2018-04-24
Logan has double the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to metropolitan Brisbane, and almost half of the people there were born overseas.
It is among the most economically disadvantaged places in the country, with high rates of homelessness, housing stress and unemployment.
The ethnically diverse people of Logan have little access to wealth and resources and the political clout that goes with it says Andrew Bartlett, Queensland Greens Senator.
"They’re therefore the perfect targets for the Coalition government who happily demonise people on welfare, punishing them with policies that don’t work.
"This is a government that wants to give billions in tax cuts to corporations that are already making record profits, instead of investing in social housing, education, mental health and addiction services - measures that would actually be effective in helping people overcome drug addiction.
"Instead of working to lift our most disadvantaged areas out of poverty and therefore mitigate associated ailments like drug addiction & substance abuse, they punish the people who live there with demoralising and intrusive welfare measures that are proven not to work.
"This government works only for themselves and the corporations who own them. They gleefully push people already struggling further into destitution.
"Politics no longer offers hope for the people who can’t afford to bribe politicians with political donations, in fact, it’s become a hostile force.
"But we can fix the rigged system that punishes the poor and gives handouts to the rich.
"We can kick corporate money out of our politics.
"We can invest in social housing, education, mental health and addictions services.
"We can stop vulnerable young people from falling through the cracks in the first place, from having to drop out of school and become homeless, we can end the cycle of poverty and addiction before it begins.
"We can demand that politics works for a future for all of us."
Media Release General