Dear Friends, The UTLC supports the UPM in an ongoing campaign this year and next in an election period to fight against unemployment and poverty in South Australia.I urge that the UPM is supported nationally. Please pass on the information in this press release. Come to the launch this Tuesday 5.30pm in the Worlds' End Hotel 208 Hindley St. Please advertise the UPM and their website for unemployed people and purchase the story of the Western Region Unemployed Support Group in the video, available from F. Goncalves [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chris White UTLC 82123155 Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 15:22:05 +0930 From: Malcolm Keyte <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Press Release From the Un- and Underemployed People's Movement against Poverty (UPM against Poverty) web site: http://www.webcom.com/ausisle/upm e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To all media Please note that our e-mail is currently down, if you need to contact us please call: (08) 8352 4950 27 October 2000 We, the Un- and Underemployed People's Movement against Poverty (UPM) are an organisation which speaks up on behalf of all people in Australia on low incomes. Recent stories in the media begin to uncover the hardship many Australians face today. Last week three delegates of UPM against Poverty travelled to Brisbane to speak about their experiences at a conference called by the Brisbane Institute and UNEMPA, (Unemployed Advocacy). While delegates from all States and Territories shared their stories of despair, a young 20 year old man walked into one of Brisbane's Centrelink Offices, dowsed himself with petrol and threatened to set himself alight, unless he would be put back on his payments which had been cut as a result of sanctions imposed on him. On the same day, the mother who tried to kill herself and her children and survived got charged with three counts of murder. Today we see the media reports about her attending the funeral of her children. In what kind of community are we living? Nobody wants to kill their children or themselves. Only utter desperation drives people to such actions. The delegates at the national conference of unemployed organisations spoke about their emotional roller coaster of applying for one job after the other and be rejected every time. They told how they felt under constant stress due to the fear they may overlook something and be sanctioned as a result. Unemployed adults receive $172.- per week, if 18% is taken away, as it is in case of a first breach, this amounts to $140.- per week. Sanctions are imposed over 6 months. Who can survive and entertain children on the weekend on $140.- per week? Yesterday we also saw the reports of increased homelessness in our country, yet no mention was made about the Millions of dollars the Federal Government is 'saving' as a result of sanctioning the poorest of the poorest in our society. In South Australia latest statistics have shown that about 30% of all unemployed are breached and that the rate for young people and Indigenous people is somewhere around 70%. In Queensland every second person receiving Newstart or Youth Allowance must have been financially sanctioned in the last financial year. These cold statistics hide the despair. Many young men are in danger of committing suicide as a result of having been breached, they are made homeless and subjected to abuse and attacks on the street. Yet Minister Newman could not do any better than blaming the victims by talking about gambling, alcoholism and domestic violence. These are symptons but not the cause of homelessness. Unemployment and inadequate income support is responsible in most cases. Alcoholism is a sign of the despair, although no excuse. No mention about the relating the dramatic rise in homelessness to the Federal Government's savings in the Welfare Budget. If the practice of breaching and the unreasonable amounts charged for debt recovery would be stopped, many people would not be on the streets. Delegates at the national conference on unemployment exchanged information about actions they had successfully taken to empower unemployed people in dealing with and objecting to such an unfair system of income support. Although only one Sitting Member of Parliament, Senator Andrew Bartlett from the Australian Democrats, attended the conference, the audience from various community groups, unions and welfare providing organisations listened and asked questions only. This was the first time that unemployed people had the floor and experts listened. The day Dr. Kwentenere Perkins was farewelled in Sydney, the delegates formed the Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed (ANOU). Agreement was achieved to include in our definition of unemployed those individuals who want to work more and are underpaid and on low incomes. ANOU's founding members recognise that unemployment is not an issue to be looked at in separation of the issues of employed and underemployed people. It was decided that some of the most urgent issues to tackle are: To demand participation in the decision making process regarding changes to legislation and policies affecting unemployed and underemployed people To work towards a change of public opinion regarding the plight of Australia's unemployed To establish and/or strengthen a network of solidarity with the union movement to overcome the artificial division between those who work too much, not enough or not at all in paid employment and to explore issues surrounding the often appalling treatment Work for the Dole participants receive To participate in the International Year of Volunteering by informing the wider community about the monetary value of voluntary work contributed by people looking for employment and to organise a chain of community festivals or events to celebrate the contribution of unemployed and homeless people to our communities. Anyone interested to know more about UPM against Poverty and the ANOU can come to the launch of UPM and their website: On Tuesday, 31st October 2000, at 5:30 pm at the WorldsEnd, 208 Hindley Street, Adelaide. Also launched will be a video of the Western Region Unemployed Support Group, produced by AVANTE Media: "Coping with Unemployment". Lets all come together and fight for a society where no one needs to kill their children for fear they cannot provide and where no one needs to pour petrol over themselves to get their basic right to housing, food and health care. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink LL.SK
