WE CAN'T PAY YOU - JUST BECAUSE YOU LIKE TO STUDY

This was the warning by Centrelink in inner Sydney to an older mature age male, who was struggling to finish a TAFE Diploma in Community Services (case management) in 2010, after St George College had failed to get him a work placement for the 2009 one year course. The Course was due to finish then - but the workplace learning teacher told him she couldn't find an organisation to take him for the 240 hours placement required, because they were saying - "we usually get a female".
They only offered him an unsuitable placement at the end of 2009 - which they didn't bother to re enroll him for for the next semester, starting in 2010 (which it would run into).

His Austudy payments ran out after Xmas 2010, while he was still at the placement - so on Centrelink (Student Team) advice, he enrolled in a Youth Work course at another TAFE nearer his home (given that repairs on his car was making it unaffordable). The St George placement teacher wasn't responding to his emailed pleas to be exited from the Xmas placement - where he was complaining by email, to the usually absent workplace "supervisor" of students there - about the fact that their promise to let him work with the senior case worker, was not being honoured. (He has emails, given to him by TAFE, showing that his observation of case management sessions with clients at the placement - would be part of the student placement experience).

Instead he ended up just doing the filing work for all the case workers - and not being allowed to sit in on any sessions (except with a junior case worker in the last few days before they kicked him out - with a false claim that he'd refused to do some filing). The real reason was that he had to give them a Dr letter saying he had a lower back issue - after they were trying to get him to work in their Clinic lifting clients. The "supervisor" claimed his objection amounted to a "refusal to work" and unfairly dismissed him soon after - while cruelly and repeatedly claiming he was "unemployable"-  (though there had been no complaints about his work during the months he was there three days a week). Another female manager, in a different part of the organisation, was abusing him - apparently because he is an older male (an example of which we have direct evidence of).

This was after falsely promising to let him use his multi media qualifications and demonstrated skills in group work with their mostly disadvantaged male clients. He left that placement after 166 hours there (that he has signed documentation of) and St George finally let him withdraw from the subject with no penalty (since that placement was failing to let him negotiate a Learning Contract or Work Plan with them so hecould develop a Portfolio for marking at TAFE). In early 2010 he withdrew from the Youth Work course (Centrelink had suggested he enrol in) that had secured him continuation of Austudy to continue the first placement. Then St George asked him to re enroll to do another work placement in the new semester. The head teacher has since stated in a letter that the first placement should still be counted as study load hours.

This second placement in the far off western suburbs, he was able to complete as the supervisor was more co-operative - with his Portfolio on it and other paperwork signed off by a new placement teacher and the Head Teacher by the end on semester 2 in 2010. He was awarded the Diploma document at a mid 2011 graduation, after which he made a written complaint to St George about its sex discrimination - in not standing up to the female preferences of its placement organisations in 2009, during that supposedly one year Diploma course. He was just finishing the Youth Work course in 2011, when Centrelink falsely billed him for a $18,000 debt for Austudy he received in 2010 and 2011.

He is now trying to prepare to fight this outrageous decision in the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, after Centrelink's Authorised Review Officer in Brisbane told him, on the phone, that "placement hours" are not counted towards the 20 hours per week required for a student to considered full time enrolled in NSW TAFE. Full time TAFE courses rarely involve as much as 20 hours of classroom teaching per week as placements have become common practice. In 2010 he had done two 240 hour placements - when counting the off-workplace preparations he did for draft Work Plans etc (and for presentations to clients in the second one). Head Teachers from St George and Ultimo TAFE colleges have produced letters saying he was studying fulltime and that the placements he did with the courses were an essental requirement - ie hours doing them counted as "study load".

The Sydney Morning Herald has failed to respond to his outline of this Federal Govt injustice, to their "investigation" of Centrelink linked corruption (ie Job Services Australia rorts - where he has also had experiences - see www.oocities.com/unemployedembassy). His letters to federal local MP Tanya Plibersek, then apparently Minister for Centrelink (Human Services), have been unanswered. He has been writing her office for years about his mature age education problems. Unfortunately for Centrelink though - he is still so in debt from credit cards on expensive multiple repairs to his ex car (thanks to Kmart Auto) that they were unable to collect any of the $73 a fortnight they tried to take from the dole he is now on (after he phoned their debt collection department). He now only has about $100 left a month, from the fortnightly payments, to pay for food AND electricity (let alone anything else like transport) - after minimum payments for several credit cards is taken out.

A "hardship" arrangement with a credit card bank expired in Jan 2012 - where for about 6 months previously they were letting him just pay part of the (full interest rate) interest due on the accounts. They will not give him a lower interest loan unless he can get a job. He is now about 60 year old - but he thought doing some practical vocational courses could get him work and out of his car repair debts. He spent all of the 2010 Xmas holidays applying for jobs in his field of study - with only two interviews resulting. The interviews however made it clear that his lack of recent sustained paid full time employment and his age were barriers to employment - even in the "community" sector. Also most community sector employers prefer to employ females. He was still being paid Austudy during those holidays - as he had re enrolled in the Youth Work course for 2011 (delayed a year by St George TAFE's anti male sex discrimination in 2009, forcing him later to do unsuitable placements to try and finish the Diploma course).

