Measuring something with one's own eyes and ears, and nothing else, is decidedly *not* objective. A minimal understanding of statistics, human psychology and the scientific method should be more than enough to dismiss such a claim.
But to be honest, I'm not even sure what point you're trying to make any more. Are you admitting that now that we're not adequately looking after those with genuine psychiatric needs? And if so, how can we better distinguish between such cases and those collecting disability pensions purely as a form of work avoidance?
And again, I apologise if I implied that dole bludging was no big deal, but the fact that there is a shortage in mental health funding could just as well be treated as a symptom of an insufficient revenue base (i.e., too many tax cuts), or other government money being poorly spent.

If wealthy countries are the ones paying out the most in welfare, then how is this *not* evidence that welfare itself is not necessarily economically damaging? I'm happy to provide evidence for this generalisation, although you can easily find it yourself by looking up the statistics for Scandinavian economies in particular.
Norway is the poster child here - with the higher per capita GDP in the world bar the US, one of the lowest unemployment rates anywhere (<3%), it makes generous and unconditional welfare available to all citizens. Now, there are lots of things that make Norway different to Australia, but if we genuinely wanted and universally agreed to do so, I see little reason why Australia could not maintain a similar system. Accepted, realistically most voters here don't seem to be in favour of such a state of affairs, especially considering the high levels of personal income tax it implies.

The point I am making is the same one I started with, that is, I take exception to the attitude (as exemplified in the article written by Anne Turley & Cath Smith) that attacks Australian society because of the existence of poor people. Their attitude seems to be, that this indicates that something is fundamentally wrong with our society, and with our economy, if significant poverty is present in a wealthy society.

This is the typical attitude of trendy lefties who need to believe that all people are equal, and who’s only explanation for the differences in wealth within societies (or between societies) is that rich people are oppressors, and poor people are victims. This is a view popular among guilt ridden bourgeois Artz grad siblings who have been indoctrinated to think this way by post Marxist academics, who are still sore at the fact that communism failed and capitalism triumphed.

My view of poverty was formulated by being a poor person myself,who saw at first hand what the problem is, and it has nothing to do with being oppressed. It is hardly an indictment on Australian society if we keep importing 30,000 poverty stricken people into this country every year to add to our poverty statistics. It is however, an indictment of your own mindset if you agree with this and want it to continue.

Nor is it an indictment of Australian society that welfare payments are so generous that a significant number of dumb people choose not to work. But it is an indictment of your mindset if you refuse to believe that fact and pretend that it is not a serious problem.

Nor is it an indictment of Australian society that rich people are smart, invest their money, and have self control, while generationally poor people are dumb, and spend everything they have satisfying immediate gratifications because they have poor self control. But it is an indictment of your mindset if you wish to believe in the “oppressor/ victim” Answer For Everything approach instead of understanding reality.

Well, I can't speak for the original authors, but I certainly do not support the "suppressor/victim" mentality, nor am I an Arts grad student, and I am very much a believer in capitalism as a means of wealth-creation.
I fully accept that wealth differences occur because people differ in wealth-creation abilities, either innately, or circumstantially. Indeed, I don't know anyone that genuinely believes all people are equal in their ability to make money.
The issue is whether it makes social and/or economical sense to redistribute some of the wealth created by those born with the ability and into the circumstances that enable it to those who are not so fortunate. As I've already noted, the only truly successful economy with minimal wealth-distribution is the U.S., and I think most Australians with a minimal understanding of the levels of poverty that exist there would much rather we don't head in that direction. Further, there is good reason to believe that this policy will ultimately bankrupt the U.S., if it doesn't lead to another French or Russian-style revolution first.
Hopefully, voters ultimately demand that the US reinstates a decent welfare system at the ballot box, and avert such a crisis.

It does indeed make a lot of sense to redistribute the common wealth to ensure social stability, the problem is, to what degree?

Remembering that social welfare is fantastically expensive, it is simply idiotic to import tens of thousands of poverty stricken people into this country who immediately access a wide range of social aid programs which they have never paid a penny towards it’s upkeep. It is odd that you can claim the ultimate bankruptcy of the US, but are unable to fathom the same thing happening in this country when our welfare bills are already exceeding the capacity to be covered by government revenues.

In my exchanges with you, you have advocated the continued importation of poverty stricken, crime prone and welfare prone ethnic groups, (“until they get on their feet”) and you refuse to acknowledge the harm that this is doing to this country, both economically and politically. It is as if you think that money grows on trees, or that Australia as a “rich” country must aid the people from “poor’ countries who want to barge in here and swear their undying allegiance to Australia’s social security system.

You also refuse to acknowledge that very significant numbers of people in this country prefer to live on welfare rather than go to work. It is just something you do not wish to focus upon because it would not conform to your need to believe that nearly everybody wishes to be “productive, useful citizens.” So you adopt a three monkey approach to widespread and blatant welfare fraud.

You also refuse to acknowledge that the fantastic cost of welfare does not harm our economy. You apparently think that a “rich” countries ability to pay up is limitless, and the capacity for fleecing “rich” people through taxation is the same.

Did you ever read the story of The Golden Goose?

And you are full of ideas about what I apparently think, very few of which are close to the truth.

Give me one iota of evidence that welfare is damaging our economy.

(I can give you an example of restrictive welfare damaging our economy: the Mental Health Council of Australia has reported that ~71% of Australians with mental illnesses are currently out of work largely because of poor and/or excessively restrictive welfare arrangements: http://www.mhca.org.au/documents/Employmentstrategiesfailmentallyill.pdf)

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE IN THE NATIONAL FORUM TO READ hi to all the forgotten australians yes im still here fighting for justice for us victims of the rapes and abuse that we endured at the hands of the goverment employees who worked for the australian goverment run institutions through out every state of australia as they were run by .D,O,C,S,and they are responable for what we suffered, and still are suffering today with , this is a national cry of help where both goverment parties are to blame as it has happend while diffrent goverments were in control of our country , we are supose to be protected by the australian welfare departments and their agencies yet we were not we were victims of the most horriffic crimes against children and neither goverment gives a --uck, as to what happend to us and those that are being subject to the abuse as we read these stories admitt the truth as to what we suffered and stop the cover up and sweeping us under the carpet and throwing our cases out of the court system we are real we are still here and fight not only forour selves but that of those who have past away ,due to being victims as we are,the forgotten australians will no longer be forgotten kind regards micheal