Older Women's Network NSW in Newtown, New South Wales | Non-governmental organisation (NGO)

Older Women's Network NSW

Locality: Newtown, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 9519 8044

Address: 8-10 Victoria Street 2042 Newtown, NSW, Australia

Website: http://ownnsw.org.au

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• Non-governmental organisation (NGO)

25.01.2022 When Jill Murphy retired from her job as a literacy teacher, her favourite pastimes of shopping, going out and drinking didn't seem enough to fill her days. Her husband 'went mad' and bought a red sports car. She took up weightlifting instead. She joined a group of older women who had previously no interest in exercise, let alone weightlifting. One of them said, Ive always hated exercise. If there was exercise to be done, I went the other way." They range in age from the...ir 60s to 80s, and they all have benefitted enormously from doing weight bearing exercises. Their health, strength and overall wellbeing improved. We encourage all older women to get active and stay active. It's one thing we can do to be able to live independently for as long as possible. You can join OWN NSW's free online classes if you cannot access a gym: https://ownnsw.org.au/covid-19/own-online-activities/ The article on Jill and her gym mates can be found here - it's well worth a read: https://ab.co/3aOgZPJ

25.01.2022 Christian Porter is unfit to hold the position of the first law officer of the country. He has betrayed the trust of his family, the government and the people of Australia by engaging in conduct which brings disrepute to the position of Attorney General. We agree completely with Malcolm Turnbull that such behaviour of drunkenness and extra-marital affairs with staffers expose him to blackmail. It is not just Porter, but also Alan Tudge who have portrayed themselves as family ...men, but who don't abide by it in their private lives. The Four Corners program last night also revealed Porter to be a misogynist whose unacceptable behaviour in Canberra has been aided and abetted by the toxic workplace culture in Parliament. It's disgraceful that sexual harassment and predatory behaviour are tolerated, and the culture of silence is observed by journalists who have witnessed it with their own eyes. It took the ABC to expose this, and you can be sure that the Morrison government will continue to cut funding to the public broadcaster. In fact, Morrison tried to exert pressure to stop the ABC from airing the story. There is no acceptable outcome other than the sacking of Christian Porter and Alan Tudge. https://ab.co/2IdNE7M

24.01.2022 When does it make good sense to buy a piece of land worth $3million for $29.8million? When that piece of land belongs to your donor. The Australian National Audit Office has found that the LNP government's purchase of a parcel of land from a billionaire dairy family was carried out without appropriate due diligence and that its operations fell short of ethical standards. While the government is happy to spend taxpayers money to enrich their donors (the owners of that pa...rcel of land gave $58,800 in donations in 2018-19 to the Liberal Party), pensioners are told that their pension will not be increased. Jobseeker will also be slashed in a couple of days. We wonder how many more acts such as this which 'fall short of ethical standards' are taking place. https://bit.ly/OWN20_201

23.01.2022 If you're a nurse or teacher injured at work, the workers compensation scheme is meant to help you recover and get back to work again. Employers chip in to keep the scheme going. This morning, Adele Ferguson has revealed another major rort of this scheme. We've already heard how iCare executives helped themselves to millions in bonuses even while the scheme was running into trouble, and how the CEO awarded an $800,000 training contract to his wife. Dominic Perrottet dipped in...to the scheme to pay for 2 staffers in his office, including an American with Republican party ties. This morning, Adele Ferguson, the journalist who exposed all this wrongdoing has revealed another shocker - iCare (which sits directly under Dominic Perrottet's office) awarded $18million in contracts to a company with extensive Liberal party ties. These contracts were not put out to open tender. No surprises that this company, the IVE Group, donated almost $100,000 to the NSW Liberal Party between 2014 - 2019. It also donated $55,500 to the federal Liberal Party in 2018. iCare has grown a black hole of $2billion under Perrotet's watch. He's still got a job. The Board which is also responsible for this debacle still has a job. The executives in iCare who managed to get iCare into this mess also still have a job (minus the CEO). There is something rotten in the state of NSW. https://bit.ly/3lU53kJ

23.01.2022 Before COVID, nearly 15% of us live in poverty. The figure is closer to 20% if you are a child under 15 years old. One silver lining to COVID is that a supplement was introduced to Newstart and people finally had a chance to stop skipping meals, and to go to see a doctor. Simple things like the wheel on a bicycle could be fixed so children could ride again. In a few days time, this supplment will be cut and the payment will plunge people and children into poverty again. This... time it will be worse, because we're in a recession and there will be more of us. If the government doesn't have empathy for human stories of what poverty means, then they should listen to the economists. Especialy those from one of the top accounting firms in the world, Deloitte. It found that the planned reduction to the supplement in two weeks before its removed entirely after Christmas would reduce the size of the economy by $31.3bn and cost the equivalent of 145,000 full-time jobs over two years. If human stories and economic modelling doesn't move this government to make the right choices for the country, then it is sheer ideology driving its morally and economically bankrupt policies. The rhetoric we've heard from the government is that these payments are making people lazy and not apply for jobs. What is the reality? There is only 1 job for every 12 applying (but 1 job for every 28 applying in regional areas). There are situations where there were 1,500 applicants for 1 job. Forcing people to live in poverty to punish them because the government thinks they are not applying for jobs is wrong. Especially as before COVID, the biggest group of people on Newstart are older Australians (55 - 64 years old). Read the news about the Deloitte report here: http://bit.ly/OWN20_199 Know the facts and contact your MPs and tell them what you think.

