quarantine-scheme/4269472?section=nsw
Public Service Association (PSA) members in Western Sydney at the Bankstown, Lakemba and Fairfield Community Services Centres (formerly known as DoCS offices) are implementing union bans on participating in income management and any activities relating to its implementation. Income management is part of the Northern Territory Intervention which is now being rolled out to 5 trial sites across Australia. It is widely viewed as discriminatory and paternalistic. The campaign against income management in Bankstown has been lead by the Bankstown Say No Government Income Management Campaign Coalition and supported by the Stop the Intervention Collective and over 65 local organisations, unions and faith groups, and by the NSW ALP.
Due to the courageous actions by workers implementing bans to defend the rights and dignity of their clients, no referrals for Income Management are being made through Child Protection in the Bankstown LGA (and therefore in NSW). This has crippled the ability of FaHCSIA to implement income management in the way they planned. Combined with community campaigning and ASU members in community organisations pledging not to participate in the implementation, the result is that two months into the trial very few people in Bankstown have been put on income management. None are on compulsory income management.
This success shows that community campaigns and union action can make a difference. It also deals a real blow to the credibility of the NT Intervention, and to the government’s attempts to extend it to communities across Australia.
Free upcoming Building Bridges 2012 –
with Aunty Daphne & Sue Gillett on
Back to the Future: NT Intervention & Income Management
Wednesday, 22 August 2012 - 7.30 pm
Location:
The Jubilee Room, Parramatta Town Hall
182 Church Street Mall
For more information: please click here
Putting Australia to the human rights test:
Allow the Parliamentary Committee on Humans Rights to examine control measures proposed in the Stronger Futures Bill
click here to sign the petition
Please sign the Petition to Stop
Stronger Futures and support Aboriginal self-determination
in the NT: please click here
Stronger Futures and support Aboriginal self-determination in the NT:
please click here
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Stop the NT Intervention - Stop the expansion
Rally 12pm June 16th,
Paul Keating Park, Bankstown
For further info: please click here
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For the Aboriginal Elders statement: please click here
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Stronger Futures Legislation: Weblink highlights - New Video - Petition - NITV Forum: please click here
For a new compilation of info on the Stronger Futures legislation: http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/stronger-futures-legislation
STICS bulletin for 2 April 2012 Special Meeting: please click here
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Please have your say on the Extension of Key
NT Intervention Measures for another Decade
The Federal Government has extended the deadline for submissions on the legislation that replaces the Emergency Intervention into Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-02/20120202-more-time-comment-intervention-replacement-laws/3807380?section=nt
Main page for Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Bill 2011 and two related bills:
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=clac_ctte/strong_future_nt_11/index.htm
Direct link to view all uploaded submissions
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=clac_ctte/strong_future_nt_11/submissions.htm
Direct link to view all uploaded hearing info
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=clac_ctte/strong_future_nt_11/hearings/index.htm
Current Committee inquiries
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=inquiries/index.htm
For some recent documents: please click here
For the Stronger Futures Submission Guide: please click here
For the document with links to further info about the
New Policies, Aboriginal Elders voices and for Taking Action:
please click here
For a summary of the new laws by Paddy Gibson: please click here
For the December Tracker articles on Stronger Futures: please click here or here (under Media Coverage)
For info about the 2011 NT Consultations: please click here
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Feb 28: Parliament House protest against 'Stronger Futures',
new NT Intervention legislation
For the poster, videos, speeches and further info: please click here
Petition to the Attorney General: Stop Stronger Futures and support Aboriginal self-determination in the NT: please click here
Stand for Freedom campaign video: please click here
Stand against Macklin's Decade of Discrimination
- Stop the Second Intervention!
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation currently before parliament would extend the NT Intervention for a further ten years. Explicitly racist laws, which vilify Aboriginal people & culture are being kept or strengthened including:
* "Star Chamber" powers held by the Australian Crime Commission for investigations in Aboriginal communities, including removal of the right to silence.
*Prohibition of consideration of Aboriginal customary law and cultural practice in bail and sentencing. * Blanket bans on alcohol on Aboriginal Land, despite consistent opposition from the Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the NT (APO NT) who have said, "The decision regarding alcohol restrictions should be for relevant residents to make... The principal effect of these widely flouted laws has been to further criminalise and alienate many residents".
