Hello friends,
If you happen to know of any DSPpensioners who may wish to be active in our
'internet conference' would you please pass this on to them and have it
widely advertised as much as possible please.
Minister Newman denied to fund us to have our face to face conference, so
we decided to have it over the 'internet'.
If there are any good people out there who can spare to donate to us some
books of 45c Postage stamps it would be very much appreciated as we are
going to post out to each Member who participates in this conference a copy
of the typed Report that is being sent to Minister Newman.
sincerely,
judi-ann
1. The lay-out of Members of Parliaments Offices. ( are they prisons ?)
to keep the disadvantaged out and not to have a complaint and to protect
the staff working for that Member of Parliament ?
2. 'Centrelink Offices' again like prisons with huge walls dividing the
Centrelink clients.
Both these Offices, ARE... to just walk away and leave the constituent
client out in the cold.
3. Are you told by both these Offices, " Your complaint is just amongst
the thousands of others and you have to wait your turn ? !!!!
4. What community groups can you really trust and receive help from ?
5. Did you Community Organisation get funded appropriately so you could
help those who come to you for help ?
6. Did 'Centrelink' refer you to an Agency for 'Emergency Relief' for a
food voucher etc. and were you helped or just given a band aid ?
7. Has everyone got a 'computer / internet' ?
8. Can you afford to pay your 'utility bills' ?
9. Can you afford to buy good nutritional food ?
10. Can you afford to buy the proper clothes and shoes ?
11. Can you afford to pay for your medications that are essential or do you
not bother about them ???
12. Can you afford to pay for you Public Housing Rent ?
13. Can you afford to have a pet dog or cat ?
14. Can you afford to pay for a social night or day out per fortnight ?
15. Can you afford to pay for your public transport fares for outings ?
16. Does your 'Centrelink Branch' listen to you ?
17. Does you Member of Parliament listen to you ?
18. Do you receive appropriate services from your local Councils upon
discharge from your Hospital Treating medical team ?
19. Can you afford to pay for these HACC services ? eg:- Meals on Wheels -
Home Help.
20. Does your local Council offer to waiver the fees for inability to pay ?
21. Do you have a refrigerator ? for medications that need refrigeration ?
eg:- insullin for diabeties 'morphiene' for pain etc.
22. Do you need medical equipment that is electrical which boosts the bill up ?
23. Can you afford to pay for your Phone Bill ?
24. Do you have to waite long for your 'Dental Appointment'
25. Do you have to waite long for your 'outpatient appointment' at your
Hospital ?
26. Can you afford to pay for your ' wounds dressings ' if you are an amputee ?
27. Can you afford to purchase a ' Wheelchair ' if you have been referred
to get one ? Special shoes if need to have them by professional medical
standards. Elastic stockings for leg problems if on strong medication for
veins etc.
28. Have you been assisted in receiving what medical equipment you need
in your home to live more easily than if you did not have it ?
29. Can you afford to buy a phone card to use the local public phone ?
30. Can you afford to pay for a taxi fare to get to medical appointments etc.
31. Can you afford to join in any social activities, or are you housebound
because of inability to pay ?
32. Do you see a 'Psychiatrist' because of the above inability to pay ?
33. Do you feel inferior because of not being able to pay ?
34. Are you being made feel inferior because of inability to pay ?
35. Do you feel you have to explain the reasons why you are unable to pay ?
36. Are you being administered medications for the above inability to pay ?
37. Are your finances being handled by the State Trustees ?
38. Do you have a Guardian because of the above reasons ?
39. Is you life out of your hands now ?
40. Do you feel that you are being listened to, or that someone else has
to talk on your behalf ?
41. Do you have good basics furniture in your home ?
42. Do you feel embarrassed at bringing friends into your home ?
43. Do you sleep odd hours with your disability and want to be active at
night time ?
44. Are you put on display from being involved in Church activities or
Political activities and everyone else knows best for you than you ? If you
are not a member of a Church or a Political Party do you feel left out on a
limb ?? Are you made feel you are not worth giving a chance in life ( as
you are poor )
45. Are you trusted ? OR could you pinch something ??
46. Do you have children who go without because you can not afford to
purchase what they need, or they see other children have and they want too ?
