MySpace.com - CentrelinkReformNow! - 21 - Female - Based in Albury Wodonga, AU

CentrelinkReformNow!

			"The only national action group for real Centrelink Reform!" Female 21 years old Based in Albury Wodonga, Australian Capital Territory Australia Last Login: 2/12/2008

View My: Pics \| Videos

Contacting CentrelinkReformNow!

MySpace URL:

http://www.myspace.com/centrelinkreformnow888

CentrelinkReformNow!'s Interests

General

CENTRELINK REFORM!

CentrelinkReformNow!'s Details

Status:	Single
Zodiac Sign:	Sagittarius
Occupation:	Advocate/Activist

CentrelinkReformNow! sorry

CentrelinkReformNow!'s Latest Blog Entry [Subscribe to this Blog]

Update: Feb 12, all is going swimingly! (view more)

Centrelink Action Day and Indy media post (view more)

The Centrelink Code... (view more)

Welcome Blog! (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

CentrelinkReformNow!'s Blurbs

About me:
Centrelink Reform Now is a grassroots organisation that is not allied to any political party but will support any and all political parties who's policies meet the aims and objectives of this organisation. These aims are as follows:

AIMS:
- create a manifesto of inequalities in the Australian welfare system
- take action on these inequalities through advocacy and activism
- act as a voice for Centrelink recipients to bring about positive change
- Pressure government at all levels to take action on these issues
- Act as a support network for Centrelink recipients
- Research successful international welfare systems to provide government with reliable data on the topic

STATEMENT OF REASONING
- All Australians (weather citizens or not) are tax payers (Through either GST or Income Tax and GST) and therefore have a right to a good welfare system

INEQUALITIES IN THE WELFARE SYSTEM: GENERAL
- Centrelink practices are highly paternalistic and against all theories of good Social Work practice and as a result are very repressive to their clients
- Centrelink offices are not designed to be client friendly, making clients stand in lines, sometimes for several hours regardless of age or ability
- Centrelink do not call their service users clients, but rather, customers, indicating a highly scientific/managerialist model, one that is synonymous with alienating service users
- Centrelink hold many archaic values, this is acted out through their policies around same sex couples, who are not recognised as couples in their policies.
- Centrelink demand that all income reports are given before tax, meaning that what you earn is not judged on what you have to live off during any given fortnight. This means that recipients who are working several jobs and therefore taxed at a higher rate will be receiving less than those who work one job. With a growing trend of casualisation in the workplace (see Giddens) this also means people are working less hours and less reliable hours for more taxed incomes.

VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
- Centrelink demand a different medical certificate than the standard one from clients who are experiencing some sort of health drama. This certificate states the illness and action taken on it, divulging them to more information than say an employer
- Centrelink demand to know of some single people weather or not members of the opposite sex are visiting on a regular occurrence, their names and status etc.
- If you happen to be living with members of the opposite sex you need to prove to them that you are not in a relationship with them, this can be proved through a mandatory search of your house.

JOB SEEKERS & THE DOLE
- Some job seekers are made to 'actively seek employment' by applying for up to 12 jobs a fortnight, some with conditions of applying for jobs in areas you have never worked in before or applying for jobs 90 minutes away from where you live. If clients do not fulfil this so called requirement, Centrelink have the right to cut or stop your payments

PARENTING PAYMENTS
- Centrelink demand that single parents with children of school age work a minimum of 15 hours a week, with punishments of losing payments if you do not comply. This minimum is regardless of how much you earn an hour if you do work, includes school holiday periods, does not take into account children being sick and all but forces some children into childcare at some times and does not take into account any voluntary hours, for example, one recipient is on a very high rate of pay, but cannot get anymore than 12 hours per week with their employer. This person works at a school, meaning that they get school holidays off to be with their children (ages 11 and 7). This person volunteers up to 5 hours a week at the children's school (separate to the place of employment) but is not recognised by Centrelink as work. During school holidays funds are a bare minimum given the so called 'punishments' for not working during this time.

CENTRELINK 'DEBTS'
- I'm sure most of you have been told on many occasions to 'keep the system fair', meaning, if you do not report your earnings correctly to Centrelink you will then 'owe' them, how you pay them back is often to the discretion of Centrelink, meaning that your payment for a fortnight could be in single figures and could be cut drastically for months or years without consultation.

Who I'd like to meet:
- Everyone interested in changing Centrelink for the better
- The PM, and all relevant ministers to Centrelink

CentrelinkReformNow!'s Friend Space (Top 7)

CentrelinkReformNow! has 118 friends.

