Why raising the rate of Centrelink payments makes sense

Yet another report has been released which explains again how raising the rate of Centrelink pensions & payments would be the most efficient way to reduce financial stress & poverty…

Clear blueprint to improve our aged care services

The Aged Care Royal Commission has presented us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally change and improve our aged care services. We have a clear blueprint and it’s imperative we…

What’s left to do on the Bass Highway anyway? Diamond-encrusted cat’s eyes?

The Federal Budget is good so far as it starts to address serious problems in areas as diverse as aged care, the NDIS, mental health, skilling workers, childcare and the…

How many Tasmanians will get a home care package?

Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, has asked how many of the 10,000 extra home care packages foreshadowed today will go to Tasmania, where nearly 1,800 people are languishing on…

Automated data-matching reminiscent of Robodebt

The Prime Minister’s dismissal of Independent Member for Clark Andrew Wilkie’s question, during Question Time today, shows just how out of touch the Federal Government is with the deep distress…

Andrew Wilkie speaks on the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Improved Home Care Payment) Bill

Australia is wealthy. There’s no doubt that the Federal Government can afford to properly fund Home Care Packages, ensure residential aged care is safe and comfortable, and ensure our wonderful…

Digital divide discriminates

Opinion piece published in the Sunday Tasmanian 11 Oct 2020 It’s getting harder to find a real person to talk to these days at government agencies like Centrelink, Medicare and…

The Wilkie Report September 2020 – Federal Budget

This year’s Federal Budget will be one of the most important in our history. So it must be bold and fair, bold in that we need to restore the economy,…

Feds flying blind on aged care in Tasmania

“Prime Minister, the Mercury newspaper reports that there have been no unannounced safety checks at Tasmanian residential aged care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. “By comparison the aged care regulator…