22.01.2022 Scott Morrison has said over and over again, backed up his Chief Medical Officer, and the Department of Health, that there is A PLAN for aged care. He dismissed the assertion of the Aged Care Royal Commission that there is NO PLAN. This is what Scott Morrison's plan looked like in Epping Gardens - 2 nurses on duty for 110 residents, 70 with COVID and 20 were symptomatic. When the ADF came to take over, none of the staff on nightshift knew anything about the residents. 92 yea...r old Carmello Agnello was "riddled with sepsis, dehydrated, coughing and had fluid on her lungs". She passed away, alone and frightened. She is one of hundreds who have died that way. Carmello's daughter in law said "it was a heartbreaking ending to these beautiful peoples lives." We agree. It is also unforgivable. Aged care is the federal government's responsibility. They must be held to account for this tragic failure to look after our elderly. https://bit.ly/35JzdBC

22.01.2022 These are the faces of the two children who were killed by their father. Jack kept a cricket bat in his room to protect himself, and his sister Jennifer tried to never have her back to him for fear that he would hit her. They were forced by the court to continue seeing him even though they told the court appointed 'children's advocate' that they were terrified of him, and that he had hit them. The police knew he had a long history of violence but granted him a "Commissioner's... Permit" for firearms. Imagine the years of terror that they and their mother, Olga, suffered. Olga could not live without them and took her own life 5 months after their murder. Domestic violence is a serious problem, and our courts and police need to understand it better. Ingrained attitudes about parental rights to access their children must be challenged by the reality that some parents are dangerous and abusive. It is not in the child's best interests to have contact in these situations and the court has to recognise this. We also need to change the policing system. How can a man with such a violent past be allowed near firearms? There are many more Jacks, Jennifers and Olgas out there. We need to keep speaking up to change the system. https://ab.co/2DIc0nO See more

21.01.2022 We know it's tough for people to be locked up in hotel quarantine. Even though it's only for 14 days, the impact is not pleasant and we've seen how people have tried to escape or smuggle guests into their rooms. Imagine the uproar if lockdown was for months on end. But it is exactly what we're subjecting some of our elderly to. We already know that some nursing homes are short-staffed and COVID has meant that it's easier to lock residents in their roooms. There is just not en...ough resourcing to provide the care and support they need, so residents are literally locked in their rooms for months. Shane Durance tells of Jill, a resident who has decided to stop eating and drinking because she cannot leave her room or see her family. "We could provide additional staffing so as to ensure that patients were allowed to be taken out of the garden and supervision for at least an hour a day I mean, surely, a prisoner gets at least that." Another nurse also warned that proper infection control is still an issue in some aged care homes, with cross contamination from the positive unit to the negative unit still taking place. We're calling for the system to be fixed so that our elderly like Jill don't have to give up the will to live, and they can be better protected. That's why we support having mandated ratios in aged care. https://ab.co/3hzDud8

18.01.2022 We just don't get it. Up to last week, frontline firefighters in rural NSW have been begging for their old equipment to be replaced. Some of them operate old trucks with water tanks which leak! Small brigades are also fighting fires in trucks that are more than 20 years old and not fitted with an up-to-date fire suppression system, dedicated sprinklers for the windows and tyres, and a heat curtain to protect the crew in an overrun. Celeste Barber has raised $51 million for the RFS. We agree with the Greens that there has to be transparency and accountability in the use of this pool of money. It is beyond reason why these firefighters are not given the right equipment when money is already in the kitty and the bush fire season is now upon us again. https://bit.ly/2QEpB2s

17.01.2022 The verdict is in, and it's one which you already know. Aged care standards in government run facilities are bettter than in for-profit facilities. Research done by the Aged Care Royal Commission also found that of aged care facilities rated as providing the best quality of care, 41% are homes with one to 15 beds, while 17% are homes with 31-60 beds and just 5% are homes with 61-120 beds. The researchers said that to move to smaller home models of care, providers would need ...to spend an extra $3.2bn per year in total. Are we against extra spending? Absolutely not. BUT we want to see accountability for the funds spent. Legislation which the LNP and One Nation voted against which called for all providers to provide a detailed breakdown of how funding is spent must be passed before more money is thrown at the sector. Or we'll end up with more Maseratis on the road. http://bit.ly/OWN20_196