Centreflunk.com :: Hiding Your Options

Nicole the shmantastic

Bilus

Angelic Vixen

The Greens

Petaxo

~*\\W.I.L. Wild In Lolita//*~

View CentrelinkReformNow!'s Friends: | |

CentrelinkReformNow!'s Friends Comments

Displaying 23 of 23 comments ( View All | Add Comment )

Lisa	May 8 2008 5:30 AM I need to share with everyone what else centrelink is capable of!.... Im a single mother with a 13yo daughter. Im going overseas for 4 wekks and my daughter chose to stay here with her nanna. I done the right thing by centrelink and informed them of my plans, they told me over the phone, "thats fine, your daughter will still get your pension while your away". What they DIDNT tell me over the phone was that while Im away, I have to destroy the healthcare card because it is now invalid! After I got that letter I rang them and the complaints number but there is absolutely no way my daughter is allowed to use the healthcare card that her name is on while Im away! I just hope she doesnt get sick coz if she does I will sue the arse off them bastards!
Lisa	Mar 7 2008 12:07 PM Have a great weeend ;) Free Comments & Graphics
beachgal2	Feb 23 2008 10:16 PM NATSEM an economic think tank did some modelling of the impacts on the actual take home pay of a single parent earning a basic wage for 15 hrs per week on 'newstart' and it found that the parent will be effectively $100 a week worse off, than if on the previous sole parent pension. This amounts to working for about $2 per hour. It takes into account the amount of the Centrelink payment you lose as well as increases in rent payments and the tax you pay. This is called an 'effective marginal tax rate'- it means that single parents will pay about 60c in the dollar due to what they lose through benefits
beachgal2	Feb 23 2008 7:57 AM What the Hell ? The vulnerable who can't stick up for themselves ie single mothers and children are being picked on again.. remnants of the Howard/Costello government. Single Parents Pensions have now been cut by $100 per fortnight ! What the Hell ? I can hardly scrape by, run an old vehicle to drive my kids to school and work, and look for jobs, and live on $100 less per fortnight? What were these people thinking???????
beachgal2	Feb 22 2008 9:41 PM Rudd is sacking 2000 Centrelink Staff ! Way to go Kevin !! :))
Ðark Ƒox	Feb 15 2008 1:43 AM Oh Goodie.. wanna know the newest happenings with this Shoddy 8 week non payment period? Ring up today.. cause my 8WNPP ( 8 week non payment Period) is set to finish on the 20th... So rign them up to find out why my Form ain't in the mail.... They say I don't get paid til the 8th of March.... HELLO CENTRELINK THAT'S 10 WEEKS ! well technically it's 12.... anyways that is my spiel about the injustice that is our Loverly Centrelink
beachgal2	Feb 14 2008 8:49 AM
beachgal2	Feb 14 2008 7:12 AM OMG, have you heard the latest ! Centrelink now advises that all phone enquiries will be dealt with via self service using your phone or internet access ! Yeh, so now we'll have no-one to blame but 'ourselves' when something inevitibly goes wrong ..
Shane	Feb 14 2008 12:19 AM Work for the Dole has to end. Some people are doing it for 4 days a week for $20.80 on top of their dole money. You can't look for work because of the 'zero tolerance' rules and so there's no escape from it. Still, as bad as our welfare system is, it's not as bad as the USA.
beachgal2	Feb 11 2008 12:37 PM 'Our' Government should not have the power to decide if someone exists or not. This is the power that they have given Centrelink. Everybody in this world should have access to housing and food, especially in a rich country like Australia. To believe otherwise is to believe that they are superior and have a right to murder ..
Tjupurru	Feb 10 2008 10:34 AM hey sista good to meet you here hope to catch up for a yarn someday all the best Tjupurru
"JACOB"	Feb 9 2008 1:41 AM Share my story? Ok. Parents kicked me out of home, i really want to go to university. I've sold my car, guitar and amp set-up all beacause i'm considered dependant, cant get money from centerlink and yet my parents will give me shit all. Centerlink, your going down.
Lisa	Feb 9 2008 1:27 AM Lets bring those bastards down. God knows theyve brought us down enough! Thanks for the add.
beachgal2	Feb 4 2008 1:09 AM Hey, typical C'link. I put my and my son's Youth Allowance form in today because he's finally got some casual work and instead of making it easy we get into trouble because he didn't write today's job down even though he started today! They should have an overlap either/or policy where you can write the job down either on this fornight's form, OR the next. It's hard enough finding a job, without Centrelink whinging over every little thing you do 'wrong'. So many rules, which are always changing and their staff tell you something different every time. It's the most disorganised and potentially dangerous (as in mistakes getting you cut off payments) organisation I've ever come across. Very amateur in its running, rules and implementation. They treat you like you're some lazy dog who they have the power to decide whether you deserve to exist or not. grrr
Change A Million Light Bulbs	Feb 1 2008 9:12 AM hey cheers for the add how did you come across the page?
Centreflunk.com :: Hiding Your Options	Dec 30 2007 9:55 AM CentreChat :: Sharing Our Options www.centrechat.com Share your options with others seeking Centrelink Reform.
Matt Nelson	Dec 23 2007 8:27 AM My dealings with Centrelink are easily the most stressful I've had with any recognisable body. Firstly as a student. I had failed some subjects and needed to continue studying after I was due to graduate. At the end of the three years they sent a form with what your intentions are after the end of this year. I distinctly remember putting "going into the (4) year of a (3) year degree" (in the format of the form, filling the boxes). I heard nothing about this and continued study for another year. At the end of that year I went into the office to see if I had to do another of those forms (as i hadn't received one). They said "no, you're right til half way through next year." Then they said "hold on a second". I went back and they said "Oh dear." Turns out I was apparently overpaid for a year. I'd have to pay back the money they'd paid me for a whole year to date (around $8k). I had to make all these statutory declarations and speak to a student counsellor and finally managed to have them waive the debt. Nevermind that I filled in their stupid form correctly and honestly. I moved onto Newstart because I wasn't eligible for youth allowance anymore. I don't know how (if people even do anymore) people manage to bludge on Newstart. It's the most stressful crap I've ever been through in my life. I applied for jobs like mad. I was even castigated for not looking at a broad-enough spectrum of jobs. I finally got a temp job with a credit -card company but they continued to hassle me. I was handing in my form and everything. They railroaded me into the extreme-job-search thing that they do which I didn't go to and ended up getting all sorts of phonecalls. I eventually found a full-time job, told them I'd lost my jobsearch diary, and they could get stuffed because I was obviously looking for jobs seeings I bloody well had one. Good riddance. My main gri
The Black Douglas	Dec 22 2007 12:45 PM My first problem I encountered with Centrelink was when I began work with one company who did not keep me for the full probation period when they realised I could be replaced by someone younger and cheaper. As per Centrelink's instructions, I reported ALL my earnings, before tax, on my form - including my 1 week severance pay - in the period it had been earned. Later they informed me that I had NOT claimed all my payments and so I owed them over $300. I argued the point for about two weeks until they noticed that one payslip had one week's pay deducted on sickleave. Then they claimed I did not report my 1 week's severence pay. I had claimed it on my final day of employment - AS PER THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE FORM - not when I "worked" it. When I pointed this out Centrelink changed the ruling on me and said I was supposed to report it when I worked it, regardless of when I was paid, regardless of the fact that I didn't work it, being retrenched on the day before I reported it. Because of this Centrelink upheld the debt ruling, and I still had to pay off the $300+ - despite the fact that I had done exactly what I had been instructed to.
Get Active For Mental Health!	Dec 13 2007 11:03 PM Hi there! Thank you for adding Get Active for Mental health! To support us please add the following symbol to your page [the code is on our profile page!] Get Active for Mental Health is a campaign, created by three young people & several new eager team members, with a mental illness. The aim of this campaign is to get the word out about mental health and to delete the stigma surrounding it. We will attempt to do this by using a variety of mediums & by referring to useful websites. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact us via our email address: ga4mh.aus@gmail.com Thank you again for adding us. The Get Active for Mental Health team!
Get Active For Mental Health!	Dec 13 2007 11:03 PM Hi there! Thank you for adding Get Active for Mental health! To support us please add the following symbol to your page [the code is on our profile page!] Get Active for Mental Health is a campaign, created by three young people & several new eager team members, with a mental illness. The aim of this campaign is to get the word out about mental health and to delete the stigma surrounding it. We will attempt to do this by using a variety of mediums & by referring to useful websites. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact us via our email address: ga4mh.aus@gmail.com Thank you again for adding us. The Get Active for Mental Health team!
♥☠♥StepH♥☠♥	Dec 12 2007 5:50 AM thanks alot for the add and also making this site! xox steph
SuperSaiyan Jessie♥	Dec 11 2007 1:22 PM lol i was thikning wtf do centrelink want to add me for? baha, cheers for the add:]
Shane	Dec 11 2007 12:25 PM Thank you for making this myspace page/group. I'm making a comic called "The Doleman" and it's my dealings with Centrelink. If you put some space between each paragraph it becomes easier to read. Awesome stuff.

Add Comment

MySpace a place for friends