REPRESENTATIVES of Church social justice organisations in Australia have criticised both the Government and Opposition for passing welfare legislation to allow the blanket imposition of compulsory income management in the Northern Territory.
Church organisations including the St Vincent de Paul Society and Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) have opposed the new legislation which they say now discriminates on the basis of class.
The new legislation, passed through Parliament last Tuesday, follows the Government’s stated intention to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) following criticisms of the act’s suspension, which allowed income management and other restrictions under the Northern Territory Intervention.
The decision widens the application of income management to non-indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory and is the first step towards the possible imposition of the scheme across Australia.
St Vincent de Paul Society national council chief executive officer Dr John Falzon said “in passing this degrading legislation the Parliament has turned its back on the fundamental human rights of low-income Australians”.
CSSA executive director Frank Quinlan said on the eve of the legislation being passed that “compulsory income management should not be applied to whole populations or groups of people simply because they live in a particular postcode and receive a particular kind of government benefit”.
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council chairman Bishop Christopher Saunders, recently described the legislation as another form of discrimination “because since the majority of Territorians receiving welfare are indigenous, the policy will continue to impact most heavily on indigenous people as a group”.
Head of the Australian Congregation and Provinces of the Sisters of St Joseph Sr Anne Derwin also expressed concerns in the lead-up to the adoption of the legislation saying it “does not restore the Racial Discrimination Act in a manner that sufficiently protects the rights of Aboriginal people”.
Dr Falzon described the Bill as “a cynical manoeuvre to get around the Racial Discrimination Act”.
“As with its imposition on Aboriginal people on the basis of race it will now be imposed on the basis of class,” he said.
“In both forms it constitutes an invasion of private lives, a denial of dignity, and a removal of self-determination.”
Dr Falzon said the society had always accepted the usefulness of voluntary income management.
“It’s a useful tool when freely chosen and supported with other resources. But to impose it on a compulsory basis translates into an offensive presumption of guilt and incapacity on the part of people who are already doing it tough.
“This policy worsens the social and financial divide in Australia. You can’t build a strong economy on the back of a fractured society.”
Mr Quinlan said the CSSA was concerned about the Government’s lack of consultation over “such sweeping and revolutionary legislation”.
“Catholic Social Services Australia acknowledges income management, especially when voluntary, can be a useful mechanism to help individuals and sometimes whole communities to better manage their limited incomes,” he said.
“Those people identified as needing support must get better access to the services they need to manage their disadvantage.”
Speaking on behalf of 1200 Sisters of St Joseph across Australia, Sr Derwin recently said “we have, in recent times, welcomed the Government’s initiatives in Aboriginal policy, the Apology given to the members of the Stolen Generations, steps taken that begin to Close the Gap in relation to Aboriginal disadvantage, and the announcement of the Government’s intention to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act in relation to the Intervention legislation”.
“The Racial Discrimination Act requires that legislation does not negatively impact on a particular group of people identifiable by race, and should this occur, the measures involved must necessarily be for the wellbeing of the people affected, appropriate for the intended purpose, and have the informed consent of those affected by the measures,” Sr Derwin said.
“Significant parts of the current legislation don’t appear to meet those criteria.”
Income management for welfare recipients in the Northern Territory is planned to take effect from August.
The Government announced late last year it would reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) in the Northern Territory in 2010. This followed criticism by the United Nations.
RDA provisions were suspended by the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) legislation implemented by the Howard Government in August 2007.
