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Media Coverage


 

ABC News - Greens seek Racial Discrimination Act in NT - 29 October 2009 - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/29/2727457.htm?section=australia

The Greens - Restoring racial equality in the NT - 29 October 2009 - http://greensmps.org.au/content/restoring-racial-equality-nt

New Matilda - Macklin's Special Treatment - 4 November 2009 - Jenny Macklin said she would reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act in the NT by the end of October - but that has been delayed as the Government tries to find a way around the law -http://newmatilda.com/2009/11/04/macklins-special-treatment

ABC News - 2010 vote for Racial Discrimination Act - 19 November 2009 - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/19/2747046.htm

ABC News - Greens pan income management expansion - 25 November 2009 - Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has attacked legislation introduced by the Federal Government that seeks to expand compulsory income management to welfare recipients nationwide. -http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/25/2753323.htm?section=justin

The Greens - Greens condemn Rudd Government move to nation-wide welfare quarantining - 25 November 2009 - http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/greens-condemn-rudd-government-move-nation-wide-welfare-quarantining

New Matilda - Macklin Announces Massive Changes To Welfare - 26 November 2009 - In order to keep the NT Intervention without appearing racist, the Government has moved to give itself income management powers for the whole country, writes Greens senator Rachel Siewert - http://newmatilda.com/2009/11/26/macklin-announces-massive-changes-welfare

The Greens - Macklin's income quarantining claims not justified by report: Greens - 15 December 2009 - http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/macklins-income-quarantining-claims-not-justified-report-greens

SMH - NT's welfare powers could extend to all, 7 February 2010 - http://www.smh.com.au/national/nts-welfare-powers-could-extend-to-all-20100206-njwl.html?skin=text-only

SMH - Call to stop compulsory income quarantining, 8 February 2010 - http://www.smh.com.au/national/call-to-stop-compulsory-income-quarantining-20100207-nkxq.html

SMH - Income program a cloak for racism: professor - 10 February 2010 - http://www.smh.com.au/national/income-program-a-cloak-for-racism-professor-20100209-nptg.html

The Australian - Coalition to block `watered down' welfare reform - 10 February 2010 - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/coalition-to-block-watered-down-welfare-reform/story-e6frg6nf-1225828489841

The Age - Banker lashes welfare controls - 11 February 2010 - http://www.theage.com.au/national/banker-lashes-welfare-controls-20100210-nsgw.html

The Greens - Senate Inquiry into RDA in NT - 15 February 2010 - http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/senate-inquiry-rda-nt

New Matilda - Closing The Gap Between Rhetoric And Reality - 17 February 2010 - Rudd set his own targets for measuring the success of his Indigenous policies and he hasn't even come close to meeting them, writes Michael Brull -http://newmatilda.com/2010/02/17/closing-gap-between-rhetoric-and-policy

New Matilda - This Is Not Working - 18 February 2010 - As it struggles to solve its Intervention and welfare contradictions, the Government's behaviour has got progressively worse. It could do itself a favour by facing a few facts, writes Graham Ring - http://newmatilda.com/2010/02/18/not-working

The Greens - Government's knuckles rapped over NT intervention by UN rapporteur - 24 February 2010 - http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/governments-knuckles-rapped-over-nt-intervention-un-rapporteur

Crikey - Macklin's income management a junk-foodbonanza - 25 February 2010 - http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/02/25/macklins-income-management-a-junk-food-bonanza/

ABC Radio Australia - Controversy continues over Australia's anti discrimination laws - 3 March 2010 - http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/201003/s2835275.htm

The Greens - Greens vow to continue fight against regressive welfare changes - 10 March 2010 - http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/greens-vow-continue-fight-against-regressive-welfare-changes

The Australian - Tony Abbott backs ALP welfare management bill - 16 March 2010 - IN a policy reversal by the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, the shadow cabinet decided yesterday to support the Rudd government's embrace of the principle of income management on a national basis. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/abbott-backs-alp-welfare-management-bill/story-e6frgczf-1225841111611

