Welfare Reform Bill 2009 (On the President's Desk)

[afleitch]

Some background for this bill.

From the 4th Senate to the 28th Atlasia had a Welfare Reform Act which was modified in the 12th Senate by Senator DaveHawk (and introduced by the current PPT who was also then PPT ) It essentially outlined welfare qualifications.

Although wiki was not updated, the Dependent Child and Income Tax Credit Act repealed the act and replaced it with a bill that replaced welfare provisions with with a simple flat tax credit. It offered no incentive to work or conditions under which welfare could be claimed and removed funding for training, learning and development - the basics of helping people find work. I believe given the current climate and given the funding we may make avaliable through the stimulus bill, we should re-instate the previous legislation and it's conditions. I have also added a role for the third sector in helping people find work.

I am more than willing to support amendments.

[afleitch]

How would 20 hours of job searching and interviews possibly be enforced, anywho?

That's for the Senate to consider I had considered tweaking this myself but opted to retain the level last agreed by the Senate as a starting point.

[afleitch]

I'd like the community service provision removed entirely, to be honest.

I assume that would still retain the requirement to essentially look for a job and/or undertake vocational training?

[afleitch]

Ah.. What type of benefits are talking here and how much would those benefits be?

I support Tmth's amendment. 20 hrs of searching for work is nearly impossible and you forget that it costs money to go out and physically search for a job. Five hours is much more reasonable but I think it a Quantitative measure of how many places you apply to would be more enforcable then a Time requirement.

You're quite right. IIRC the debate around the issue of 'how long' treated time as 'bankable' so that if you did go down the vocational route you got x hours of training. This of course would assume that 1 hour of job hunting = 1 hour of vocational training, which it does not. Perhaps the high number of hours was to encourage more people to take up vocational training (?) but if you're miles away from the centre and you've got kids or dependents that will eat up your time.

[afleitch]

This bill is a trainwreck.

There are certainly problems with Section 3 but that was apparent even to me when the bill was proposed. The bill is what we had in existance through to the 28th Senate; it's been revived and is now up for debate and amendment.

What do you think our welfare policy should be, during a time of recession given that we have none?

[afleitch]

I oppose this bill in its entirety.  Given the current recession, this is a very difficult time to be job searching.  It may take longer than 2 years for an unemployed person to find a job, in the current environment.  And felons, after being released from prison, have an extremely difficult time finding work.  I don't want to see homelessness being caused by laws passed by this body.

At present there is no welfare policy. We simply give handouts. There is no option of state assisted learning or training or even upaid voluntary work that can be unhdertaken while in recipt of benefits. The current law offers no assistance other than a welfare cheque.

[afleitch]

Section 3 should simply say that they must apply for a certain number of jobs a month or apply for vocational training to be eligible should they be able-bodied.

Well, in some places, you can't apply for jobs, since there is no avaliable jobs!

True; which is why vocational training should be offered alongside job hunting to allow for a trade or a skill to be learned while unemployed.

[afleitch]

Section 3 should simply say that they must apply for a certain number of jobs a month or apply for vocational training to be eligible should they be able-bodied.

Well, in some places, you can't apply for jobs, since there is no avaliable jobs!

True; which is why vocational training should be offered alongside job hunting to allow for a trade or a skill to be learned while unemployed.

This is really the first recession in years that has affected all sectors of the economy as such getting a trade or skill would not guarrentee people employement.

For now I will support Marokai's amendment.

I am willing to scrap Section 3 if it helps retain and move forward the rest of this bill.

[afleitch]

Abstain.

I'm personally happy with it, but I can see the direction were are headed is for less than 15 hours

[afleitch]

This is fun; Abstain for now.

[afleitch]

Aye

[afleitch]

Aye

[afleitch]

After much thought, I must unfortunately VETO this piece of legislation. I believe that it unfairly stigmatizes unemployment and hardship, and some of the measures, specifically the requirement to do volunteer service, make the unemployed or those Atlasians who have fallen on to hard times into criminals. Nonetheless, there are parts of this bill I support, and, if my veto is not overridden, I'd encourage and would be willing to work with the Senate on passing a bill that increases funding for vocational training programs, as I believe that is very important. I hope the Senate understands my reasons for this veto.

I hope that the President is aware that vetoing this bill does nothing to help establish a workable welfare policy and encourage people to find jobs. We have no welfare policy. I also strongly object to his notion that 'voluntary work' makes the unemployed 'like criminals'; such a comparison is greatly offensive to the thousands if not millions of employed and unemployed Atlasians who undertake voluntary work for the benefit of their families and their communities.

To give the unemployed the chance to do something is important for their dignity. At present (as the longstanding Welfare Bill this legislation was based on was overturned) they are simply given handouts. There are no opportunities for work. No opportunities for training. The state, legislatively does nothing for them other than give them a cheque and hope they fend for themselves.

The President has, will all due respect just left the unemployed and those looking for work at the mercy of the market.