17.01.2022 Taxpayers give $13billion to the aged care sector to look after our elderly. It's being spent on chandeliers and not incontinence pads. It's being paid out to shareholders. Over the past 2 years, Estia which operates two of the worst hit homes in Victoria, paid out $55m to shareholders, of which almost $5m flowed to companies associated with Perth billionaire Kerry Stokes. If you want to choose a home for your loved one, there is no way for you to find out how much is actuall...y spent on care, activities and food. Or how many cases of assaults have taken place in the facility. The LNP and One Nation thrashed the legislation introduced by Senator Stirling Grif last year which would have required the aged care sector to be more transparent about how taxpayer dollars are spent. It is unbelievable that Scott Morrison wants aged care providers to keep this information secret. That's why there will be more spending on Maseratis and chandeliers than on incontinence pads. https://bit.ly/2GxK8nt

17.01.2022 Two stories. One message. That women are playthings and don't matter. Canterbury League Club has re-elected George Coorey as its chairman despite his appalling behaviour. "Ask any of the women that used to go to the club. He used to grab his dick and balls when somebody was walking past, stick his tongue out, saying 'come and sit on my lap'." In South Australia, the University of Adelaide failed to remove its Vice-Chancellor Peter Rathjen, after he groped and kissed his colleagues at an event. It took the state's corruption watchdog to deal with the matter. Denigrating and sexually harrassing women are not acceptable, and our institutions/organisations keep rewarding this behaviour by promoting men who do so!

16.01.2022 Scott Morrison is berating the premier of Queensland for not opening the border, claiming that it is damaging business and families. We invite him to do more to bring the 26,800 Australians who are stranded overseas to return home. They include people like Peta Stoyanovich-Kristie, whose husband had to travel to Serbia because his father died in July. He has been trying to return with his 79 year old mother but with no success. Morrison blames the states for not increasing h...otel quarantine capacity, but he has the power to employ larger quarantine facilities like the ones used by those returning from China at the start of the pandemic. The government has allowed Tony Abbott to fly out and fly in with no problems, as well as Tom Hanks and his entourage. Even lobsters are given priority flying rights. This is just not right, especially as all these travellers will be paying for the cost of quarantine. http://bit.ly/OWN20_205

16.01.2022 Before you can fix a problem, the first thing you need to do is to admit that there is a problem. We've already heard the horror stories of vulnerable aged care residents left to lie in soiled sheets, who were not fed for days, who were not able to drink, who didn't have their wounds cared for, and who were left 'to rot' and die in their beds because there was NO PLAN for aged care. To then hear that this is a sign of "a very good job" being done by an "effective" minister, we just have to wonder if they have misplaced their morals. https://bit.ly/2YqcwxW

15.01.2022 Did you know that 34% of single women (divorced, widowed or never married) are living in poverty by the age of 60? That number rises to 50% of them once they are on the aged pension. It's not their fault. Women are paid less than men, and are expected to pick up caring duties and sacrifice earnings and savings without recognition for their contribution. Plus, there's sexual harassment and domestic violence thrown in the mix. Jane Caro has written a brilliant article about why older women are poor. You can read it here: https://bit.ly/34QMNCE What infuriates her the most (and us) is the government response - that women are poor because we are financially illiterate and therefore we need to learn how to manage money! That just shows how blind they are to the reality on the ground.

15.01.2022 When a former leader of the Liberal party comes out to condemn your tax policy, you know you've really got it wrong. John Hewson has joined 40 leading economic experts, legal experts and the former governor of the Reserve Bank, who have all stated clearly why giving tax cuts to the wealthy will not stimulate the economy. John Hewson said, The LNP naively hope tax cuts are good politics, but they wont be as they increase inequality." During a recession, the government must p...lay a critical role to stimulate the economy. The simplest way to do this is to ensure that people spend to keep businesses going. The most effective way to do this is to support people at the bottom of the economic ladder because they are the ones who will spend as they cannot afford to save, unlike those at the top of the economic ladder. We agree with The Australia Institute - Cutting taxes for already wealthy Australians will undermine the long-term strength of our public services, like health care and education, while doing very little to stimulate economic growth. 91% of the benefit from the 2022 tax cuts would go to the richest 20%. How does this make sense? We're calling on the government to instead invest in social housing, and raise the rate of Jobseeker. Forcing people to live in poverty does not make good economic sense. Giving money to the rich is an ideologically driven measure. It entrenches inequality and diminishes us as a nation. https://bit.ly/3kw4Jar