The Australian - Macklin's welfare fight is only the beginning - 17 March 2010 - WELFARE in Australia will enter a new phase of ideological struggle with the Rudd government, spearheaded by Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, embracing and extending the income management principle. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/macklins-welfare-fight-is-only-the-beginning/story-e6frg6zo-1225841562048

The Australian - Useful consensus on tough love - 17 March 2010 - TONY Abbott has made the correct call in supporting the Rudd government's move to extend income management to eligible welfare recipients across the Northern Territory, regardless of race. Not that any liberal or conservative leader worth his salt had an alternative. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/useful-consensus-on-tough-love/story-e6frg71x-1225841575663

Income management
ABC Radio National - 25 March 2010
IM was debated at the ACOSS Conference. We hear from John Falzon from St Vincent de Paul and David Glasgow, who's involved in an income management trial in Cape York.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2010/2854901.htm

The Australian - Noel Pearson hails welfare quarantining extension - 31 March 2010 - NOEL Pearson has called the Rudd government's extension of mandatory income management across the Northern Territory a "historic leap'' into a new era. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/noel-pearson-hails-welfare-quarantining-extension/story-e6frgczf-1225848138079

National Indigenous Radio Service -Calls to delay reinstatement of RDA - 11 May 2010 - http://www.nirs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3512:calls-to-delay-reinstatement-of-rda-until-genuine-negotiation-with-nt-community-&catid=2:news-broadcasts&Itemid=65

National Indigenous Radio Service - Moves to reinstate RDA are a smoke screen: Siewert - 12 May 2010 - http://www.nirs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3523:federal-govts-move-to-reinstate-rda-are-a-smoke-screen-rachel-siewert-&catid=2:news-broadcasts&Itemid=65

ABC News - Study questions indigenous welfare management - 16 May 2010 -
A group of leading academics from across the nation says the Federal Intervention is doing more harm than good in the Northern Territory.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/16/2900701.htm

Australian Medical Association - Income management in Northern Territory may not lead to healthier purchases, less tobacco sales - 16 May 2010 - http://www.ama.com.au/node/5611

MedIndia - Income Management In NT Has Little Impact on Tobacco Sales: MJA - 16 May 2010 - http://www.medindia.net/news/Income-Management-In-NT-Has-Little-Impact-on-Tobacco-Sales-MJA-68988-1.htm

AAP - News.com.au - NT soft drink sales on Rudd's agenda - 16 May 2010 - http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/nt-soft-drink-sales-on-rudds-agenda/story-e6frfku9-1225867433120?from=public_rss or http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/nt-soft-drink-sales-on-rudds-agenda/story-fn3dxiwe-1225867433120

ABC News - Indigenous welfare quarantine failing: study - 17 May 2010 -
The Federal Government is determined to expand its welfare quarantining measures across the Northern Territory, despite research that claims the mandatory restrictions are not working for Indigenous people. - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/17/2901057.htm

SMH - NT spending controls fail to improve eating habits - 17 May 2010 - http://www.smh.com.au/national/nt-spending-controls-fail-to-improve-eating-habits-20100516-v6fi.html

Crikey - Macklin's twists truth on incomemanagement - 17 May 2010 - We are the co-authors of a study published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, which shows that the federal government's income management policy is not making an impact on tobacco and health food sales in remote community shops in the NT. - http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/05/17/income-management-isnt-working-and-macklins-twisting-the-truth/

Menzies School of Health Research - Welfare Quarantining Fails to Prompt Healthier Purchases in Indigenous Community Stores - May 2010 - A new publication by Menzies School of Health Research raises doubts about the effectiveness of income management on improving Indigenous health outcomes - http://menzies.edu.au/research/research-news/welfare-quarantining-fails-prompt-healthier-purchases-indigenous-community-st

Menzies School of Health Research - Welfare Quarantining May Not Lead to Healthier Purchases in Indigenous Community Stores. - http://www.menzies.edu.au/research/research-news/welfare-quarantining-may-not-lead-healthier-purchases-indigenous-community-st

The Medical Journal of Australia - After the Intervention - Research Impact of income management on store sales in the Northern Territory - 2010 - http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/192_10_170510/bri10090_fm.html

