Hi Everyone,
As some of you are probably aware I went down to Melbourne to appear as a witness for the Senate Inquiry into ParentsNext.
As part of this trip I also delivered our petition to two MPs; GREENS Senator Siewert and LABOR Senator Watt.
During the petition delivery I had support from the amazing writer and advocate Rozzie Chia, the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union rep Alexander North, National Council of Single Mothers and their Children CEO Terese Edwards, Australian Council of Social Service rep Peter Davidson, Council of Single Mothers and their Children CEO Jenny Davidson.
Both events went well. I am attaching a link to the video of the petition delivery to this update, and will include some other links below.
This is what I said when delivering the petition:
“I started this campaign because access to social security in Australia is not a privilege it is a human right. The ParentsNext program as it currently operates is incompatiable with human rights. ParentsNext endangers the lives of women and children. ParentsNext must be made voluntary. The Australian Government must remember its legal obligations to single parents and their children. I am proud to deliver this petition today. Thank you to everyone who signed it. We stand together”
If you’d like to support single mothers further to this petition please follow this link https://www.csmc.org.au/newsletter-signup/
Some media:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/27/parentsnext-welfare-program-breaches-human-rights-inquiry-hears
https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/02/28/parentsnext-senate-inquiry/
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/parentsnext-breaches-australia-s-human-rights-obligations-inquiry-told-20190227-p510kp.html
If you’d like to read my whole speech and indeed the whole Inquiry the link is here:
Thank you to everyone who has signed this petition and who has supported me and this campaign. The fight isn't over, please keep pushing this petition. Senator Siewert has agreed to table the petition in Parliament so the more signatures we have the more power we wield.
Ella.