2017-09-02
Senator Rachel Siewert
The last issue of Green Issue seems so long ago, and much has happened since then. It is fair to say Scott's resignation has had a significant impact on our team and I'll miss him terribly. Here is a snap shot of what else we have been up to.
The last two sitting weeks in Canberra before the parliamentary winter break were extremely busy (more about that below), but after that I was able to get out into the electorate and talk to constituents from Warburton in remote Western Australia to Bunbury and Busselton in the South West as well as chair a number of Senate committee hearings.
Before heading back to WA I tabled two committee reports in the Senate, one on the Governments broken automated debt recovery programme, and another on the future of the aged care sector workforce.
Since the Government rolled out the automated (robo) debt-recovery programme mid-last year, thousands of Australians who have accessed the social safety net in the last six years have been put through the traumatic experience of having to prove a debt does not exist. Without the human element of checking debts, many people have been issued with incorrect debt notices. Alongside 20 other recommendations, the senate committee recommended the program be put on hold until the procedural fairness flaws in the program are addressed (which I don't think the Government can do).
In investigating the future of the aged care sector workforce, the senate committee I chaired made a number of recommendations on how to prepare the aged care sector for an ageing population. There are a myriad of issues that need to be addressed if we are to have an aged care workforce that meets the needs of aged care, the increasing number of ageing Australians, the increasing diversity in the population, more complex health needs, technological change, workplace regulation and impacts of other sectors such as the NDIS. It is very obvious that low wages and lack of career paths are major disincentives to recruiting staff. A lot of work needs to be done in this space if the sector is to cope with an ageing population; I hope the Government takes up the recommendations made.
Greens MLC Diane Evers and I teamed up in July for a road trip to the South West, with a particular focus on community services including mental health, the NDIS, drug and alcohol treatment and forests. We had some incredibly valuable discussions with members, communities, service providers and campaigners about issues pertinent to the region.
The roll out of the WA NDIS in the South West was a hot topic of discussion, with service providers anxious about its finer details. For those individuals who have been able to access it so far, there have been positive benefits and some extra support for some carers. However, it is important that we adequately manage support for those who to do not qualify for the WA NDIS in the South West, so that they are not left behind. Another area of concern is the lack of accommodation for people who are transitioning out of hospital, imprisonment or drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
In remote Warburton I was fortunate enough to meet with members of the community to learn about the failing Community Development Program (CDP). The CDP is a harsher set of mutual obligation requirements for people accessing the social safety net in regional and remote Australia. The requirements are far harsher than those accessing supports in metro regions and is having significant detrimental impacts. I learnt more about what that meant for remote Aboriginal communities, particularly when it comes to Aboriginal people travelling on country for cultural reasons and to attend funerals. We will learn more about this during the senate inquiry that myself and the ALP initiated into the issue.
Rachel and Robin talking with Sandy Dann at Goolarri Radio in Broome. Nadine Walker
I also have had the opportunity in the last two months to head to Broome with Greens MLC Robin Chapple to discuss another paternalistic Government measure, the cashless welfare card. Broome is being flagged as another potential 'trial site for the card and I had valuable discussions with service deliverers and leaders in the community about the potential impacts of a trial. The Australian Greens will continue to oppose an extended rollout of the trials, which will do more harm than good.
Header photo: Rachel meets with Elizabeth Holland, a famous artist and senior Ngaanyatjarra woman in Warburton, along with Georgia Blackburn, Advisor and Community organiser in Senator Rachel Siewert's office.