The Medical Journal of Australia - After the Intervention - various documents - 17 May 2010 - http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/192_10_170510/contents_170510.html

ABC News AM - Government expands income management - 17 May 2010 - http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s2900988.htm

Croakey - Does Macklin's office have no shame? More on the income management study... - 17 May 2010 - http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2010/05/17/does-macklins-office-have-any-shame-more-on-the-income-mgt-study/#more-2276

Foodweek Online - Intervention has no impact on junk food, tobacco sales - 17 May 2010 - http://www.foodweek.com.au/main-features-page.aspx?ID=7299

Stop Smoking - Soft drinks to be restricted - 17 May 2010 - http://smoking-quit.info/soft-drinks-to-be-restricted

The Australian - Macklin committed to Aboriginal food quarantining in face of claims it has failed - 18 May 2010 - JENNY Macklin has vowed to press on with compulsory welfare quarantining despite a new report saying there was little improvement in the amount spent on healthy foods after the controls were introduced in indigenous communities - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/aboriginal-australia/macklin-committed-to-aboriginal-food-quarantining-in-face-of-claims-it-has-failed/story-e6frgd9f-1225867935982

ABC - ICNN - Greens rail against welfare quarantining - 18 May 2010 - http://icnn.com.au/breaking-news/greens-rail-against-welfare-quarantining/

WGAR News: New research questions the effectiveness of NT income management (19 May 10) - http://indymedia.org.au/2010/05/19/wgar-news-new-research-questions-the-effectiveness-of-nt-income-management-19-may-10

WGAR and Diet Simon - Spending impost hurting Australian Aborigines - 19 May 2010 - http://de.indymedia.org/2010/05/281746.shtml

WGAR - 19/05/2010: NEW RESEARCH QUESTIONS NT INCOMEMANAGEMENT - 20 May 2010 - http://wgar.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/

AFN Thought for Food - Government spotlights high-sugar drinks in indigenous areas - 20 May 2010 - http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2010/05/20/government-spotlights-high-sugar-drinks-in-indigenous-areas.html

ABC News - Stateline NT - Questions raised over welfare quarantining - 21 May 2010 - A study published by researchers casts doubt over Federal Government moves to extend income management. - http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/05/21/2906400.htm

Green Left Weekly - More evidence income management does not work - 22 May 2010 - http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44178

New Matilda - Exaggerating The Vegetables - 24 May 2010 - The Government likes to say that the NT Intervention has improved Indigenous health - but the problem is there's no proper evidence for their claims, writes Thalia Anthony - http://newmatilda.com/2010/05/24/exaggerating-vegetables

National Indigenous Times - BIG READ - TERRITORY TALKIN': Minister, your slip is showing - Issue 202 - 27 May 2010 - http://www.nit.com.au/Opinion/story.aspx?id=19866

Southern Times Messenger - Laws ‘discriminate' against poor southerners - SACOSS - 1 June 2010 - CHANGES to welfare payments proposed by the Federal Government could strip the south's poorest people of their basic human rights, the state's peak welfare body says. - http://southern-times-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/welfare-laws-discriminate/

The Greens - Rudd should drop income management laws - 9 June 2010 - The Australian Greens have renewed calls for the Federal Government to abandon legislation to extend punitive income management provisions, saying most Australians are unaware that the measures have been introduced to Parliament. - http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/rudd-should-drop-income-management-laws-greens

Croakey - The Government campaign against researchers who dared question income management - 11 June 2010 - http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2010/06/11/the-government-campaign-against-researchers-who-dared-question-income-management/

The Australian - Macklin begs Greens' support - 12 June 2010 - The Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Minister is worried the government's push to create welfare quarantining across the country will be held up by the Greens, who fear the bill will hurt impoverished people on welfare. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/macklin-begs-greens-support/story-e6frg6nf-1225878649648

SMH - Indigenous welfare policy wrong: bishops - 15 June 2010 - Extending income management to more indigenous communities returns the paternalistic attitudes that gave rise to the Stolen Generations, Catholic bishops say. - http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/indigenous-welfare-policy-wrong-bishops-20100615-ybuj.html