15.01.2022 This is a classic example of jobs for the boys. Matthias Cormann has resigned from his position and in exchange for backing him against Turnbull for the Liberal Party leadership, Morrison is now backing him to head up the OECD. This means arranging the RAAF Falcon to be at his disposal as he flies around Europe trying to lobby to get votes for the job. It will cost taxpayers $4,300 per hour, with the return journey between Australia and Europe alone to cost $100,000. It's not... as though Cormann is crash hot on economic policies and environmental policies and needs to lead the OECD in a better direction. We know that European countries has criticised Australia's stance on climate change. As taxpayers, are we happy to foot the bill for Cormann to swan around Europe at our expense, or do we want to put money towards keep children out of poverty? (Nearly 20% of children in Australia under 15 live in poverty.) https://bit.ly/3l7337j

15.01.2022 Imagine living in house where there's mould everywhere - it's in the walls, it's in the ceiling, it's in the floor, it's in the carpets, it's in the kids' toys, it's in the kids' clothes. This is the reality of Shay and her 4 children who live in public housing. At a time when the government can provide funding to fix these issues, it's not doing so despite the great advantages to jobs creation that this also offers. No MP in Parliament will need to put up with this, even though they're also in a public building. Would Scott Morrison allow his wife and daughters to live in these circumstances? We thank Jason Clare for raising this issue in parliament yesterday.

14.01.2022 Anybody can be homeless. That's a very simple message, but one which we may not all understand. It just takes the loss of a job, an illness, or a bad relationship to plunge us into a downward spiral. The waiting list for social housing can be as long as 10 years and up to 20 years. As Debbie Georgopoulos of the Women's Housing Company says, "It's a very long time to wait if you're in your 50s, 60s or 70s". The answer is simple - we need more public/social housing. The waitlist is over 60,000. We need a build of at least 5000 a year over 10 years just to meet the current demand. But the NSW budget only delivered 1,200. With older women falling into homelessness in even greater numbers than before, this is shockingly inadequate.

13.01.2022 The best place in Australia if you need aged care is a Victorian government run facility. Research by the Royal Commission into Aged Care has found that public aged care homes run by the Victorian government are the best performing in 21 of 24 clinical indicators, and all 14 of the other quality benchmarks, which include resident feedback and workforce conditions. The evidence is clear. There were 2000 Covid infections in private & not for profit facilities with 655 deaths in... Victoria ; but only 3 residents who contracted COVID with ZERO deaths in Victorian government run facilities (6% infection rate vs 0.1% infection rate). Dan Andrews has announced that he'll set aside $40million to improve staffing ratios in aged care if Scott Morrison will fund recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to introduce minimum mandated staffing ratios in private and not for profit residential aged care facilities." Morrison does not need to wait till February for the final report to put into place an important measure which is evidence based. Dan Andrews has challenged him to act on it now, with a commitment to put extra funding by the state to support this. What is Morrison waiting for? https://bit.ly/2Va0kzd

12.01.2022 We support the Health Services Union's call for a pay raise for aged care workers. We agree with its president who pointed out that aged care has relied for too long on the goodwill of the underpaid, insecure and predominantly female workforce. It is such an irony that these workers are working themselves into poverty and will not be able to afford aged care themselves in the future. The government does not need to wait for the report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care to... act now. The union survey has found that "four in ten aged care workers intend to leave the sector within the next five years, because they are at breaking point." The workers who provide care to our elderly deserve to be paid more, and ratios in care must be put in place. They do just as valuable a job as our politicians but earn less per hour than what politicians get for a single meal allowance. It is unacceptable. https://bit.ly/35lZdCx

12.01.2022 There are 100 cases of residents in nursing homes who are assaulted, raped or killed every week. The real rate could be 10 times higher. The Senate has moved to censure Minister Richard Colbeck who is supposed to be in charge of aged care, but who is obviously not doing his job, especially during COVID. Imagine the uproar if 100 children in school were raped, assaulted or killed EVERY WEEK. Would we still be sitting at home and shaking our heads? https://bit.ly/2QPNHY3

12.01.2022 This is proof that we're never too old to dream or to start something. Harbhajan Kaur is a 94 year old entrepreneur. She started her business when she was 90. Her daughter asked her if she had any regrets in life and Harbhajan said that she had never earned money. So, the idea of 'Harbhajan's' was born. She now makes her signature dessert and her daughter helps her to sell it. It has expanded to chutneys and a couple of other delicacies - all made by Harbhajan herself. What an inspiration!

