M P.

I understand the desire to reduce deficits, but privatising everything is not the answer. Been waiting for 6 hours for my MyGov to load my (already registered and utilised) current claim, to no avail. Let's look at the current state of affairs:

1) Digitalising claims for assistance makes sense in theory, but adding more and more red tape to even the simplest request for assistance is just dishonest. Add insult to injury by ensuring that no staff are culpable, or even required to help, and we have the current Libs on fire.

2) Privatising JSPs may save you money, but it's ultimately a rort. Eg my JSP forgets to call in month 2, and when I go back a few months later (for more CL runaround) I'm told 'I' disappeared from existence... I mean, really?!

3) Privatising Health and Disability services may have added a few jobs in low-income areas of Australia, but ultimately removed the responsibility of the government to give a $#*!. I mean seriously, the horror stories I've heard (working in disability myself) are disgusting. All It's citizens are the government of Australia's concern, and their responsibility. There are no exceptions.

4) Removal of Benefits may save a buck in the portfolios of our richest citizens, but in truth, the "trickle-down effect" is (well-documented) BS. Those poor Aussies relying on 1.5 - 2x base pay rate to get by, suffer on many fronts - mathematically; a person with a $20/hour normal rate who works 7hrs, 2 days a week gets the following (incl. 9.5% Super):
2 *******@Normal pay rate: $253.40
1 *******@Normal / 1 day@ 1.5 pay rate: $316.75
1 day@1.5x / 1 *******@2x pay rate: $443.45

So a weekend worker makes an additional $190.05 in net pay per week... Do I need to tell you how much that can buy in an Aussie supermarket nowadays?!

In removing that bonus, the ALP has driven, (once again), our lowest earning Australians to below the poverty line... I mean come on! Whom benefits from that saving of just over $190 per 2 day staff member? Not the Aussie, the student, the new Mum, the close-to-retiree, the jobseeker, but the company. And yes, I get that that can make a difference to an Australian small business, and even reduce their trading hours, but seriously, that's an easy fix (Government assistance to Australian Small Business for weekend trading eg.)

5) Fear of the Future. Of course our miners and natural resources are incredibly important to us. They've supplied us with almost two hundred years of strong economic growth. But the world is running out of these resources as science and the everyman of Australia (ignoring the ignorant naysayers) knows it. We CAN choose to move our economy in new directions. Instead of rehashing the ALP benefactors' beliefs, we can try new approaches... How about offering free retraining to those in the mining industry? Retraining as technicians and engineers in the renewable energy sectors could allay some of the fears of these incredibly resourceful and resilient workers. It won't be an easy transferal for all, but do we want easy, or do we want to save the lives of our children with clean air?

TLDR: All in all, this app is the perfect assistant to terrible social policy that purely benefits only the richer among us. It's slow to do anything, unintuitive, difficult and frustrating. I know we all need to use it (if only to have even a chance at getting $#*! done), and it works, somewhat. And eventually. Just pls don't blame the DoCS staff for it's failures. The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the current government.