Jubilee Pocket, Qld
— IT'S
great to hear John Howard is offering incentives of up to
$6600 to get us disabled pensioners to work (Howard
Push For Disabled To Work, 12/1). But, this payment
goes to the job agency, not the pensioner.
At the
moment, my wife works full time to support us. Her
five days a week earns $30,000. This and some
government assistance supports us and our six-year-old
child.
Imagine that I
could return to work and earn that $6000 that's going
to the job agency. By my calculations, I would lose
$1200 of my pension. My wife would lose $2100 of her
parenting payment and then we would lose $1273 in
family tax benefit payments (part A).
With me earning
an income, the family tax benefit (part B) would fall
by $1274.
Out of the $6000
that I would earn from returning to work, our family
would keep $153. Not even enough for a week's
rent.
The money the
Government takes is effectively the same as paying 97
per cent in tax.
With both John
Howard and Mark Latham talking about reward for
effort, how about looking into a system where a
disabled family can lose up to 97 per cent of their
income if they decide to get ahead and earn a few
extra dollars.
Despite the lack
of reward for effort, I do get some work folding
pamphlets for a local company to earn around $800 per
year, but it's very easy to see why many disabled
people don't even bother to try.
Incentives are
great, but how about giving them to the people you
want to get back in the workforce?
Kevin
Paine
Jubilee Pocket, Qld
Townsville, Qld —
I HAD to write
and let you know how annoyed I was to read Howard Push
For Disabled To Work.
How does
he expect to get them into the workforce when there
aren't any jobs out there for people without
disabilities?
Are these people
going to be put into a working environment were they
are given a six-month trial? If so, they will end up
like the unemployed: put on for six months while the
Government pays, then, once the money stops, replaced
by a new employee who is getting the financial
assistance.
In the meantime,
they will lose their pensions and be left on the dole,
where they won't be able to find further work because
of their disability.
And the
Government will be making just as many payments as it
was in the beginning.
Mr Howard should
consider that these disabled people all have the vote,
all 670,000 including the 150,000 that he expects to
get back into the workforce.
I can understand
that some people abuse the system, but not all of them
should be punished for the few who do.
Few enough
people have full-time jobs, most work part-time or
casual. Does he expect disabled people to go off the
pension just to work casually?
Deli
Henshall
Townsville, Qld
Newcastle, NSW —
CYNICS might
say that it is purely a cost-cutting exercise and that
responsibility for supporting people with disabilities is
being shifted from the Government to the corporate
sector.
People
with disabilities are under-represented in the
workforce and in many other aspects of Australian
society. Anything that helps people see that those of
us with disabilities can contribute as much as anyone
else is a positive step forward.
Kay Tierney
Life Activities Inc
Newcastle, NSW
Lower Mitcham, SA —
MANY people
with disabilities already contribute their time and
skills voluntarily.
Charitable,
community and church organisations all rely on their
contribution. Some are carers of the very old and the
very young. Their contribution is rarely acknowledged,
often overlooked altogether.
If governments
and employers recognised the contribution that people
with disabilities already make to the economy then
employment prospects would be greatly enhanced without
the need for yet another "initiative".
K.M. Gunn
Lower Mitcham SA
Sydney, NSW —
HAS the
Government checked whether employers are prepared to take
on the extra costs (modifications, support) in- volved in
hiring disabled people?
Is there
community support for these disabled people to ensure
work sustainability when health-related problems or
crises arise? And will the jobs be kept open when
disabled workers are well again?
If yes, and if
the jobs are there, we will all win. Without such
safety nets, the disabled are only set up to fail or
for short-lived success.
Mandy Dunn
Sydney, NSW
Gold Coast, QLD
— FOR a
Government that is happy to include people who work one
hour a week as employed in its employment statistics,
having the disabled pushed back into a workforce that is
not capable of dealing with the able bodied, should not
come as any surprise.
D.Fraser
Gold Coast, Qld