10.01.2022 The Aged Care Royal Commission has labelled the homecare system as "unfair, cruel and discriminatory" in its interim report which called on the Government to cut the waiting list. There are more than 100,000 on the list, and 28,000 have died waiting. In the meantime, the government has done absolutely nothing to stop the price gouging of vulnerable older Australians, with providers charging up to 70% in fees. Someties, the fees charged are more than the service itself. Like ...Ann's mother, 93 year old Evelyn Micallef. She was charged $550 in admin fees for a $354/month service to be showered. Richard Colbeck, the Minister for Aged Care, says that this is "reasonable" because there is "competition" which will "drive down the cost of the provision of care". The reality on the ground shows that this government is engaged in ideological war against its own citizens and we're paying the price. Taxpayers are being fleeced and our vulnerable older Australians are not receiving the care they deserve and need. https://ab.co/3ij5Mtx

10.01.2022 Are we all equal before the law? Not if you're Minister Tudge. Yes, he's that same Minister who continued to act unlawfully regarding Robodebt. Now, he's been told by a judge that he has acted criminally because he failed to carry out the rulings of the court. It involves the case of an asylum seeker who Minister Tudge felt did not deserve to be given a visa, even though his case has been heard by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and he was found to qualify for one. Minist...er Tudge didn't follow the legal requirement to release him but continued to lock him up. When have we become a country where Ministers overrule the court of law? This is the type of conduct we usually see in crackpot dictatorships. He should be stripped of his position and face charges. We agree with Kristina Kenneally - "Scott Morrison needs to explain why he believes the law doesn't apply to him or his ministers and why it seems there is one rule for his ministers and another rule for normal Australians." http://bit.ly/OWN20_203

10.01.2022 Imagine the scenario. A man grabs the breasts of a woman on a street and says, "Why dont you go and get a bigger set of tits?" He then smashes a wine glass in the face of his girlfriend. When the police turn up, he kicks a policewoman in the mouth. Fast forward a few months and he is involved in another 'domestic incident' and has to be subdued with pepper spray when he assaults the police. Now he gets invited to join celebrities like Patti Newton to take their clothes off f...or entertainment. Doesn't it just send the right message? It's perfectly fine to assault women because you can still be celebrated on TV. Tell Channel 7 that it's NOT OK! WhatsApp them: 0438 777 123. http://bit.ly/OWN90_196

08.01.2022 We've been beating the drum about this for some time. Jane Caro's latest opinion piece summarises it beautifully. More older women are retiring into poverty and homelessness due to government policies, and nobody seems to care. Jane Caro asks, "Why is it the only people who seem to notice are older women themselves?" She gives the examples of: 1) 400,000 women over the age of 45 are facing homelessness 2) Women who are in the private rental market, who are not employed full ...time and are a sole parent have a 64% risk of losing the roof over their head. 3) 61% of all jobs lost since February were lost by women, and only a third of the jobs that have returned have gone to women. 4) 60% of older single women (never married, divorced, widowed) rely on the full age pension and half of them live in permanent income poverty. COVID has made it difficult for us to march on the streets, especially those of us who are older. If you care about these issues, please sign up to become a member. There is strength in numbers. Join us: https://ownnsw.org.au/get-involved/membership/ You can read Jane Caro's article here: https://bit.ly/33aCjfI

08.01.2022 It is a bit rich for the Australia Post CEO who earns $2.5 million to ask workers to put in unpaid extra hours, and use their own vehicles, to deliver parcels. Especially when Australia Post is also making a profit ($7million) and the CEO is eyeing a $1 million bonus. This is not the first, nor the last time, that workers have to subsidise the lifestyle of executives. The last we heard, 200 Australia Post office workers have expressed an interest to volunteer and they have been asked if they can carry 16kgs. Seriously. https://bit.ly/3lHYzVS

07.01.2022 On the same day as he excused his philandering ministers who breached their own code of conduct by saying that they were just victims of 'human frailty', with no reference to the women who were involved and whose careers were destroyed because of it, Scott Morrison announced further cuts to JobSeeker. Now, the unemployed will need to survive on $50 a day while he takes home over $1500 a day. Let us not forget the large number of older women who are stuck because ageist employ...ers are being incentivised further to practice ageism through the government's handouts to employ people under 35. At a time when the economy is COVID infected, and when there are more people than jobs on offer, forcing people to live on $50/day to cover rent, food, transportation and medical expenses is just cruel. Human frailty to Morrison only applies to well-fed, comfortably housed, handsomely paid ministers who can't keep their zip up but not to older women who are struggling to survive. https://ab.co/2UfHCWo

07.01.2022 We're sending a big shout out to fathers out there who love and support their children, no matter what, just like Scott Stuart. Scott's son is a big fan of Elsa from Frozen and wanted to dress up as the princess. Scott was initially hesitant - Then I came to [a] realization. Maybe as parents, one of our toughest jobs is figuring out who our child really is and what they really love, and allowing that to shine as brightly as possible. What makes me the proudest? He is completely and unashamedly himself. I wish I had that as a kid. We are counting on men like Scott to change the narrative to build caring, inclusive and hopeful communities. Happy Father's Day!