* Increases in penalties for possession of alcohol on Aboriginal Land, including 6 months potential jail time for a single can of beer and 18 months for a 6-pack.
* Blanket bans on "sexually explicit or very violent material" on Aboriginal Land. These restrictions serve no purpose other than the perverse stigmatisation of Aboriginal men.
* Continued suspension of the operations of the permit system in communities
* Complete Commonwealth control over regulations in Community Living Areas Proposed amendments to the Social Security Act will see further attacks on the rights of Centrelink recipients. These measures will initially be targeted at NT Aboriginal peoples, but have national implications, especially in areas such as Bankstown where Income Management is being rolled out:
* An expansion of the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM) means chronic school attendance problems could see families cut off certain Centrelink payments entirely.
* Staff from any nominated organisation will have the power to order people onto Income Management in the same way that Child Protection agencies currently do.
* Staff from nominated government agencies will be able to pass on information about clients to Centrelink, even if doing so contravenes State or Territory law.
* Income Management will follow you even if you move out of an Income Management area.
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For the Income Management petition: please click here
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For updates on
Income Management, updates on the 2011 NT Consultations, Walk With Us, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Barbara Shaw's Speaking tour, & Support for Muckaty, Aboriginal Rights events in Sydney, Nov 11,
please click here
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Now is a crucial time to mobilise, with the Parliament considering Stronger Futures legislation which would spread Income Management around the country and extend the NT Intervention for ten years. Don't forget our rally in Canberra on February 28 against this legislation.
To get more info, sign the petition or view a video on Income Management please see http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/call-for-a-moratorium-on-government-income-management.html or http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/income-management
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5 years too long…
Stop the NT Intervention - Stop the expansion
Rally 12pm June 16th,
Paul Keating Park, Bankstown
Not in Bankstown, not in the NT, not anywhere - say NO to government income management
Stop 'Stolen Futures' laws - no to another decade of discrimination
Speakers include:
George Gaymarani Pascoe, Milingimbi, NT
Larissa Behrendt, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning UTS
Rosie Pearson, Yirrkala community, NT
Representatives from the Bankstown Coalition
For the media release: please click here
For the poster: please click here
This rally in Bankstown will mark 5 years since the announcement of the discriminatory NT Intervention. It is also taking place just two days before the government’s new Stronger Futures legislation is set to be debated in the Senate. This legislation will extend key NT Intervention powers for a further 10 years. It will also expand the system of income management - quarantining 50 per cent of Centrelink payments - around Australia, starting with Bankstown and four other “trial sites”.
The persecution of Aboriginal people under the Intervention has had horrendous consequences. Reported rates of attempted suicide and self-harm have more than doubled. Indigenous incarceration has increased by 40 per cent. Large numbers of people are drifting away from their homelands as resources, jobs and opportunity are withdrawn from the bush.
Stronger Futures will keep explicitly racist laws on the books - banning access to alcohol and restricted materials on Aboriginal land, granting police extraordinary powers which apply only to Aboriginal people and denigrating Aboriginal culture and law. Both the Human Rights Commission and visiting UN representatives have consistently rejected the characterisation of these measures as “special measures” under the Racial Discrimination Act.
In July, Centrelink case officers and Child Protection staff will be instructed to place “vulnerable” welfare recipients in Bankstown on compulsory income management. The government also wants community sector organisations to refer people to Centrelink for income management. Between 50% and 70% of welfare payments would be quarantined. The income managed money could be placed on a BasicsCard, which can only be used in certain shops for certain products.
A recent report by the Equality Rights Alliance surveyed 180 women on income management in the NT. It found that 79% wanted to exit the system, 85% had not changed what they buy and 74% felt discriminated against.
Stronger Futures also proposes amendments to the Social Security Act that will see further attacks on the rights of Centrelink recipients. These measures will initially be targeted at NT Aboriginal peoples, but have implications for all poor and marginalised communities across Australia - especially Bankstown and other ‘trial sites’:
- An expansion of the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM) means chronic school attendance problems could see families cut off certain Centrelink payments entirely.