SBS - NT reforms could extend across Australia - 16 June 2010 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says welfare reforms in the Northern Territory mean that income management will apply to all welfare-dependent communities, not just indigenous ones. -http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1280047/NT-reforms-could-extend-across-Australia

The Greens - GREENS STAND FIRM ON INCOME MANAGEMENT - 16 June 2010 -The Australian Greens are standing firm on their commitment to oppose discriminatory welfare reform legislation which would extend income management across Australia. -http://greens.org.au/content/greens-stand-firm-income-management

ACOSS - Income Management Net Widened - 17 June 2010 - ACOSS will tell a Federal Government consultation in Sydney tomorrow that some age, disability and carer pensioners who live in areas designated by the Minister would come under the income management scheme. - http://www.acoss.org.au/media/release/income_management_net_widened

ACOSS - Compulsory Income Management :A flawed answer to a complex issue - June 2010 - http://acoss.org.au/images/uploads/ACOSS_analysis_income_management.pdf

The Australian - Big news but no one's listening - 19 June 2010 - Its historic break with a century of Labor welfare policy tradition is ignored as Labor is defined totally by its new resources tax on the mining industry. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/big-news-but-no-ones-listening/story-e6frg6zo-1225881547908

The Australian - Breaking the vicious cycle of welfare dependency - 21 June 2010 - THIS week, the Senate has the opportunity to pass legislation in the best interests of Australia's most vulnerable children, by helping families up and out of entrenched welfare dependency. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/breaking-the-vicious-cycle-of-welfare-dependency/story-e6frg6zo-1225882004351

ABC News - 3 years on, NT intervention still sparks anger - 21 June 2010 - The third anniversary of the federal intervention in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities will pass without the Racial Discrimination Act having been restored. - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/21/2932496.htm?section=justin

The Age - Welfare quarantining net to widen - 22 June 2010 -THE biggest welfare reform in decades will become law as soon as today, expanding income management to disadvantaged groups across the country. - http://www.theage.com.au/national/welfare-quarantining-net-to-widen-20100621-ysa4.html

SBS - Welfare quarantine for non-Indigenous people - 22 June 2010 - Income management for non-Indigenous welfare recipients will be rolled out across the Northern Territory from next month, after draft laws passed the Senate. -http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1284327/Welfare-quarantine-extended-in-NT

SBS - Rudd, Abbott address Christian vote - 22 June 2010 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has given his government a "low-pass mark" in terms of the intervention into Northern Territory indigenous communities. - http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1284212/Rudd-Abbott-address-Christian-vote

New Matilda - Saying No To The Evidence, Again - 22 June 2010 - The expansion of income quarantining laws defies an overwhelming expert consensus that the policy just doesn't work, writes Eva Cox - http://newmatilda.com/2010/06/22/saying-no-evidence-again

ABC News - Govt rolls out income management across NT - 22 June 2010 - Federal Parliament has passed laws to extend income management in the Northern Territory to non-Indigenous welfare recipients. - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/22/2933374.htm

SMH - Let Aboriginal communities have a say over intervention - 22 June 2010 - http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/let-aboriginal-communities-have-a-say-over-intervention-20100622-yuuf.html#poll

The Greens - Greens lament national income management laws - 22 June 2010 - The Australian Greens have expressed their extreme disappointment that legislation extending income quarantining across the Northern Territory and the rest of Australia has been passed by the Senate. - http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/greens-lament-national-income-management-laws

The Australian - Racial discrimination act delayed as welfare rules extended - 22 June 2010 - THE Racial Discrimination Act, suspended for welfare quarantining in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, will not be reinstated until December. - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/racial-discrimination-act-delayed-as-welfare-rules-extended/story-e6frg6nf-1225882960841

SMH - Laws don't fully reinstate RDA: Amnesty - 22 June 2010 - Amnesty International has criticised new laws aimed at reinstating the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) in the Northern Territory, claiming they fail to end discrimination introduced by the intervention. -http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/laws-dont-fully-reinstate-rda-amnesty-20100622-yvmb.html

