NT Aboriginal leader Barbara Shaw has arrived in Sydney on a speaking tour to build support for the campaign against income management and the NT Intervention. Her full itinerary is listed below.
On Thursday 6 October, Ms Shaw will visit Bankstown in south-west Sydney to speak at a public meeting launching a national campaign calling for a moratorium on government’s income management.
Bankstown is one of five trial sites across Australia facing the introduction of income management from July 2012.
Randa Kattan, CEO of the Arab Council of Australia and John Falzon, CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society National Council will also address the October 6 meeting.
On Sunday 9 October, Ms Kattan will travel back to Alice Springs with Ms Shaw and visit Aboriginal communities in Central Australia to further build the campaign.
Ms Shaw said: "I've come to Sydney to reiterate the call for a moratorium on income management. I should be able to get off the BasicsCard tomorrow. How can the government talk about expanding this system when it is ruining lives in the NT?”
"Income management is a disgusting waste of funds when our communities are in such desperate need. The Intervention was supposed to stop the social problems like substance abuse. But I live with these problems every day and they are just getting worse and worse as our people are disempowered and made unemployed.
“Since they’ve cut the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) many people are being forced to work for the dole and income management. How is this getting people off the welfare system? We need jobs and social services, not income management”, concluded Ms Shaw.
Dr John Falzon said, “You don’t build a community by attacking its people’s dignity. You don’t build a community up by putting its people down! You don’t create social inclusion by further excluding people and reducing their choices even more, watching over them even more, controlling them even more.”
Randa Kattan said, “Income management represents profound disempowerment, discrimination and hardship. We cannot allow this system to extend into Bankstown. We are also calling for a full restoration of the rights of people already suffering under income management.
"Our campaign is growing in strength. There are more than 50 organisations from unions, religious and community, advocacy and peak bodies that endorsed our last open letter. I will accompany Barbara back to Central Australia to learn first hand about the impacts of the Intervention and tell communities up there that they are not fighting alone," concluded Ms Kattan.
For a copy of the meeting notice and call for a moratorium on government’s income management please see http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/B...
For comment or more information contact:
Barbara Shaw 0401 291 166
Randa Kattan 0433 144 858
Dr John Falzon 02 6202 1200
Barbara Shaw Sydney speaking tour October 3rd-9th:
Tuesday 4 October
6.30pm Public meeting with Amnesty International NSW Demand Dignity Campaign.
The NSW (Amnesty International) Action Centre
Level 1, 79 Myrtle Street
Chippendale
Wednesday 5 October
1pm Launch of multi-media collaboration to support the statement:
Rebuilding from the Ground Up, An Alternative to the NT Intervention
UTS, Level 2, room 34, Building 4 (CB 04.02.34)
entrance 733 Harris st opposite ABC
Thursday 6 October
11:30am Public Forum
Not In Bankstown, Not Anywhere! Why we need a moratorium on Government's income management
Life Church Ground floor, 194 Stacey Street Bankstown
Saturday, 8 October
11.30am Rally against income management - not in Bankstown, not in the NT, not ANYWHERE! Support the call for a moratorium!
Paul Keating Park, Bankstown