- Staff from nominated government agencies will have the power to summarily order people onto Income Management in the same way that Child Protection agencies currently do.
- Staff from nominated government agencies will be able to pass on information about clients to Centrelink, even if doing so contravenes State or Territory law.
- Income Management will follow you even if you move out of an Income Management area.
A major statement calling for immediate withdrawal of Stronger Futures was released by the Yolngu Nations Assembly on May 2. It threatens a boycott of all community and mining lease negotiations and has won widespread support, including from the Catholic Church and the Congress of Australia’s First People’s.
A campaign calling for an end to government income management is also gaining momentum, with a strong campaign in Bankstown voting at a public meeting on May 26 for a community wide boycott of the system - including support for workers who refuse to refer.
Two days before Stronger Futures is debated join this crucial demonstration:
Say NO to a decade of discrimination under 'Stolen Futures' laws - NO to government income management - and YES to self-determination for Aboriginal peoples and proper investment in employment and social services in ALL communities across Australia.
For more information contact Jean on 0449 646 593
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No to Income Management
- not in Bankstown, not in the NT, not anywhere!
Speakout: Tell Bankstown Labor MP Jason Clare (member for Blaxland) we're not going to allow Income Management to be expanded - Demand Clare stand with Bankstown and say NO!
Friday 27th April 12 Noon, 400 Chapel Rd, Bankstown, http://g.co/maps/64yfd
On July 1st this year the Federal government plans to expand Income Management (which has been imposed on Aboriginal people in the NT for the past 4 years) into 5 new sites: Bankstown in New South Wales, Logan and Rockhampton in Queensland, Playford in South Australia and Shepparton in Victoria.
Under this "trial", anyone assessed by Centrelink to be "vulnerable to financial crisis" will have 50% of their payment quarantined. Parents and legal guardians referred to Centrelink by child protection authorities (Community Services) will have 70% of their income compulsorily quarantined.
Like under the disastrous NT intervention, Centrelink will issue a ‘BasicsCard' to people who have had their payments quarantined. This card may only be used to purchase priority items eg. food, clothing and utilities from government approved outlets such as: Woolworths, Coles, Target, Kmart, Best and Less and Big W.
The Government estimates that 20,000 people will participate in Income Management in the five locations over the next five years. This is around 1000 persons per location each year.
Income management was first rolled out as part of the racist Intervention in the Northern Territory in 2007. Aboriginal communities have experienced almost 5 years of hardship and shame as a result of this and related policies.
Income Management in the Northern Territory has been widely criticised, both locally and internationally as it stigmatises and humiliates welfare recipients, wastes money on bureaucratic administration and discriminates specifically against Aboriginal people. In the NT, Income Management costs approximately $4,400 per person per year in administration alone. There is no evidence base to support the expansion of the system.
Despite this Jason Clare, member representing Bankstown, in a media statement last year proclaimed - "Income management has already proven effective in trial locations in Perth and the Kimberley in Western Australia, Cape York in Queensland and throughout the Northern Territory." He continued by declaring - "This is designed to make sure that welfare payments are spent in the best interest of children, rather than tobacco, alcohol and gambling."
But Independent research conducted by the Menzies School of Health, Darwin suggests that Income Management has had no beneficial effect on tobacco and cigarette sales, soft drink or fruit and vegetable sales. A recent report by the Equality Rights Alliance surveyed 180 women on income management in the NT. It found that 79% wanted to exit the system, 85% had not changed what they buy and 74% felt discriminated against. A report released by the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) concludes that compulsory income management in the NT has profoundly long-term negative impacts on psychological health, social health and wellbeing and cultural integrity (March 2010).
International research suggests welfare reforms that utilise sanctions such as the Income Management system place additional stresses on families with young children and has the potential to increase family breakdown and child abuse.
Income management has already been found to be an expensive and administration-intensive approach with no evidence to suggest that it delivers outcomes that justify its complexity or cost. The expansion must be stopped and all those on income management in the NT should be given immediate freedom to leave the system.
