tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19268887.post6019299521363034641..comments2024-03-29T18:44:16.507+11:00Comments on Lazy Luddite Log: UnderemployedDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12710148812664294219noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19268887.post-41538875046238233562017-03-30T10:50:02.068+11:002017-03-30T10:50:02.068+11:00I should also reproduce the published letter (1 Ma...I should also reproduce the published letter (1 March 2017) in The AFR here:<br /><br />The government have been rightly condemned for the automated debt collection fiasco, but even when Centrelink procedures work as intended, problems arise. <br /> <br />Last year I survived on a mix of Newstart Allowance and sporadic casual shifts. One problem I faced was the expectation that I declare income when it is earned rather than received.<br /> <br />Centrelink would then pay a reduced amount of the already paltry Newstart, even though my earnings were weeks away. I had less than I needed, and even after my casual income arrived, it never seemed to compensate for the preceding hardship.<br /> <br />Thankfully, my hours have grown and freed me from Centrelink dependence, but many other under-employed Australians are still coping with wildly varying income because of this one procedure.<br /> <br />I wrote about this to the Federal employment minister. A staffer responded and, in true Sir Humphrey Appleby style, said that yes it was a problem but no, they would not do anything about it.<br /> <br />How difficult or controversial would it be to alter this one small but damaging procedure? I’m flummoxed. Letting job-seekers declare income only once it arrives would make life better for the under-employed.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12710148812664294219noreply@blogger.com