By Bob Rafto
If Labor was fair dinkum about a fair go for all, they would have announced policy for an increase in Newstart, and an increase in benefits for single mums. By not doing so, Labor indicates that it has neo-con tendencies of putting the boot into the less fortunate.
Unions and government do their best to look after workers but when it comes to the ‘unemployed’ worker, government continually puts the boot in and in a condescending way that they are belittled in the community to the extent that the community is apathetic to the unemployed workers given benefits below the poverty line.
Perhaps if the government increased Newstart, amazing things might happen like a boost to the economy, perhaps leading to more jobs being created.
One would think most of the unemployed would be a natural Labor base, so why is Labor giving them the finger? And that’s almost 1 million unemployed. Is Labor so cocky about the upcoming election it can afford to lose 1 million votes?
What if the LNP announces a substantial increase to Newstart? That would allow them to crow about how nice they are to the unemployed and that Labor cannot be trusted to give a fair go to all Australians.
Would the 1 million unemployed vote for the LNP? My guess is yes. Would it be enough to swing an election? That I don’t know.
Mum is a very endearing word: single mum gets translated as welfare trash. A mum is a mum single or not, both bear the same responsibilities of motherhood, yet the Gillard government saw fit to cut single mums benefits and the few single mums that I met online told me outright that they weren’t voting for Labor. Along with the unemployed workers, Labor is not giving single mums a fair go it is giving them the finger.
Labor is not Labor until it gives the unfortunate a ‘fair go’.
Labor is not Labor until legislation is enacted that prevents multinationals for using foreign loans and intellectual property as tax deductions and to start taxing companies for profits made in Australia.
The multiple billions in tax evasions every year is one reason for all the inequality, once this is reined in there would be more money for health, education and for the less fortunate in our society.
Time Labor became Labor.