A strong new coalition has formed in Bankstown. The campaign has initiated a call for a national moratorium on Income Management - demanding immediate amnesty for those already on the system and a halt to plans for expansion. Its founding statement has been endorsed by more than 50 organisations including unions, church and community groups.
Join STICS and Bankstown residents for a speakout at midday on Friday 27th April at the office of Jason Clare - 400 Chapel Rd. Bankstown http://g.co/maps/64yfd
For more information call Alex on 0449 184 801 facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/333817633347001/
TO ALL UNIONISTS AND SUPPORTERS
STICS is supporting thethe Say No To Government Income Management Campaign Coalition in Bankstown call-out to unionists. Please discuss sending representatives to the following meetings to build the campaign to stop the expansion of Income Management in Bankstown (see letter below).
Please see information below and attached inviting you to the following:
- An organising meeting for unionists 4.30pm Wed May 2nd, Arab Council Austraila office, 194 Stacey Street Bankstown
- A union and community seminar on opposing Income Management, Sat May 26th, 1pm Bankstown.
Unionists organising against compulsory income management
430pm Wednesday 2 May, 2012
Arab Council Austraila office
194 Stacey Street, near Bankstown station
This meeting for unionists and community members is hosted by the Say No To Government Income Management Campaign Coalition in Bankstown. Our open letter opposing compulsory income management has been endorsed by 54 community organisationsand unions.
The meeting will discuss how to build the campaign to stop the introduction of the punitive and discriminatory policy of compulsory income management in Bankstown. From public sector workers in housing, child protection, Centrelink and schools, through the whole education and community sectors,the relationship between workers and their clients is set to be fundamentally changed by compulsory income management.
Campaign plans include hosting a seminar for unionists and community members on Saturday 26 May and a rally or public meeting on Saturday 16 June. These proposals are supported by the Canterbury-Bankstown Teachers Federation, the Australian Services Union, the Maritime Union of Australia, and many other unionists.
The government currently plans to introduce Income Management in Bankstown on 1 July. The expansion of income management to Bankstown is part of the 10-year extension of the racist and authoritarianNT Intervention in Aboriginal communities originally imposed by the Howard government in 2007. Attached are two letters with more background on this campaign.
Campaign Letter on Bankstown Income Management of 16 April 2012: please click here
Advert No to Government's Income Management: please click here
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Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney (STICS) Public Meeting
Can Income Management help with Child protection?
with speaker Sue Gillett, STICS member and former DOCS Aboriginal policy worker
Monday, April 2 - 6pm
Teacher Federation Conference Centre
Level 1, 23-33 Mary Street Surry Hills
(turn off Elizabeth st at Albion St and left onto Mary street)
Income Management is often promoted as being in the interests of children, particularly those at risk. Under the scheme that set commence in Bankstown and four other "trial sites" around Australia, Child protection workers will be granted the power to put people on the system against their will. 70 percent of Centrelink payments are income managed in child protection cases.
There are serious concerns amongst both workers in the sector and communities facing income management about the potential impact of this policy and confusion about how it will work in practice.
Child protection and others workers in the community sector are also in a strategic position to challenge this policy and fight for more just and effective solutions for families in crisis. Many of these workers recently demonstrated their passionate commitment to just solutions at a PSA rally and candle lit vigil on March 14 against the privatisation and cuts to child protection planned by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell. More information about this campaign can be found at http://safehands.org.au/
Please come along to this important discussion hosted by the Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney.
Below is a short article by Sue Gillett, a STICS member and former Aboriginal policy officer at DOCS, who will introduce the discussion. The article was first distributed at the PSA rally.
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Income Management and Child Protection workers
Under the scheme that set commence in Bankstown and four other "trial sites" around Australia, along with that currently operating in the NT and WA, Child protection workers are on the front line of implementing income management, with the power to put people on the system against their will. 70 percent of Centrelink payments are income managed in child protection cases.
Many in the sector are concerned that this could seriously impact on relationships with clients. At a time when resources are being withdrawn from the sector by premier Barry O'Farrell, there is a real danger that income management will become a "band-aid" solution, replacing proper case-work.
Under ‘Child protection income management' Parent/s and/or carers can be placed on Income Management if there are child protection concerns and it is considered that income management might contribute to improved outcomes for children at risk.