After the shock of the 2 year Centrelink Austudy debt - he became sick with severe flu-like symptoms, which his Dr says are probably stress related. It could be related to the heightened hyertension he has been on higher medication for since early 2012. This has impeded his job search efforts. He then enrolled in the Youth Work diploma - but cannot afford to do it it on Austudy (which he's reapplied for). He cae up against agesist anti male prejudice in that course dominated by young females. He has again complained formally to TAFE about it. On Austudy previously he was not able to afford to keep up the monthly minimum balances on credit cards - as it was then almost $200 a month less than the dole per month. He is seeking more legal advice on how to try and deal with his greedy creditors - which charity "financial counsellors" seem so tardy in providing legal advice about to desperate job seekers who approach them. He has a manageable physical disability, which TAFE to its credit, has provided simple means to counter. Employers however, have been found to be highly reluctant to provide similar support.

TO RECAP

He had to complain by email to the Xmas 2010 placement "supervisor", when they suddenly decided to require him to do client lifting tasks that his disability couldn't handle. Soon after they decided to terminate the placement (that he's been pleading with TAFE to have him exited from) on the fabricated claim that he hadn't done some filing. His very complaint to them and TAFE was that filing and other routine tasks, were all he was being allowed to do. He couldn't see how he could pass the subject - that required him to negotiate a Work Plan with the workplace - related to tasks that demonstrated his classroom learning. His written complaint to St George TAFE raised this issue - but they ignored it in their reply. He now plans to complain about discrimination by the two TAFE colleges.  They have said that they would review allowing holiday placements and the Work Plan "competencies" approach has now been changed - thanks no doubt to what he went through (and is now unfairly stuck with a $18000 debt he is trying to appeal against).

Perhaps the Aged Pension should just be restored to 60 - since employers are so disinterested in using the talents and experience of older mature age people. WELCOME TO THE LUCKY COUNTRY.

Check out our other blogspot at http://unemployedpeoplesembassy-tube.blogspot.com  where  new discrimination by TAFENSW, including Ultimo TAFE threatening violence against a middle aged male with a physical disability - is being exposed.

WHAT IS THE EMBASSY - AND HOW TO CONTACT AND SUPPORT US

See our contact details in the Sydney White and Yellow pages. Our websites http://www.unemployedembassy.org/ (which has disappeared now due to difficulty of paying for the domain name) and http://www.unemployedembassy.magix.net/ which give background to projects run by our organisation. There was email contact sections on both these sites, but only the latter site one can now be found - though perhaps most easily by clicking on the link here. The former (.org)  site is on a "domain" apparently run by an overseas outfit called Magix - who had blocked our website unless we  give them a credit card number online.We have emailed them twice, offering to send them a cheque - though we don't know for how much USD is in $A and what the amount is actually for. We rely on people to join our registered non profit organisation and volunteer their time for our campaigns and activities - to give some hope to jobless and disabled people interested in being involved in the community.

We rarely get government grants - and they are usually only a matter of a couple of hundred dollars and only for specific community projects. Private donations are even rarer. For a pluralist society there needs to be more involvement from citizens in the democratic process, that being forced to vote every so often for political parties who don't value the input of their "members" - doesn't really provide. Our organisation has been able to make a difference to public debate - if hardly ever public policy.

ARTS JOBS & TRAINING

The Odd Job Centre (OJC) was the project that really kicked off the UPE in 1978. A 30 minute video made about it was publicised in the SMH - and an expanded version is now on DVD. The OJC recently supplied a 15 minute singer/songwriter/poetry act for an opening of the South West Artists Network exhibition at TAP Gallery Darlinghurst.

A video was made of the act - which won fans - plus some other performers. A DVD of the whole show is being worked on. Other performers with original acts are sought - which can be put on a sampler DVD for approaches to suitable venues. One new venue in the western suburbs is being looked at.

People wishing to learn how to shoot videos and edit DVD's are also sought. Also people to help form a band and act in short original plays are needed. Contact odd_job_centre@hotmail.com -the OJC a registered non-profit project which survives on donations and support from the UPE.

FOREIGN AID FOR OZ ARTISTS

Given the pathetic lack of support for mineral wealthy Australia for the arts and artists - we propose that foreign aid be sought from other countries to help artists survive and artistic events and venues be supported.

Perhaps some asian and even african natiins could sponsor some artists so they can keep being creative. Maybe some countries will allow them to migrate there and be supported while they work creatively.

OUR ARCHIVE WEBSITE STILL ONLINE

By googling www.oocities.com/unemployedembassy you are taken to archives of the geocities hosted websites before they started charging producers of those websites. Just scroll down to "unemployedembassy" to be taken to the whole website - starting with the index page from which the various webpages can be accessed.

UNDERGROUND TELEVISION via net and dvd

As a protest against the digital TV oligopoly in Australia - where the many new channels have almost no new local content - we plan to screen our are other programs via dvd and broadband. We have already sold videos to Council libraries and had programs screened on Community TV test broadcasts.