07.01.2022 Six months earlier, Solomon Lew broke down in tears to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, distraught over having just stood down 9,000 workers. His tears reportedly helped convince Frydenberg to unveil the $130 billion JobKeeper program (read about it here: https://bit.ly/342BNjt). His company subsequently received millions in wage subsidy. Just this week, we heard that he received $24 million in dividends. 17 of the top 300 listed Australian companies that received JobKeeper paid ou...t a total of $250m in dividends and bonuses to executives. We have nurses and cleaners who pay their taxes in full, who are subsidizing these millionaires. And also this week, the amount given for JobSeeker was slashed by $300. At the same time, proposed tax cuts will put an extra $11,640 in the pockets of politicians. Does this type of economic policy build community and look after the vulnerable? http://bit.ly/OWN20_206

06.01.2022 Workers at the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission which regulates nursing homes say that it is a toothless tiger, under-resourced and under-staffed. 60% of them revealed they don't have enough time on-site to identify problems. They can't take photos, record key interviews, or photocopy & take information away from them. Believe it or not, providers can choose not to answer questions! On top of that, 25% of the staff are contract hires who don't have the training or expe...rience to handle complex cases. The workers' union report that the response time to complaints had blown out to longer than 190 days in some cases, with as many as 300 cases unresolved at some times. According to one assessor, there is "no real penalty to failing the meet standards. Just the inconvenience of additional visits from the commission." What a sham. https://bit.ly/2Qp8rpr

06.01.2022 People on Newstart had the opportunity to eat properly and get healthcare with the Corona Virus supplement. Scott Morrison wants to wind it back at a time when there are not enough jobs to go around. The poverty line in Australia is $457/week. 13% of Australians live in poverty, and 18% of children under 15 live below the poverty line. For a country rich in natural resources, this is an outrage. Older Australians are the biggest group on Newstart. They deserve better than to try to survive on $40/day. Let your MP know that the rate has to be raised - for good. https://raisetherate.org.au/national-day-of-action/

06.01.2022 Today, we want to send a special shout out to all the women out there who are surviving, and trying to keep head their head above water in terrible circumstances of violence. We know we're not doing enough as a society to help you leave. We have not made investments in public/social housing, that is why so many of you leave violence and drop straight into homelessness. Our welfare payments are below the poverty line, that is why so many of you leave abuse and land straight in...to destitution. Law enforcement and the judicial system are riddled with barriers and obstacles, that is why so many of you leave assaults to drop straight into a mental nightmare. We can do better and we must. On International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, there's one thing we can do to make it better. Please sign the petition calling for the criminalisation of coercive control: https://bit.ly/3n68W65 #16DaysOfActivism #NoToViolenceAgainstWomen

06.01.2022 Cate Turner is in her 90s and still actively trying to change the world for older women. She has experienced the gender pay gap first hand. When I finally retired I found out that my equivalent in Victoria, a man, was paid one thousand dollars more than me and had a car. It made me feel very bitter. She nearly found herself homeless when she retired despite having a long professional career in HR. Cate, therefore, is highly attuned to the issues OWN has long campaigned on. Cate's passionate about helping older women not fall into homelessness. We've voted for Cate to be a Westfield Local Hero. By voting for Cate, you'll be supporting OWN continue our work to help older women! Vote here: http://bit.ly/OWN_Cate

05.01.2022 On Thursday, the government will be taken to court for knowingly enforcing Robodebt even though it was found to be illegal. It also knew that people were committing suicide because of Robodebt. These claims will be made by the lawyers representing the victims. The evidence to be presented include the fact that the federal government was warned 76 times by a tribunal that Centrelink robodebts were not legally enforceable - and the government did not appeal the decisions. Top o...fficials, including Alan Tudge who was Minister for Human Services at the time, was also informed that a DHS recipient took their own life following receipt of Robodebt notification, and Centrelink staff were reporting that callers were threatening self-harm and suicides. It beggars belief that a government will continue to run a scheme which it knows is illegal and which causes harm. Such is justice in Australia when a 10 year old Aboriginal child who commits a petty crime is locked up, but a Minister who breaks the law is allowed to continue receiving more than $300,000 in salary. And we, the taxpayers, are having to foot the cost of the government's legal bills and reparation to the victims they knowingly created. http://bit.ly/OWN20_200

05.01.2022 Imagine putting your life savings into a housing scheme and finding out that both your savings and the house have evaporated because it was run by a shonky operator. Imagine how absolutely frustrating it is that this shonky operator could have been put out of business a long time before, but it wasn't because the regulator was just not doing its job. And so the shonky operator could continue to fleece more older Australians out of their entire life savings. Maureen Cameron su...ms up what the others are experiencing: "They've just robbed us of our golden years because we're not at an age where we can go out and get work. It's just back to being struggling people." ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) is the regulator which failed miserably in protecting older Australians like Maureen. What on earth was it doing when complaints were raised to ASIC about the scheme that Maureen and others signed on to? This is yet another failed Commission of this government, which has also failed older Australians in care. Like the Aged Care Quality Commission, it has 6 figure paid officials who are absolutely incompetent. You may remember that just recently, the top official was outed for getting taxpayers to foot his $120,000 tax advice bill to manage his overseas money; and his colleague who was paid a 6 figure salary was charging 'rent relief' of $70,000 to the taxpayer. They're certainly busy working for themselves, but not us. What's the point of having a Commission which just doesn't work? Honesty, integrity, responsibility, accountability. That's what a regulator should demonstrate. Or older Australians will continue to be ripped off by these unscrupulous operators who prey on our need for secure shelter. https://ab.co/33jYYXf

