Posts tagged unemployment
Summer reading from Power to Persuade / the Women’s Policy Action Tank
Summer reading from Power to Persuade / the Women’s Policy Action Tank

2022 saw a lot of movement in the policy space, including a change in the Federal government and the largest number of independent candidates elected to office. There are many policy-related issues that are currently in flux, as indicated by royal commissions, law suits, the question of Indigenous Voice to Parliament, responses to climate change, continued management of COVID-19 and the economic reset that it caused, inflation, reforming the safety net, and fundamental questions about how government governs and is held accountable.

Read More
Womens Policy Action TankPower to PersuadeLived/consumer experience, Gender Inequity, welfare reform, public health, unemployment
Break the Poverty Machine: the voices of Australia’s poor (part 1)
Break the Poverty Machine: the voices of Australia’s poor (part 1)

Marina is one of nearly 900 000 Australians who are either unemployed or underemployed and who receive either Jobseeker Payment or Youth Allowance. This open letter is to Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Social Services in preparation for an upcoming “raise the rate” protest hosted by the Anti-Poverty Centre and the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Read More
Advocacy, Lived experiencePower to Persuadewelfare-to-work, welfare conditionality, Wealth inequality, Poverty, NDIS, Disability, Disadvantage, employment, unemployment
Solidarity and mutual aid saved my life
Solidarity and mutual aid saved my life

After being punished by hostile welfare and housing systems, a trans welfare recipient reveals how she was able to rebuild her life through the power of queer solidarity and mutual aid. The author, Natalie Feliks, is a writer and activist currently living in Naarm. This post is part of series of articles curated for Power to Persuade by the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, shining a light on people’s experiences of the welfare system.

Read More
Advocacy, Lived experiencePower to Persuadeunemployment, welfare reform, housing and homelessness
Life or Death Choices When Walking the Poverty Line
Life or Death Choices When Walking the Poverty Line

Today’s post is the first of a series of articles curated by the Australian Unemployed Workers Union shining a spotlight on people’s experiences of the welfare system. In the wake of yet another Federal Budget that punishes and starves welfare recipients, a woman living on the Disability Support Pension details the “tightrope of poverty” that she fears will result in her death. This brave and important piece is by Emma Morris, a passionate advocate for disability, LGBTQIA+, and neurodiverse rights as a proud member of each of these communities.

Read More
Advocacy, Lived experiencePower to PersuadeDisability, unemployment, welfare reform
Behind the rosy unemployment rate, the health sector is under strain
Behind the rosy unemployment rate, the health sector is under strain

The most recent unemployment figures show an astounding downturn, to the lowest rates since 2008. Unemployment is but one measure of a healthy economy, however. In today’s analysis, Policy Whisperer Leonora Risse (@Leonora_Risse) examines the incredible strain that has been put upon the health care sector - an industry that is female-dominated and at the heart of the government’s COVID-19 response. Despite this, there has been surprisingly little policy interest in addressing eroding employment conditions.

Read More
Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tankunemployment, employment, health, gender pay gap, Gender Inequity
Finding work after prison: barriers and opportunities for former detainees in the ACT
Finding work after prison: barriers and opportunities for former detainees in the ACT

Over half of the people in Australian prisons have been incarcerated before, which means that interventions to help people stay out of prisons are crucial. If people find employment after they are released, they are less likely to return to prison. Here Dr Caroline Doyle, Dr Sophie Yates, Professor Lorana Bartels, Dr Helen Taylor and Associate Professor Anthony Hopkins discuss their research into the employment experiences of people released from prison in the ACT.

Read More
Advocacy, Creating using evidence, Policy and governancePower to Persuadeprisons, unemployment, recidivism, crime prevention, post-release experience