We are seeking public venues to do show our and others programs - though some programs we have made may be "acceptable" to the conservative tastes of community TVS (channel 44) which has failed to respond to our emails in 2010. Broadband transmission looks like a hopeful future direction.

Sens a SAE to our UPE address (see Yellow Pages listing) for a fuller catalogue of our DVD's of programs so far. We are looking for a reasonable aized flatscreen to use for screenings in inner Sydney venues. Of course we also need some transport help to get it to and from those vrenues.


Otherwise email us through our Odd Job Centre website http://unemployedembassy.magix.net - which has a page called "Your TV". Some DVD titles now available for public screenings and sale to Councils and schools for their libraries include:

DVD LIST;

THE PLANES THAT ATE SYDENHAM is our first 30 minute offering - in our Save Our Sydney (SOS) series. SOS originally had a half hour pilot, shown on the first Sydney community television pilots broadcasts. Made in 1995, this movie comes with an A3 size illustrated background leaflet.

WAYSIDE REUNION running about 30 minutes, was shown on Lismore community TV test broadcasts. It covers a  a reunion of people from the late 1960's and early 1970's who were involved with the Kings X icon - then still run by Ted Noffs.  A Question Time format is run in the old Wayside Theatre space - laid out like a cafe. Russell Morris donated his Real Thing song for a Timestream Productions film of the Wayside  Passion Play along Macquarie St - that was screened.

ODD JOB CENTRE (OJC) running over 30 minutes, outlines the founding of the Unemployed Peoples Embassy at 41 Phillip St in the late 1970's, after the OJC was first developed there in 1978. The UPE campaigned to raise tthe income limit on the dole as well as to save the row of historic terraces and the adjacent site of the 1788 Govt House Site under threat of a Sydney City Council road widening. The UPE developed a Learning Co-op - including a music and media workshop. Performances at demos and at the Embassy are shown. Dole News also became a regular publication with some infouence

WORK TEST running about 30 minutes, outlines the UPE struggle against unfair treatment of jobless by the Fraser Govt's Commonwealth Employmrernt Service (CES) leading to a book of the same name. Video reenactments of typical sessions with the Embassy President with a key CES officer is shown. The exposure of compulsory fake job interviews in Dole News and in "Workn Test" the book led to a Fraser Minister ordering the Embassy President to be framed by CES operatives. This probably led to Lib/Lab governments privatising "employment services".

EMBRiO Alternative Festival of Arts - doco and videos of annual events szince 1990.  DVD's still being developed. 

GILLARD KEPT DOLE/AUSTUDY BELOW PENSION - WOULD SHORTEN BE DIFFERENT?

With a supposed unemployment of 5% now considered notionally a full employment rate - the "Labor" government had felt it acceptable to raise the future age pension age to 67. That was purely driven by the fact that the large taxpaying Baby Boomer population is now hoping to retire. Their taxes helped keep many of their their parents alive with new subsidised medicines - and they themselves except to live longer than their grandparents. Though superannuation is failing to fill the life expectancy gap - they will have to wait longer than age 65 if they were born after 1950.By 2013 there was even talk of raising the aged pension to 70 (as it will be 67 before long)

The International Monetory Fund, that is still advocating currently slashing jobs and wages in Europe - is now aiming to link aged pension entitlement to increases in "life expectancy". Of course, few jobs exist for the over 50's, let alone the over 70's. The corporate media like to run the odd story about some someone still working when they are 80 - but that would only be someone who owns their own business. With housing shortages and high rents in main capital cities, epidemics of granny dumping are sure to follow.

Meanwhile, students are being expected to work part time to supplement their meagre Austudy - as well as study full time and do unpaid work "placements".  This is lowering the education standards in Australia and discouraging foreign students to spend expensive $A to come here. America apparently is becoming a better prospect for those international students wishing to learn English language as well as get a degree. Cost of housing for students near the big city based universities is also a big problem.

Students though at least have the option to move to regional universities. The jobless are cut off the dole if they move out of unaffordable cities like Sydney. That supposed "hippie" dole law was brought in by by the the Hawke/Keating Govt - and extended by the Howard Govt. While Labor and Liberal governments now talk about the Baby Boomers moving to the country (tree & sea changers) in their retirement, the jobless won't be able to easily move there to work in service industries the boomers will need there.

As usual, the major political parties are just not thinking beyond the two or three years of the electoral cycle - to prepare for what's coming up over the horizon.     

RUDD'S MAD MONK DOCKET PLAN

PM RUDD IS NOW PINCHING THE CRAZIER IDEAS OF COALITION LEADER TONY ABBOT (KNOWN AS THE MAD MONK)

Legislation is about to be introduced into federal parliament to "quarantine" 50% of the dole and single parent's payments so that it can only be used directly to pay for the necessities of life - such as rent, food and clothing

Of course - there are very few such Centrelink recipients who pay LESS than about three quarters of their meagre dole on private rental (given the lack of public housing. Already the dole is $100 a week less than the pension - while Austudy is $140 less a week.