Defining the "Essentials" of Living

Week two of the Poverty course, and the pre-lecture discussion this week is about what things we would consider to be everyday essentials for everyone. We’ve gone through some items from the Australian Living Standards Survey (ALSS), 2017, Poverty and Exclusion in Modern Australia (PEMA) Survey, 2010 and as a comparison the Hong Kong Measuring Poverty and Social Exclusion Questionnaire, 2011 and…

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We'll have our own committee #LeftBehindCommittee

With hookers and blackjack, because we don’t discriminate against sex workers and some of us are quite the card counters. I try to stick to gambling with virtual money, such as in Red Dead or GTA, as I’m sure I could fall down that addictive rabbit hold if I had the chance. Oh, the Budget is coming up fast, 12 days to go! Today, the Australian Unemployed Workers Union launched our response to…

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Why should we care about poverty?

So I started a short course last night – “Understanding Poverty, Inequality and Social Disadvantage in Australia“. My fees were paid for by AUWU, which was sweet of them, and will help put me on the same page as all the not for profits and their staff doing and writing the course when I’m posting for Nobody Deserves Poverty. Last night’s lecture was a lot of background theory and definitions, I…

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You can do it Jim, you can lift millions out of poverty this budget. I believe in you?

Ahh, Jimmy Jim Jim Jim Jim Jim, Muppet Treasure Island is such a amazing adaptation on the classic novel – pirates, romance, travel and song. Jim here is the kid, wishing for a better live beyond poverty and servitude, taking a risky opportunity to escape that and sail the seven seas. Pirating is different these days in Australia, as a country we became quite adept at it before streaming…

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National JobSeeker Week Of Action Targets Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth ‘No One Left Behind’ Must Include People In Poverty

National Week of Action (April 15-21): Grassroots anti-poverty groups and people on JobSeeker and other payments will be contacting and visiting their MPs to call for payments to be raised out of poverty in the May federal budget Grassroots anti-poverty groups across the country, including Anti-Poverty Network SA, Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union, Antipoverty Centre, and Anti-Poverty Network…

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Five weeks til the Budget, are you drying to dash our hopes already Jim?

Jim Chalmers’ Trolley Problem It’s five weeks until Jim Chalmer’s hands down the budget that Labor will likely try to ride into the next election. “Cost of living” is the buzz phrase still, and he and his colleagues are drip feeding us what to expect, and also what NOT to expect. This week Jimmy made sure to play down any hopes for anything significant for those on welfare. We’ll likely see a…

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Welfare Dependency is a Good Thing, Actually

Yeah, The Poors are cranky again, this time because a “think tank” has decided there’s too many of us on welfare and that it’s a bad thing. They also decided that the NDIS is welfare and double counted people on that and on support payments like the disability support pension and Job Seeker, so aside from their numbers being dodgy, they seem to think that people on the NDIS are the ones suckling…

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Greens MP boosts Lake Macquarie City Council candidates

Greens MP boosts Lake Macquarie City Council candidates Lake Macquarie Greens have launched environmental activist and campaigner Bryce Ham as candidate for North Ward of Lake Macquarie City Council along with veteran Greens campaigner Jane Oakley as candidate for East Ward, who has long advocated for improved pedestrian safety across Lake Macquarie neighbourhoods. Their campaign for Council…

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Let's look at the Draft National Autism Strategy

So it was Autism whatever day yesterday, so the government got to announce what they’re gonna try to do to make sure there’s no immediate Autistic Uprising. One of those things in Australia was announcing the Draft National Autism Strategy, which I’m going to read through and react to here. Before I read it, what do I want? Timely, affordable assessment and diagnosis of Autism and related…

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March Munchies

Another month has gone, hey? Easter’s already happened, and it’s April. Mornings are getting cooler which is lovely, but the days are still high 20s. So let’s see what snacks I’ve been getting into from the foodbank shelves. Been enjoying the vibe of this brewed lemonade, a nice little fizz for up to $1 a can. Treated myself to buying my own hot cross buns for the long weekend, but got some…

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Slow March

March has been far from slow, it’s the 26th already, Easter is this weekend, but at least the nights are cooling down and I can snuggle up after dark. Oranges have been nice, which is fortunate since after the flood of granny smiths dried out, I’m eating an orange a day to get through my foodbank acquisitions, and of course to have a yummy snack to combat any dizziness or shakeyness my body…

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Let's talk the price of Spam

Yeah, the actual tinned Spam, not email clutter. I know you guys love my “tales from the Foodbank” and I was almost thought I was gonna get a score when I saw there was actual Spam at the foodbank this morning. My partner’s gotten keen on it since we got some I think it a Xmas hamper. So I’ve been getting the $2.99 Aldi tinned Spiced Ham, also proudly made in the USA like the original Hormel. I…

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Welfare is going up a dollar a day from March 20

Well, 96 cents if you’re on Jobseeker. Personally my pension indexation is $1.05 a day. That certainly won’t make any impact whatsoever when it starts getting indexed from Thursday (March 20). And don’t worry, Rent Assistance will only be going up about $1.50/week so it won’t help at all with this year’s rent increases. We saw news articles last week where people are suddenly realising that…

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Grannies Targeted - Supermarket Pricing, Write-offs and what lands on my Kitchen Table

I love granny smith apples. Always have. Would only eat them as a kid, refusing anything red, occasionally trying a golden delicious. Too tart for many, they’re so crunchy and perfect for this lemon lover. This is why allegations that Coles has been marking up their Granny Smiths more than other apples troubled me, but also made sense, given how many I’ve gotten free from foodbanks the past few…

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Feb Foodbank Finds

Got my Corolla back on the road, so now I can get back to the local food pantry through the week when it’s open (Mon and Wed mornings) and the Friday OzHarvest bag collection for my sister and whatever else I get my hands on there. As always, best befores vary, with this cereal being quite acceptable and the diet coke that was more than a year past not being so flash. Try to get noodles and…

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The Yard Brewery and Smokehouse, Morriset

There’s been really inconsistent weather this summer, between super hot days and being rained out for a week, so when Bruce’s son is staying with us for a few days for work it sucks when they can’t really get much done. Instead, while it rained out Tuesday, Bruce took us to The Yard Brewery and Smokehouse in the industrial area at Morriset for lunch and a few drinks for the boys. We got there at…

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SENATE INQUIRY INTO POVERTY - FINAL REPORT TABLED Senate committee majority report calls for government take urgent action on the national poverty crisis, including a raft of recommendations to reform social security

In great news, the Senate Inquiry into Poverty agreed on 14 recommendations. But the primary recommendation – to consider the adequacy of the income support system – does not go far enough. We know what must be done – significantly raise the rate of ALL income support payments. pic.twitter.com/BK2V0j7Oam — Janet Rice (@janet_rice) February 28, 2024 From Senator Janet Rice 28/02/24 The Senate…

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