At the sole Bankstown community consultation session, the Commonwealth government officials did not demonstrate any understanding or show any regard about the NSW child protection landscape and the work of child protection caseworkers and specialists.
The session did not provide any detail about the referral process that underpins income management and whether it will reflect the current NSW legislative child protection framework. Key to this issue is whether parents will be informed that they are being referred and by whom; the reason for the referral and the outcome; and whether the parents are placed on compulsory income management and if so; will this confirm the grounds for the referral and result in the removal of their child/ren. This could have a massive impact on the caseload of Community Services caseworkers who may be required to deal with the aftermath of zealous referrals, inexperience, ill-informed and poor decision-making and increased removals and out-of-home-care placements.
Under ‘Stronger Futures' legislation, Minister Macklin has also given herself the power to nominate any government agency and/or employees as its agents with the power to place people on income management, though there has been no indication of processes that will be followed. These new powers dismiss the expertise, knowledge, capability and qualifications of Community Services caseworkers and seem to suggest that the work done by professional child protection workers is simplistic and can be done by any agency worker that has been nominated by Minister Macklin.
Compulsory income management can bypass the legislative framework and undermine the essential, complex and necessary work involved with working with children at risk and families in crisis.
Beating Income Management
A strong new coalition "Say No to Government's Income Management Not in Bankstown Not Anywhere" has initiated a moratorium on Income Management - demanding immediate amnesty for those already on the system and a halt to plans for expansion. Its founding statement has been endorsed by more than 50 organisations including unions, church and community groups.
We only have 5 months until income management is rolled out in the trial sites, and in Bankstown momentum is gathering to find ways to beat the implementation.
Child protection workers and other community and public sector workers have a crucial role to play in this campaign.
The Bankstown Coalition and anti-Intervention campaigners are working with trade unions to organise a conference in early June for workers and unionists to discuss how we can stop income management in it's tracks and fight for resources to be put into our vital support services.
Get involved today!
Recent Articles:
The Express - Government defends income management trial - 27 March 2012 - THE federal government has answered criticism of its impending income management trial on Bankstown residents, citing the local community as "doing it tough" compared with the average Australian. - http://express.whereilive.com.au/news/story/government-defends-income-management-trial/
[Scroll down on that page for more related articles]
The Greens - END BANKSTOWN TRIAL OF INCOME MANAGEMENT AND CONSULT WITH LOCALS: GREENS - 15 March 2012 - The Australian Greens have vowed to oppose the Bankstown trial of income management following last night's release of the Senate Inquiry into the Stronger Futures legislation report and evidence given to the committee questioning whether the government consulted with locals before announcing the Bankstown trial. Bankstown is one of five locations nationally where the government is set to trial compulsory income management from 1 July 2012. - http://wa.greens.org.au/content/end-bankstown-trial-income-management-and-consult-locals-greens
For more on Income Management: please click here
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1. Thursday, 20 October 2011 - 7pm - 8pm
Special screening of excerpts from the emerging feature documentary
Breath of Life
&
Muckaty Voices,
the opening film of the Down Under Film Festival in Berlin, Sept. 2011
The Chauvel Cinema
Paddington Town Hall
Cnr Oxford Street & Oatley Road,
Paddington, Sydney, NSW 2010
By Enlightning Productions
The co-producers are Oscar winning Michael Donovan, Halifax Film, Canada Eleanor Gilbert, Enlightning Productions and Belinda Pratten, freeswimmers
Details are on the Documentary Australia Foundation website:
http://www.tiny9.com/u/DAF_Breath_of_Life
RSVP: Eleanor Gilbert +61 (0)421 795 639 - [email protected]
For the poster: please click here
Bondi Beach Pavillon, Sunday, 20 May 2012
Introduction and Q&A by
Nicole Watson, Senior Researcher, Jumbunna, UTS
For the poster: please click here
The oldest culture on earth is fighting for survival. Our Generation explains the real issues underlying Indigenous disadvantage in this "lucky" country, and the responses of Aboriginal people to the Northern Territory Intervention. Through the voices of youth, men, women and elders from remote communities, the film opens the way for dialogue on how Australia can move forward with genuine re