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The Welfare Declaration

Keith Davis reports that the March Australia NATIONAL WELFARE MARCH in July intends to do nothing less than change the social welfare landscape of this Nation. So far Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and a number of regional centres are joining together to march for social justice for the disadvantaged citizens of this country. This ‘peoples’ movement’ is taking square aim at the regressive social welfare policies of the Abbott Government. We believe that welfare payments are there to support the poor, the homeless, the disadvantaged, and the unemployed, and we do not believe that the rich and the corporations deserve any sort of access to tax-break welfare payments. In July, ONE MARCH can have the power to sway a Nation!” or bits of that thereof …

We Are Marching For Social Justice and Our Aims Are Very Clear. We Will Not Be Distracted From Our Cause.

We Intend to Change The Social Welfare Landscape Of This Nation!

The days of hoping for others to do it for us are over. The days of simply waiting for social justice to come our way are coming to an end.

The days of our public humiliation are about to be swept aside.

No longer will our voices be ignored. No longer will we be ground down by the poverty that has been forced upon us.

No more will we accept the judgement and demonization sent our way by the self appointed political and social upper classes of this nation.

We are taking to the streets. We are building our barricades against unfairness. We are pushing back against the tide of ridicule and suppression.

We are re-claiming our power.

We are not your serfs. We are not your servants. We will not be constrained by your oppression, your judgements, or your ridicule.

We are not animals and no more will we allow ourselves to be confined within the corrals of your Jobnetworks. We will use every means at our disposal to close down your punitive gulags.

We are not slaves. We are not convicts. We will not submit to the chains and shackles of your Work for the Dole. We will not allow you to brutally exploit our labour.

Our homeless are not scum. Our sole parents are not bludgers. Our pensioners are not invisible discards. And our disadvantaged are not blights on your social landscape.

Our unemployed are not Newstart Criminals. Our disabled are not an embarrassment. Our mental health sufferers are not cannon fodder for your funding cuts.

Our Aboriginal brothers and sisters on welfare are not targets for your quarantining experiments.

Our razor wired Asylum Seekers are not your political prisoners.

So we are taking to the streets.

So we are taking you on.

We will picket your Centrelinks.

We will force you to raise Newstart and other benefits above the poverty line.

We will demand our right to live with dignity.

We will demand a Basic Income Guarantee for all.

We will stop the unfair judgement and demonization of all Welfare Recipients.

We will demand that you withdraw welfare payments from the corporations and the rich.

We will demand that you stop attacking the poor.

So we are taking to the streets. We are building our barricades.

And to you, the Government of this land, we say this …

YOUR DAYS OF UNFETTERED POWER ARE OVER!

16 comments

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  1. oldwoman

    BOTH HANDS CLAPPING!

  2. David

    Wow that is big!!

  3. Andrew

    I believe in a living wage as in the Nordic states and many African countries, however, we as a political class believe in punishment and stopping the ‘rorting’ of a system. The problem is that our media blithely back the political class and focus on the less than 1% that rort the system, instead of making the people relying on the system to live in dignity.

    While the political class has privilege and does not experience the difficulties faced by the less well off or the poverty stricken, and focuses solely on the ‘economic’, and not on the social costs of welfare nothing will change. I like the idea, but, history shows that all revolutions fail regardless of there ‘bloodiness’. Those that lead and supersede the previous ruling class become the new suppressors of another class or the same repressed class, in the long run.

    Our democracy is close to breaking or is now broken, and without a total rewrite and change in focus the status quo will continue and will lead to a revolution. I live on hope the major parties will change and become more progressive, but, will more than likely die in despair.

  4. Kenneth McGrath

    goodonya, more power to you 🙂

  5. Loz

    More clapping!

  6. Candace Wirth

    🙂 🙂 🙂

  7. Deidre Zanker

    Don’t be surprised if Abbott makes protests and demonstrations illegal with threat of arrest and a jail sentence. LETS HOPE FOR HUGE CROWDS IN EVERY CITY.

  8. Michael Taylor

    Jam, you’ve clearly overstayed your welcome. Go troll elsewhere.

  9. Andres Bimba

    Forget Centrelink, the desperate will be crawling over the police and the barricades to process their forms as they’ve been well trained by the system to pass any obstacle. Why not go to the heart of the matter which I would think is the Business Council of Australia, the Minerals Council of Australia, the Institute of Public Affairs, the board rooms of the big banks, superannuation providers, coal mining, fracked gas, coal fired electricity, the corrupt mass media, big pharma, the offices of Canberra lobbyists ……………. you get the idea and the corrupt main political party headquarters? Take your pick and please nothing violent as they’re ready for that, just a big, long and colourful sit down/camp out that would take the police weeks to clear and re clear and re clear and ………

    I fear the at the next election the mass media programmed electoral sheep will at most vote for Shorty and neo-liberalism will just march on with team B so yes something needs to move to catch the attention of the sheep, sorry I meant electorate.

  10. stephentardrew

    I will be there.

    Please send pajama child too the depths of his ignorance.

  11. MarkH

    This is far too close to home for me. I don’t need a weilder of a big political stick breathing down my neck to remind me to ‘get off benefits’….what I need is logistical support to skill up and attempt to make and build my own options to deal with my unemployment.
    It’s sickening that the only employment generation public policy from this government is funnelling Treasury cash to the top hoping it will trickle down to investment in workers….well no I think they should paying their fair of taxes to build better public services so those already working can help build jobs by spending their hard earned…rather than being forced, out of economic fear mongering into saving.

    THAT’S how to generate jobs. If there are no jobs for a growing unemployed no amount of ‘targeting’ them will get them work!!

  12. silkworm

    Don’t march in your jammies!

  13. David Bruce

    Why should a minority of individuals inherit the mineral and other environmental resources of this nation? Why didn’t our political leaders have the courage to do what was done in Norway, with their North Sea oil assets? Do we have third generation public servants operating in Canberra, to the detriment of ALL Australians? I can see why Western Australia, and North Queensland talk about secession from time to time! We seem to have a formal and informal system operating here in Australia, but not in best the interests of the citizens of Australia, original nor boat people?

  14. Brett

    In other news, turnout to the Welfare March was far less than expected and a dismal failure after participants deemed it too much work to get off their couches.

  15. Olivia Manor

    Well said. Let the movement start!

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