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| Issue No 62 |  |
14 July 2000 |
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NewsNewman! Minister Dumps on Staff for GST
Centrelink workers are demanding a public apology from Family & Community Services Minister Jocelyn Newman after she blamed them for the impact of the GST on welfare recipients.
The Minister this week blamed Centrelink staff for reduced payments in response to claims that welfare recipients were worse off under the GST. CPSU Community Services Section Secretary, Mr Mark Gepp says it's an outrageous act and that the union had been inundated with complaints since the comments were reported. "Minister Newman should publicly apologise to all Centrelink workers immediately," Gepp says. "The Minister knows that Centrelink staff have absolutely no say in policy matters and in the setting of payment rates. "These are matters that are solely the domain of the Federal Government. Centrelink workers implement the law, they do not make it!" Mr Gepp said. "Centrelink staff work extremely hard to deliver services to some of the most needy people in this country. They ought to be congratulated by the Government for their efforts. Instead, all the Government and the Minister does is criticise them and cuts their resources. " The union also questioned the timing of the attack by the Government on Centrelink. "We wonder what the Minister's real motives are here, especially as we are on the eve of the release of the Government's Welfare Reform report. After all, Minister Newman has already presided over the sacking of 5000 Centrelink workers".
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   Interview: Fair TraderAMWU boss Doug Cameron is gearing for a showdown with the ALP over their free trade agenda. But what's he really on about? Politics: Free TraderTrade Minister Peter Cook states his case for coninuting trade liberalisation and why the 'fair trade' agenda is against the interests of Australian workers. History: Organising - Fifties StyleWhat do the new wave of organisers do? Pretty much the same hard slog that Audrey Petrie did in the 1950s around Sydney for the Hotel, Club and Restaurant Union (HCRU). Unions: The WhistleblowerA lone Chinese seafarer is fighting to stop a Panamanian flagged vessel from dumping toxic waste into Australian waters International: Jakarta BreakthroughIndonesian workers have just won a new historic bill of rights which gaurantees them legal protections when they form unions. Solidarity: Rio Versus the Rest of the WorldUnion members around the world have taken part in a week of international action against the mining giant Rio Tinto. Andrew Casey looks at all the hot spots. Satire: Amnesty Branch Targets Lazy Letter WriterPolice are investigating claims that the Glebe branch of Amnesty International has captured and tortured a member whose tardiness in letter writing had become renowned. Review: Little by LittleClinton Walker's groundbreaking book, CD and video charts the careers of indigenous artists like the legendary Jimmy Little.
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