Koori Mail - various articles - 22 June 2010 -
Changes don't deliver, says ANTaR - AUSTRALIANS for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) says legislation passed last night by the Senate offers some improved protection against racial discrimination under the NT intervention but doesn't go far enough. ANTaR president Dr Janet Hunt says ongoing five-year leases over Aboriginal land and extensive Government powers to control the delivery of Indigenous community services are still discriminatory, and income management will continue to impact unfairly on Indigenous welfare recipients. - ANTaR's Janet Hunt says there's no proof that income management is working, and all NT Intervention measures must be independently and rigorously monitored and evaluated.
Income management growing on people, says Govt - THE Federal Government says 60 per cent of its top bureaucrats in NT Aboriginal communities think income management is growing in popularity. It says 60 per cent of Government Business Managers surveyed last year reported a favourable shift in attitudes towards the controversial measure, and women with children were the most inclined to support it. However, only 49 per cent of those surveyed thought people favoured income management generally. -Minister Jenny Macklin says GBMs reported that women with children were the most supportive of income management, followed by other women, and then men with children.
Legislation ‘falls way short' - A group of NT Aboriginal organisations has disputed the Federal Government's insistence that its newly-passed welfare reform legislation fully reinstates the Racial Discrimination Act. The Northern and Central Land Councils, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, and the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT issued a joint statement today calling on the Government rectify all instances where the RDA is found not to apply to NT Intervention measures. - The organisations say the RDA must apply to all NT Intervention measures, including compulsory five-year leases, additional powers for the Australian Crime Commission, and the public access to Aboriginal land.
Aid agency condemns welfare changes - AMNESTY International has joined a chorus of condemnation of the Federal Government's welfare reform legislation, passed by the Senate last night. The aid agency's Indigenous Rights Campaigner Rodney Dillon criticised the changes for allowing race-based welfare quarantining to continue for another year, not reversing racially-discriminatory actions already initiated under the NT Intervention, and offering no redress for discrimination already suffered by Indigenous peoples. - Amnesty's Rodney Dillon says the Government should re-think its approach to the NT Intervention, instead adopting an evidence-based approach to Indigenous policy development.
Warning of legal challenges - A GROUP of concerned Australians including former Family Court Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson says 'special measures' under the NT Intervention will be subject to legal challenge, after the Federal Government ignored criticism and warnings from health, welfare and legal bodies and the United Nations to push ahead with its welfare reforms. The group says related legislation that had been racially discriminatory will now become class discriminatory. -The group 'concerned Australians' including Alastair Nicholson (pictured) says the Government has broken a promise to full restore the Racial Discrimination Act in the NT.
Changes only ‘first step' in right direction - THE Australian Human Rights Commission says the passage of legislation enabling new welfare reforms will end a lot of community uncertainty, misinformation and conflict but the changes should be seen as only ‘the first step' in restoring protections for communities affected by the NT Intervention. Commissioners Mick Gooda and Graeme Innes say they're still concerned that compulsory five-year leases are excluded from protection under the Racial Discrimination Act, and the possible disproportionate impact of income management on Aboriginal people. - Mick Gooda (pictured) and his fellow Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes say the Government must properly inform affected communities about the changes and ensure full reinstatement of the RDA
Govt income management claims 'hypocrisy' - THE Australian Greens say they're extremely disappointed about the passage of the Federal Government's welfare reforms. Senator Rachel Siewert says most Australians are still unaware that compulsory income management can now be applied nationally and has labelled Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin's claims that compulsory income management is 'all about human dignity' as 'nothing short of hypocrisy'. -Senator Rachel Siewert says there's no dignity in compulsory income management
Green light for welfare reforms - THE SENATE last night passed welfare reforms legislation that will enable incoming quarantining to be extended nationwide and, the Federal Government says, reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act in the Northern Territory. Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says the reforms aim to increase parental responsibility, fight passive welfare and protect vulnerable people but there's been widespread criticism of the changes, set to commence on 1 July. -The Government's welfare reforms were passed last night, on the third anniversary of the NT Intervention. The Australian Council of Social Services has described the extension of income management as unfair and un-Australian.
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