04.01.2022 The greed of aged care providers knows no bounds. 92 year old Norma Atkins lay dying in hospital from COVID19 for a month but Menarok continued to charge her fees. Her son has not heard back from them after asking for a refund. He is one of many families of residents of the home who were continued to be charged even after their loved ones were taken to hospital and died. Rick Morton of the Saturday Paper has written a brilliant piece about how we ended up in this position. It... started with John Howard's 'reform' of the aged care sector in 1997. It basically ripped apart the safeguards, funding and regulation necessary to keep our elderly safe and let in the wolves. For instance, he noted that before John Howards 1997 aged-care changes, the number of registered nurse (RN) hours that a typical nursing home with 60 residents was funded for and received was 308. Within a decade, it dropped to just 198. Today, it is 168 hours in a week. The article is definitely worth a read. You can find it here: https://bit.ly/3iod5jI The Guardian article about Norma Atkins can be found here: http://bit.ly/oWN20_197

03.01.2022 There is something wrong with the way we manage our borders. If you're Tony Abbott, you can fly out to the UK to take up a job appointment. But if you're wanting to leave the country to be by the bedside of a dying relative, you won't be allowed to do so. Similarly, priests are listed on the 'critical skills' list but not highly skilled aged care workers like Spana Nakarmi. Nakarmi has been trained and works in aged care in Tasmania but was denied entry to Australia after her... trip to Nepal to care for her ailing mother. Her application to return was knocked back 9 times. There is a shortage of skilled aged care workers in the country. The government will let in priests but not workers like Nakarmi. It was only after the ABC asked about her case that she has been given permission to return, and the skills list changed. It shouldn't take the media to make things right. And you shouldn't have to be Tony Abbott to be able to leave and return to the country freely. https://ab.co/2R3sutF

03.01.2022 For anyone wondering why trade unions are necessary, the ruling by the Federal Court against a McDonald's franchise will provide the answer. The union took a franchisee of Maccas to court because it didn't want to implement a 10 minute break for every 4 hours worked rule. The manager sent an sms to workers saying that if it did, then the workers would only be able to go to the toilet and drink during that break and not when they are working. The Federal Court has just ruled... that workers can go to the toilet and drink water while they are working. Yes. It is unbelievable that it took a court case to draw the line for humane behaviour. https://bit.ly/2YRDPRS

03.01.2022 The disability watchdog only issued one fine and banned one provider following over 8000 complaints. Seriously. The one fine and ban relates to the provider of Ann-Marie Smith who you may recall passed away in Adelaide from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment while in full-time care. At the same time, the executives are paid $2 million. This morning, the ABC reported on the father of Steve Osgood who died just weeks after he was admi...tted to a nursing home. He was moved around in a faulty wheelchair which meant that his feet were dragging on the ground. He developed sepsis and passed away. A whistle blower revealed that nursing home had only 1 cleaner for the entire 32 bed facility, and incontinence pads were not disposed of properly which resulted in maggots spreading to the kitchen. The nursing home only passed just 6 of the 42 standards, but as far as we can tell, no fine was issued by the aged care watchdog. The description used by Bill Shorten about the disability watchdog holds true for the aged care watchdog. Both are "toothless and sleepy" and are more like "expensive purse poodles". Isn't it telling that millions were spent pursuing vulnerable people in getting dollars back in Robodebt, but unscrupulous providers are being let off the hook?

02.01.2022 The average age of divorcees has been steadily increasing over the past 25 years. There are many more older women taking the step to leave a relationship. In 1990, the average age for a woman to pull the pin on a marital union was 35 but by 2018 it had risen to 43.2. This has major implications as divorced Australians aged between 55 and 74 have less household disposable income and fewer assets than their married peers. It's another reason why there is a growing number of hom...eless older women. For many older women whose identities have been tied up with bringing up their children and putting their needs last, it can take a while to find out who they really are after leaving. Some divorces are messy and women can loose an entire side of the family. You can now hire a 'divorce coach' to help you through a break-up. Would you use such a service if you had to? And if you've been through a divorce yourself, what advice would you give to those contemplating it? https://bit.ly/3ccqIjz

