SPOT ON FACT: A recipient of Newstart payments has to visit the assigned employment service provider, on average every one and a half weeks1 1/2, to continue receiving payments from Centrelink. Its a no-brainer guess that not many of Australians fighting somewhere overseas would be receiving Centrelink payment after one and a half weeks. Tony Abbott is making a B I G issue out to deflect public attention away from his government budget mess at present. At the same time, Tony Abbott proposes to unfairly cut off payments to the young unemployed for 6 months. It never occurs to Tony Abbott that it would FORCE some into doing ANYTHING in order TO LIVE. This would include crimes by the thousands. Much more than fewer than 50 misguided idiots fighting for the Jihad in the Middle East. It IS a beat up in terms of numbers. I have never seen a deceitful liar with such a stupid idea in the same person: Tony Abbott. - Commenter TAA August 19, 2014, 9:13AM Extremism warning on Coalitions move to cut welfare payments Date August 19, 2014 Judith Ireland National political reporter Australian terrorism experts have questioned the Coalitions move to cut welfare payments to people involved in extremist conduct, saying it could push potential extremists into the arms of terror organisations. Victoria University Professor Michele Grossman said people drawn to extremism already felt alienated from the community and that the federal governments plan would compound peoples lack of belonging. Its a very, very risky strategy, she said. If you deny people who need benefits, it draws them to seek alternative forms of support. Professor Grossman, whose research focuses on countering violent extremism, said recruiters for violent organisations often used financial support to appeal to new members. At the weekend, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the government would introduce legislation to stop welfare payments for Australians who are involved in extremist conduct. Mr Abbott said payments would be cancelled if national security agencies assessed someone as a serious threat to Australias national security. He cited the case of Khaled Sharrouf, believed to be fighting in the Middle East, who continued to receive welfare payments after he had fled Australia for Syria. The government plans to introduce the legislation to Parliament after it returns for the spring sitting at the end of August. Monash University professor Greg Barton said that in cutting welfare payments, the government risked losing the trust of the broader Muslim community. The danger is the small advantage you might get in stopping some individuals receiving state benefits is outweighed by a much bigger loss of confidence across the whole community, he said. Professor Barton, who is part of the Global Terrorism Research Centre, said Australian Muslims were feeling very fragile. The welfare move comes in the wake of proposed new counter-terrorism laws that will broaden the definition of terrorist activity and make it easier to arrest suspects and cancel passports. Professor Barton said that if the government wanted to clamp down on welfare payments to extremists, it should be done very quietly and consultatively and not trumpeted. Dr Anne Aly from Curtin University said that while there was good cause to suspend welfare in the case of someone like Sharrouf, the government needed to be aware of how its actions could become part of conspiracy theories that Muslims are being targeted. The co-founder of People Against Violent Extremism said welfare should only be cut in extreme cases. Whenever you remove somebodys source of income, youre much more likely to lead them down a path of crime, she said. Dr Aly said that the government would be better off investing in deradicalisation programs to get people out of becoming engaged before its too late. smh.au/federal-politics/political-news/extremism-warning-on-coalitions-move-to-cut-welfare-payments-20140818-3dwqu.html#ixzz3AuvUQ1mp
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 09:30:00 +0000
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