This @TheAusInstitute report from 2000 makes depressing reading. As a kid in a one-parent family I remember how fucked things were then.

It shows how many of the most evil parts of the system are relatively new, while payments were frozen at the ‘94 rate. https://www.tai.org.au/sites/default/files/DP32_8.pdf

Looking back at this report 20 years on also exposes (again) how long we’ve know that the system is cruel and unnecessarily punitive.

“The broad appeal of the mutual obligation principle is based on a number of popular misconceptions about the nature of unemployment.“

“Are the circumstances that give rise to unemployment just? Australia’s system of economic management has relied on creating joblessness to sustain economic growth.

“Unemployed people have therefore made an involuntary sacrifice for the economic well-being of employed people.“

“Is acceptance of unemployment benefits a choice? For people to incur obligations from accepting benefits they must exercise choice ... In a modern economy subject to structural unemployment, for many unemployed people there is no real alternative to accepting welfare benefits.”

“The Government’s Mutual Obligation program fails the principle of fairness on both counts. Unemployed people are subject to a double penalty by society − they are denied the means of making a living and penalised by society for accepting support.”

“Since those in work have benefited from the disadvantage visited on those who have been made unemployed those in work should be grateful to those forced onto unemployment benefits. Mutual Obligation policies may be a manifestation of moral decline, rather than the answer to it.”

“Only the least well-off in society have obligations imposed on them. In contrast to the ‘stick’ applied to some unemployed people, other recipients of government largesse have no compulsory obligations imposed on them.”

“Welfare policy should acknowledge that the need for support arises from the failure of society to provide opportunities rather than from the personal failings of recipients. It should also acknowledge that the rest of society has benefited from the misfortune of unemployed ppl.”

“The welfare sector in particular has emphasised the punitive nature of the policy. It has argued that victims of economic restructuring are being blamed + punished for circumstances that are beyond their control + that Government has not been holding up its end of the bargain.”

The more things change ...

“Although in Australia Mutual Obligation is currently being implemented under a conservative government, the idea formally entered Australian social policy during the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments.”

“The notion that unemployed people should have strictly enforced obligations to seek work was popular on both sides of politics. Labor’s commitment to the principle that it termed ‘reciprocal obligation’ reached fulfillment in the release of the 1994 employment manifesto.”

“The Coalition scaled down labour market programs significantly, deregulated the training market, and privatised the employment assistance service, but retained a commitment to compulsory activity tests and penalty systems.”

I repeat: This report is 20 yrs old.

“The welfare sector has never opposed the idea of mutual obligation per se but it has heavily criticised the application of the concept in government policy. The sector has consistently raised a number of concerns.”

Good to know ‘the sector’ never actually had a backbone to lose

Concerns included:

“the payment reductions for people living on low incomes are unjustifiably harsh”

“original breach decisions are regularly overturned on appeal indicating that many were wrongly applied in the first instance”

Nothing. Changes.

Concerns of WftD participants:

“Most thought the program would be better if it were voluntary”

“Many commented that there was little point in forcing unemployed people to compete more intensively for jobs that were simply not available.”

“The Government relies heavily upon public support to justify its continued implementation of such programs, especially in the face of open criticism from the welfare sector.”

“People are unlikely to be well informed about the details of social security ... much of the discourse about ‘dole bludgers’ has been created or reinforced in media commentary ... people may simply be reflecting back what they have heard from such sources.”

“It is precisely under conditions of structural unemployment that entitlement-based benefits [no ‘mutual’ obligations] are more reasonable than conditional benefits.”

“Many unemployed people, despite their best efforts, will miss out on jobs no matter how much more job-ready they become ... when unemployment is high employers raise the standard and become more demanding.”

“In addition, over the past two decades the labour market has become much more fragmented with increasing levels of casual, part-time and temporary employment.” Oh for the halcyon days of the year 2000.

“Minister for Employment Services Tony Abbott [] talked of passive welfare as a ‘kindness that kills’.“

“In Australia, although **consideration** is being given to activity-testing recipients who are sole parents and who have disabilities, until now, the target group for Mutual Obligation requirements has been unemployed people, mainly the young.“

“The problem is not welfare dependency, but poverty. The use of the term welfare dependency suggests both that individuals are responsible for being poor,”

“The principle of mutual obligation applied to welfare is a complex idea that requires substantially more informed debate ... Despite these problems, the idea is becoming increasingly popular with policy makers + is poised for significant extension in Australian welfare policy.”

“The concept of mutual obligation as the basis for social security policy in Australia is currently receiving too much uncritical acceptance. The social consequences may be severe and long-lasting.“

It’s almost as if we could measure 20 yrs of carnage + prove the author correct.

In conclusion: “Proposals to further extend and embed the concept [of mutual obligations] deeper into Australian social policy prior to the resolution of these difficulties, are unwise and premature.”

What’s that they say about hindsight being 2020.

omg I think I found the author of the report: @PamelaKinnear – everyone should follow Pamela even though she's never tweeted.

@rodl you are following Pamela, if you know her irl can you let her know how much we and appreciate this work?