02.01.2022 Being a leader means owning up to failures and taking responsibility. Yesterday, Scott Morrison once again defended the indefensible - that the government had a plan for dealing with COVID in aged care facilities. They don't. They failed in not having a national strategy.They failed in not preparing for dealing with the inevitable eventuality of staff falling ill and having to replace nearly the entire workforce. They failed in alerting aged care homes of what happened in Ne...wmarch and coming up with a plan if it happened in Victoria. Most importantly, it has failed for so many years in not acting on all the reviews on aged care. The Aged Care Royal Commission issued a statement yesterday that the government is failing to establish independent monitoring and reporting of aged care quality outcomes. The best part? A Liberal backbencher said he is "not entirely sure a royal commission coming up with policy solutions to aged care was a good idea in the first place". We know where the buck stops. But do they? https://bit.ly/3aQvUsW

02.01.2022 It's Gender Pay Gap Day today. Women retire with much less savings and superannuation than men. That's why by the time they are 60, 34% of women live in poverty. Discrimination starts young - research has shown that girls get 27% less pocket money than boys. We've got to mind that gap! Join us and support our work in ending discrimination! https://ownnsw.org.au/get-involved/membership/

01.01.2022 Yesterday, we posted about how how under-staffed and under-resourced the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is. Today, we have to say that the Commissioner, Janet Anderson, is unqualified to hold the position, together with Minister Colbeck. Yes, that same Minister for Aged Care who is unable to tell you how many people in nursing homes have died, and how many are infected. Nurses in St Vincent's Hospital have revealed their distress, shock and horror at having to care ...for an elderly resident who was admitted to hospital suffering weeks of neglect. She was a resident of Kalyna Care which FAILED its audit. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission found that the nursing home was not dressing wounds and relieving pain to the standard necessary in early July. It took the Commission ONE MONTH to release the official report, by which time COVID had taken hold. The Commissioner did not had any plan to deal with the situation, and neither did the Minister. If a nursing home has already been found to be failing in its duty of care to its resident, it should immediately ring alarm bells and measures should be put in place to support residents. Instead, NOTHING was done, and this poor woman was left to "rot" in her bed. But it appears that this is acceptable to the Commissioner and the Minister because they haven't come up with any plan to show us why this won't happen again. That woman left to rot to death is someone's mother, aunty, grandmother and friend. Our hearts are broken. https://bit.ly/3hk1yS1

01.01.2022 If you're sitting on reports which indicate that assaults, including sexual assaults, are increasing in nursing homes, what would you do? Wouldn't you want to act as soon as possible to prevent these from happening? Not if you're Richard Colbeck. He delayed the implementation of the Serious Incident Response Scheme to July 2021. We agree with Prof. Joe Ibrahim who said that the federal government's lack of action on the thousands of reports it was sitting on "borders on crim...inal". Prof. Kathy Eager believes that "We need an ombudsman in aged care and whistleblower legislation, which mandates staff to report assaults if the provider doesn't." We agree with both of them. We wonder what it will take to get Scott Morrison to shed a few tears for the vulnerable elderly who are being abused and assaulted now in the same way he did for the poor young woman who could not say farewell to her father in Queensland. http://bit.ly/OWN20_198

01.01.2022 It's what you'd expect from a shonky sales operator - just keep lowering your targets so you look good when you 'overachieve'. Then you pay yourself a handsome bonus. Trouble is, it's the taxpayers who are forking out for this sham. Meet Stephen Rue. He's the CEO of NBN. He paid himself a $1.1 million for 'overachieving' targets that he himself lowered. Apparently NBN executives were paid $3million in bonuses at the same time that they put their hand out to the government (ie... us, the taxpayers) for more money to fix problems in the NBN. How good is Australia that executives can get away with this? https://bit.ly/3niwXGX

01.01.2022 Imagine ... years of private schooling ending in a crime-filled binge, including spitting on a homeless man, defecating in a train and hitting the genitalia of a random male stranger. Year 12 boys in Shore School in North Sydney have come up with these, and other despicable acts in their annual 'scavenger hunt'. It is interesting how the news headlines lead with the spitting on a homeless man, when one of the challenges is rape. Under the Morrison government, private schools will receive $181.6 billion of federal funding over the next 10 years, compared to public education's $128.8 billion. Good to know that taxpayers are getting value for money when you look at what attitudes are being nurtured in these private schools. http://bit.ly/OWN20_202

01.01.2022 The sale of the airport parcel of land which cost us 10 times more is nothing compared to what Barnaby Joyce gave Angus Taylor. He gave Angus Taylor's company 57 times more than the valuation of the water rights. So taxpayers paid $80 million instead of $1.4 million. A 'Freedom of Information' filed by Michael West Media revealed that the original valuation of $1.4 million was rejected, and another company brought it to value the water rights. Of course, Angus Taylor denies h...e had anything to do with the company he founded, and which is registered in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands. That's why we need a federal ICAC with big teeth, not the puppy dog version proposed by the LNP government. We also need that Royal Commission into media diversity because we need more independent media keeping our government accountable. Most of all, we want an honest government which truly works for the people honestly and with integrity. https://bit.ly/2U6oJVR