May 03, 2021
Official inaction denies beneficiaries dignity
A member of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group says the Government needs to get moving on it recommendations.
Dr Huhana Hickey says there has been two years of near inaction, while transformative reform is going on in health and justice.
A checklist by Child Poverty Action Group found fewer than half of the advisory group's 42 recommendations have been addressed, and then only minimally.
Dr Hickey says beneficiaries and especially disabled people are penalised by a broken and under-funded welfare system.
"They found money for the America's Cup. They found money for a ministry of horse racing. They found money for other things but they haven't found money to give beneficiaries some dignity," she says.
Dr Hickey says low benefit levels deny people access to decent and stable housing, affects their health, and denies them the education opportunities that could break the cycle.
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