Church groups reject ‘immoral’ Australian welfare-to-work deal

-24/08/06

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Church groups reject ‘immoral’ Australian welfare-to-work deal

-24/08/06

Major church groups and community welfare organisations in Australia, including Catholics and Anglicans, are rejecting have the Federal Government’s new welfare to work system because they say it is ìimmoralî.

Tough new Australian welfare rules have been in place for around two months, but the big agencies expected to play a part in providing financial case management for unemployed people who lose their benefits are declining to cooperate.

Both Catholic Social Services Australia and Anglicare have pulled out of the programme, with NGOs like Mission Australia, St Vincent de Paul, Uniting [Church] Care and the Salvation Army either opposed from the outset or yet to tender.

Under the scheme, the Australian Government pays charities 650 dollars to manage each eligible unemployed person cut off from dole payments for eight weeks when they lose employment.

Charities are then supposed to assess the person’s essential expenses and notify Centrelink, which will pay the bills.

Catholic Social Services Australia executive director Frank Quinlan told The Australian last week that two of his agencies had originally signed up to the system, but had now informed the Government they no longer believed it was right to do the work.

“We decided not to sign up nationally. We think vulnerable people will not be adequately protected. We think an eight-week penalty is too harshî, declared Quinlan.

He said that he was outraged when he saw a Centrelink description of a typical person, who was described as mentally ill, with children and on medication.

Explained Quinlan: “Our question was how on earth we could be contemplating a system that sees somebody who is mentally ill … suspended from income support for eight weeks.”

The new rules apply if people fail to take up a job they are offered or do not meet contractual obligations three times in a year.

The Government says the community welfare sector will provide a safety net for the 4,000 or 5,000 people each year.

But Australia’s second largest community service provider, Uniting Care, says only around five or six of its agencies, out of about 150, may have tendered.

The CEO of St Vincent de Paul’s National Council, John Falzon, told Radio National’s Religion Report why his organisation is ideologically opposed to the changes he describes as punitive.

Declared John Falzon: ìCharity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveller who has been attacked. It is justice’s role, however, to prevent the attack.
In 2006 in Australia it is the role of the St Vincent de Paul Society to do everything we can to prevent the attack, not to go into partnership with the attacker.î

The Hillsong Church, which is contracted to manage breach cases at two centres through its welfare arm, Hillsong Emerge, is also having cold feet.

A spokeswoman from Centrelink told PM that there were more than 50 NGOs registered to provide financial case management. But she could not say who they were, or how widespread their coverage was.

The challenge to government policy by faith-based groups in Australia is likely to be watched with interest in Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair is keen to get religious agencies more involved in welfare provision.

But the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia has said in its new report Redeeming Religion in the Public Square, and in the book Faith and Politics After Christendom, that the ënew dealí being struck between government and faith groups is unhealthy.

It says that while it appears to get government of the funding and provision hook, and provides a new role for churches and others, issues of social justice, equality and inclusion are being sidelined ñ compromising the prophetic role of churches as well as the integrity and fairness of government in a plural society.


Church groups reject ‘immoral’ Australian welfare-to-work deal

-24/08/06

Major church groups and community welfare organisations in Australia, including Catholics and Anglicans, are rejecting have the Federal Government’s new welfare to work system because they say it is ìimmoralî.

Tough new Australian welfare rules have been in place for around two months, but the big agencies expected to play a part in providing financial case management for unemployed people who lose their benefits are declining to cooperate.

Both Catholic Social Services Australia and Anglicare have pulled out of the programme, with NGOs like Mission Australia, St Vincent de Paul, Uniting [Church] Care and the Salvation Army either opposed from the outset or yet to tender.

Under the scheme, the Australian Government pays charities 650 dollars to manage each eligible unemployed person cut off from dole payments for eight weeks when they lose employment.

Charities are then supposed to assess the person’s essential expenses and notify Centrelink, which will pay the bills.

Catholic Social Services Australia executive director Frank Quinlan told The Australian last week that two of his agencies had originally signed up to the system, but had now informed the Government they no longer believed it was right to do the work.

“We decided not to sign up nationally. We think vulnerable people will not be adequately protected. We think an eight-week penalty is too harshî, declared Quinlan.

He said that he was outraged when he saw a Centrelink description of a typical person, who was described as mentally ill, with children and on medication.

Explained Quinlan: “Our question was how on earth we could be contemplating a system that sees somebody who is mentally ill … suspended from income support for eight weeks.”

The new rules apply if people fail to take up a job they are offered or do not meet contractual obligations three times in a year.

The Government says the community welfare sector will provide a safety net for the 4,000 or 5,000 people each year.

But Australia’s second largest community service provider, Uniting Care, says only around five or six of its agencies, out of about 150, may have tendered.

The CEO of St Vincent de Paul’s National Council, John Falzon, told Radio National’s Religion Report why his organisation is ideologically opposed to the changes he describes as punitive.

Declared John Falzon: ìCharity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveller who has been attacked. It is justice’s role, however, to prevent the attack.
In 2006 in Australia it is the role of the St Vincent de Paul Society to do everything we can to prevent the attack, not to go into partnership with the attacker.î

The Hillsong Church, which is contracted to manage breach cases at two centres through its welfare arm, Hillsong Emerge, is also having cold feet.

A spokeswoman from Centrelink told PM that there were more than 50 NGOs registered to provide financial case management. But she could not say who they were, or how widespread their coverage was.

The challenge to government policy by faith-based groups in Australia is likely to be watched with interest in Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair is keen to get religious agencies more involved in welfare provision.

But the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia has said in its new report Redeeming Religion in the Public Square, and in the book Faith and Politics After Christendom, that the ënew dealí being struck between government and faith groups is unhealthy.

It says that while it appears to get government of the funding and provision hook, and provides a new role for churches and others, issues of social justice, equality and inclusion are being sidelined ñ compromising the prophetic role of churches as well as the integrity and fairness of government in a plural society.