47. Have you ever had 'Community Services' harass you in this nature of not
being a fit mother/father to bring up your own child/children ?
48. Do you and your children have " Hand me downs " ?
49. Can you afford to go to the hairdressers ?
50. Can you afford to pay Membership for various group sessions / outings,
clubs etc ?
51. Has 'Centrelink' or any Emergency Relief Agency told you that you can
not come back after you have been there 3 times, and you should learn to
budget ?
51. Did you learn how to budget on the low fixed income you get each
fortnight ?
52. Did your mental health suffer ?
53. Did you feel you wanted to scream at everyone ?
54. Did you end up taking more medications for your blood pressure etc ?
55. Did the medication costs get out of hand and totally unaffordable ?
56. Did you feel at midnight you wanted to go visit someone just to listen
to you ?
57. Do you have many friends ?
58. Do you come up good smart looking when you venture outdoors ?
59. Can you afford to pop into that cafe and have coffee with a friend when
shopping ?
60. Can you afford to go to the theatre ? or a play ?
THE above questions are the basics of what our 'internet conference' will
be on, please print it off, or if you would like us to print it off for you
and send it to you via Australia Post we will if you email us your Postal
Address, then we will all have in front of us the basic questions for
discussion on Saturday 14th October 2000.
The above Questions are aimed at just ordinary living with no frills, just
managing to survive.
The issues of increases in prices to do with the GST and the Welfare Reform
are incorporated into the above questions as the basic pension is not
sufficient to purchase what is needed for DSPpensioners to live a decent
life-style in dignity.
To achieve the above to be affordable we are in need of the support of the
whole community from all walks of life.
The Report from our 'internet conference' will by typed up and sent to
everyone who participated on the day, and naturally to the Premiers of each
State in Australia and the Federal Government who are aware of our
Conference in October.
We also will be writing to each Premier of Australia to invite them to be
interested in our conference too, as we will be calling upon them to assist
in many ways as well as their Community Services / Health Ministers of
their State as well as the Federal Minister for Family and Community
Services, the Hon Jocelyn Newman together with as many authorities in our
Country as we can make contact with.
Other Community Groups are invited to participate if they have a genuine
interest in the wellbeing of DSPpensioners and the way that they are being
cared for, we invite them to submit to us what they believe could be done
to improve services to them too.
Please advise us of any ideas you have from the above, for improvements and
please spread this 'internet conference' around to people so they can have
a chance to be involved if they are genuine in their concern for the
wellbeing of DSPpensioners in Australia.
If you are able to have some DSPpensioners who live near your in your home
on this date Saturday 14th October for the conference please do invite them
to come and use your computer or sit and watch as questions and answers go
over the mail list that will be provided for that day, and they too will
have the chance to have their say as well, all communication will be
printed off for collating at the end of the Conference ready for the Report
to be typed up and mail out, as only those who indicate they want to be
involved will be on the mail-list and others will be placed back again
after the conference is finished.
Please email any concerns or ideas to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you have any books of 45c postage stamps you can send to us please do so
and send them to
DSP Australia Inc.
National Office.
P.O. Box 2092.
WERRIBEE. 3030
VICTORIA. AUSTRALIA. =20
It would be also good if we had some ideas on where we can support our own
local farmers with their ' meat - poultry - fish ' vegies & eggs & bread
' so that we would know that we are getting the best in food.
As we head towards our ' Menu Book ' for DSPpensioners to enable them to
cook meals very cheaply for the whole fortnight, it would be good to be
able to support our own local farmers in what they have all year round and
they will support us too.
If there are any Retired people out there who would like to spend a couple
of hours a week in doing things for DSPpensioners, in the way of ensuring
they have food in their house and things are in order then if they would
like to let us know we will register them in our register book and call
upon them when a Member is in need.
i am hopeful that everyone receives this email, and would appreciate if you
could let me know ifyou are interested and i will write your names down in
the conference book and start getting things ready for everyone.
sincerely,
judi-ann
as-you-are [Authorised by DSP Australia Inc]
ARB076023544 - A0028385N - ABN 98 076 023 544
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