Excellent article, and an area that needs addressing ASAP.

Just as an aside - can someone either:
a) Give grputland his own unique forum so he stops bugging us OR
b) Slap him upside the head with a fish, again so he stops bugging us

Getting a little tired of him popping up with the same old drivel...

Totally agree

Money that could be directed at where it is better needed but isn't, is due to the mismanagement of other areas of welfare payments, all designed to impact favourably on the statistics quoted by the ministers each month, which like so many items addressed by this feckless government, are just plain lies.

Perhaps the most blatant example is the statement yesterday of “40,000 new jobs filled in March”

More lies. Only 8 hours work by either a willing job applicant or a 'dole bludger' registers as being in full employment Just 8 hours. Historically, that means that anyone who works for one day only is for Commonwealth Government statistical purposes, off the unemployment list and becomes a positive statistic, touted in front of the cameras.

Now that is fiddling the books. In other words, it says to the naive public 'we are brilliant at finding work for voters who are all out earning money, paying taxes, supporting happy families' and whatever else makes a headline.

It doesn’t mention that employers are offered substantial incentives by the government for keeping an employee off the dole queue, for some form of training, transport assistance to and from the workplace, specialist equipment and even work clothes if required. What are we running in Australia? Someone has to pay for all these excessive Federal ‘feel-good’ gestures.
But it does make the statistics look good.The fact that they are lies seems to be irrelevant.
We’’ll worry about that next month.

Another injustice is between an aged Australian pensioner after paying taxes for 60 years receiving $16,068 yearly when compared to an illegal boat person receiving $56,000. It is just so hard to justify these variations unless you consider, yes, statistics and how they look each month.

Sadly Naomi, we are shackled to a government that is all front, spin, no depth and totally preoccupied with staying in power. Your situation is much less visible to the spinners, therefore media, so you receive little consideration at all.

No one really cares.

Dear "rational-debate",

If I am not mistaken, you are the first person who has expressed disagreement with my contention (http://is.gd/grp_s82) that tax-collection costs violate s.82 of the Constitution.

No one has yet offered any criticism of the reasoning behind that contention.

(1) I have had a lot to do with Rehabs over the years. I even ran one in the early eighties as Senior Counsellor / Assistant Administrator. ( with my brand new Corona, the administrator had a Corolla !new of course ! Wow ! ) This was at Jodaro Aboriginal Hostel and run by Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Alcohol Services. ( QAIAS ). Like all Indigenous Specific Services there was and is, almost unlimited government funding available. And taken advantage of. But no-one was giving up the grog ! So to keep the “Gravy Train” rolling, the Rehab had to be seen to be delivering some sort of “outcome” So, some-one came up with the brilliant idea of offering ( and delivering, still ! ) a Disability Support Pension to the clients as a strategy and incentive to attract and to keep people there ! This was, is, also occurring at Namitjara Haven in Lismore as well as Benelong Haven at Kempsey. Both Indigenous Specific rehabs in NSW. And over Many Years ! So what we have is, Many Thousands of Aboriginal people on D.S.Ps for nothing more that Alcohol Abuse ! Yet in general good health ! Just won't give the grog up ! Pissed and partying every pension day curtsey of the Australian government ! An issue not discussed in the public domain. Nor will it Ever Be. Because of “Political Correctness” And the Aboriginal Victim Industry ( AVI ) would refer to it as “Attacking the Victims” Victims of Colonisation, and of course, Dispossession ! What a Good Lurk ! I can tell you what it is worth these days as I am on it ! ( DSP ) $700 a Fortnight ! Much better than the Dole ! With More Sympathy ! And Support ! ( if you're Aboriginal that is ! )
Arthur. Bell. ( Aboriginal ! )www.whitc.info

(2) But please don't attack me of expect me to give up my pension as I have hereditary, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( COPD ) and at 62, have almost died a few times ( about 40 ! ) already ! Including being in a coma for a week and not expected to live. ( so there ! )
Arthur. Bell. ( Aboriginal ! ) www.whitc.info

Why do you feel the need to help justify Tony Abbott's intention to squeeze the bottom end of the economy to finance a 1% reduction in company tax?

Why don't you grow a pair and take on a fight that matters?

Is it ok that corporate tax evaders steal billions every year?

Why are so many highly profitable so called "free market capitalists" taking billions in public money every year? (Australian fossil fuel industry alone took $10billion last year)

Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor!