Below is the Federal Labor Party’s mixed response to our open letter demanding the withdrawal of the current attacks directed at the unemployed.
While the Australian Unemployment Union warmly welcomes the Labor Party’s commitment to review the Coalition government’s proposed attacks against the unemployed in the Senate and its opposition to the Coalition’s ‘unfair’ approach to the unemployed, we are deeply concerned about the Labor Party’s ongoing support for the punitive mutual obligation system and its thinly veiled statement that it “believes moves to more closely align the dates of suspensions and/or penalties with the actual date of non-compliance in relation to activities and job search requirements have merit.”
Considering that there are currently 12 job seekers competing for every job vacancy, what we need more than ever is a strong force in Australian politics that will oppose all punitive measures against the unemployed and advocate for the nationalisation of all Employment Service Providers. Job creation, not the punishment of the disadvantaged, must be the number one concern of government.
