Welfare quarantining

If we are prepared to tolerate income management for people receiving welfare benefits, why shouldn’t the Government step in to manage the income of all Australians?

Expanding income management across the country will demonise more people on the basis of dodgy evidence.

The controversial measure, introduced in 2007 as part of the Federal Government's intervention into the Northern Territory, was yesterday extended to low socio-economic groups across the country.

Welfare quarantining dictates that at least 50 per cent of welfare payments are spent on necessities, such as food, clothing and rent.

Continuing concerns about the Northern Territory Emergency Response

You might have heard Macklin has announced today that welfare quarantining will be applied to all those on income support in the Northern Territory shortly, with the rest of the nation to follow at an unspecified time thereafter.

Two bills were introduced Wednesday 25th November 2009 (today).

Extending income management to all welfare recipients in the Northern Territory will disproportionately and adversely affect Aboriginal people in Northern Territory.

It seems that the mooted idea that compulsory income management could be made a special measure under the Racial Discrimination Act, has been discarded by the Government as indefensible.

The Government is now proposing changes to compulsory income management in the Northern Territory from 1 July next year.

The Government will, end the suspension of the Race Discrimination Act but, by targeting low-income and disadvantaged people, these measures will still disproportionately and adversely affect Aboriginal people, who are over-represented in these groups.


Many more Aboriginal people who lived outside the original 73 prescribed communities of the NT will be affected for the first time.

A New Day for Noongar Native Title?

I decided to start a new blog site yesterday on hearing the news that the WA Cabinet has decided to discontinue its challenge to Noongar Native Title. As I commented to one media outlet this morning:

"This is terrific news for the Noongar people and an historic turning point in government policy," the convenor of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation in WA, Stephen Hall, said today.

"It has been a great irony that the WA Government has recognised Noongar people as the traditional custodians of Perth and the South-West in many public ceremonies and yet failed to acknowledge their possible native title rights.

"We look forward to the outcomes of these negotiations."

this is an important first step in the right direction; as there is still a long way to go in reaching a just and proper settlement.

this essentially puts the process back to where Willcox left it in 2006, when he said in closing that the best way to proceed would be to negotiate rather than appeal and litigate.