Should it be mandatory for politicians to spend time ‘walking in the shoes’ of the most vulnerable in our community? I don’t mean when they first enter parliament, but in the weeks – if not months – leading up to the announcement of a State or Federal budget.
I ask the question following the Federal Government’s proposal to impose a six-month waiting period on young people accessing welfare.
While I don’t expect the suggestion to be taken seriously – although Anglicare would welcome an opportunity to host these ‘meet and greet’ sessions – I’m not sure that all of our politicians understand the consequences that result from their policy decisions. In some cases, these decisions can have catastrophic outcomes for the people who are least able to protect themselves.
Rebecca Scott, the co-founder and chief executive of Streat, a wonderful social enterprise-based cafe on Racecourse Road in Flemington, has expressed concern about the anticipated surge in demand from young people looking for a job when their meagre government support dries up.
Like so many in her industry, she knows that most of these kids will be turned away from ventures like hers.
It’s hard not to get the feeling that our vulnerable young are little more than statistics on a spreadsheet about community profit and loss. In the Government’s eyes at least, the policy is fiscally responsible. But for those of us in the welfare sector who deal with these ‘outcomes’ on a daily basis, we see a very different set of statistics.
What we see is a bleak future for young people who are losing hope in what the community has to offer them. A view that the community no longer is prepared to help connect them in and make sense of adult life. Even tertiary education is no longer a given for those who don’t have independent means or family support.
We have to look these young people in the eye and tell them that life is about to get harder. We will continue to support them and they will rely on us even more, even though we have to stretch our funds further than ever before, but what they need are politicians who understand what life is like for a young person on the street today, and who are willing to meet them on their terms. I don’t see much of that at the moment.
Paul McDonald
Chief Executive Officer
Anglicare Victoria
