Summary: This week, the Federal Government turns its attention to people with a disability, and not in a good way. The Australian Government gets into the disappearing people business. And we dig into the political history vault to create havoc on the ABC board. The Focus Group So much to destroy, so little time Federal Government cuts dementia and severe behaviours supplement, paid to providers of care for people with severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. McClure review suggests Mentally ill people could be targeted as one of the groups to become ineligible for the disability support pension (DSP). Daily Tele responds with bizarre headline “beating the bludgers will help the disabled” with the most confusing opening you can imagine: VERBALLY bashing disability support pensioners as an army of bludgers and shirkers has become a national sport with painful consequences for deserving recipients. Families with disabled children who rely on the DSP don’t need a “tough love” cure. They need people to stop suggesting their kids are bludgers when they have, in many cases, struggled every day of their lives. Endless debate about reducing payments or changing the system has provoked enormous anxiety for these families. It’s a reason why many will applaud welfare expert Patrick McClure’s call today for the current system to be effectively abolished in favour of a scheme that covers only the permanently and seriously disabled. In a report to be released today, McClure will propose a new system that reserves the DSP for adults with no capacity for work. It would involve kicking hundreds of thousands of Australians off the existing DSP system. But they would not be left without support. Instead, they would secure a working-age payment and support for getting back into the workforce when they are ready. Weirdly, employers not leaping to employ disabled people. Fairfax runs story about young, accomplished deaf woman who worked in Hockey’s office but still can’t get a permanent job ABC forced to cut disability news and opinion website Ramp Up. Kevin Andrews tells the blot sponsored hour he’s considering income management for young dole recipients because nanny states are bad. Chris Graham at New Matilda points out that this is only new for white Australians. Kevin then tells job seekers to convince employers to pay them by offering to work for free Lib MPs calling for RET to be cut despite their own evidence that it would increase energy prices. Abbott continues to tell stupid lies like that renewable energy is driving up power prices “very significantly” and fostering Australia’s reputation as “the unaffordable energy capital of the world”. Libs to strip environmental charities of tax-exempt status. Also this week Jeremy discovered donations to the IPA have tax-exempt status. As of Tuesday, Brandis has silenced CLC’s ability to advocate on policy Carbon tax repeal to cost 100 jobs at Hydro Tasmania Eric Abetz, fighting hard to slash the pay of the low-paid cleaners in his office to the award, and faced with the Senate passing an amendment to his bill to do just that, revokes the regulations and pulls victory from defeat. Govt removing references to climate change on every website and publication it controls Dodgy finance changes quietly snuck through by finance minister Mathias Cormann, to make it easier for shonky financial institutions to trick customers into financial products that are not in their interests. The Commonwealth Bank, for example, which gave the Coalition $56,000 before the election, demanded those regulations be removed. Coincidentally, in a week where the Commonwealth Bank was under extreme pressure to compensate clients damaged by its shonky schemes, the government was in its corner opposing calls for a Royal Commission into it. Ben Eltham in New Matilda points out that “It’s A Great Time To Be A Corporate Crook In Austr
