500 signatures reached
To: Derryn Hinch, Senator
Work for the Dole is dangerous. Stop the government’s plan to expand it.
Senator Hinch, we need you to take a stand against the Coalition's plan to expand Work for the Dole.
Work for the Dole is dangerous. Between 2014 and 2016, Work for the Dole injuries increased five times. Josh Park-Fing tragically died at his Work for the Dole site in 2016. Even the government's own reports admit that the majority of Work for the Dole sites are unsafe and that the program does not help people into work.
Yet the Government's Welfare Reform Bill proposes to expand Work for the Dole significantly, forcing hundreds of thousands of unemployed Australians to attend these dangerous sites for longer. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
Senator Hinch you now hold the balance of power in the Senate. You have the power to prevent more unemployed Australians being put at risk at Work for the Dole.
Vote down the Welfare Reform Bill when it comes before the Senate Next month.
Why is this important?
Under the government's Welfare Reform Bill, all unemployed workers aged 30 and over will have their Work for the Dole requirements increased by at least 50%.
Unemployed Australians aged between 30 and 49 (approximately 300,000 people) will have their Work for the Dole requirements increased from 30 hours per fortnight to 50.
Unemployed aged 50-59 will have to attend 30 hours of activities per fortnight (up from 15), while unemployed aged 60 and over will for the first time have to attend 10 hours at an activity per fortnight (previously zero).
Focusing just on the 30-49 age bracket, this Bill will force unemployed Australians to attend 6 million more hours at a Work for the Dole activity each year.
A government-commissioned report admitted that 64% of sites do not meet basic safety standards, while another report stated that Work for the Dole helps only 2% of participants into work.
We have already lost one life due to Work for the Dole. Last year, Josh Park-Fing was forced to ride on a flat bed trailer being pulled by a tractor at his Work for the Dole site. He fell off and tragically died. The Queensland State Government is taking legal action against the Work for the Dole site, supervisor and job agency.
Why is the government refusing to learn the lessons from Josh's death?
The government cannot guarantee the safety of unemployed Australians at Work for the Dole, yet is expanding the program. This is a national disgrace.
Senator Hinch has the power to stop the Welfare Reform Bill. Send him a messaging telling him why.