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Augustine Zycher

Vote ‘Yes’ in the Referendum

WomanGoingPlaces wholeheartedly endorses a ‘Yes’ vote in favour of the enshrinement of a Voice for First Peoples in the Australian Constitution.

We cannot forget, erase or provide meaningful restitution for the injustices committed against the Indigenous peoples of Australia over the last 235 years. But by voting ‘Yes’, we will finally be empowering Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to change the present and improve the future for First Peoples.

It is time for Australia to enshrine the Voice of First Peoples in our Constitution.

A ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum is right, it is just and it is irrefutable.

Older Women More at Risk in Ukraine War

Some of the most difficult images of the Ukraine war have been of older women, trapped helpless in their beds in bombed out homes. Women left alone without family, or left by their families because they were unable to flee to safety in other countries.

It has been described as the oldest humanitarian crisis in the world with 24% of Ukraine’s 8.9 million population over 60 years old.

Significantly, the first nationally representative report has been released about older people in the Ukraine war. It is based on a survey held as recently as December 2022. Some of its key findings are that older women are more at risk than older men. It found that older women are facing greater financial difficulties and barriers to accessing essential goods and assistance.

‘See No Covid, Hear No Covid, Speak No Covid’

Between 20,000 to 25,000 Australians died from Covid in 2022, according to Professor Brendan Crabb AC Director & CEO of the Burnet Institute.

“These people would have lived if not for COVID. The scale of the tragedy is enormous. And the silence deafening.”

An Australian is now dying every 30 minutes from Covid.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the State Premiers have been silent about the alarming death toll from Covid. No emergency National Cabinet meeting has been held. No public health statements or measures have been announced. No reports or accurate official information about deaths and illness have been made public.

Both the Federal and State Governments have adopted a ‘ See No Covid, Hear No Covid and Speak No Covid’ policy.

Ageist Budget Leaves Older Women Out

Budget 2022-2023 has been presented as a budget for women. Certainly if you are a woman with young children, you will benefit from the welcome changes to childcare and parental leave. But if you are a woman over the age of 50, you are as invisible to this Labor Australian Government as to the previous LNP Government.

There is a fundamental failure of Government to see the major social crisis specifically affecting the demographic of women aged 50+.

The Women’s Budget Statement lists women’s economic equality as one of its 3 key themes. The Budget quite correctly goes into detail about the ‘motherhood penalty’ on work, income and advancement. But there is nothing about the ‘age penalty’ for women.

The 50 Over 50

Forbes ’The 50 Over 50’, is a list of women who have become successful and powerful after the age of 50, with some even in their nineties.

Why is it important to publish such a list?
Because one in two people in the world hold ageist views according to UN figures.
Because the older a woman becomes, the more she is devalued.

This deprecation and depreciation of women as we age, is also deeply entrenched in the English language.

Not every woman can realise the extraordinary success and achievements of many of the women in these Forbes lists. But they can recognise that the debasement of older women is based on lies. They can also recognise that this prejudice is destructive to them individually, and they can reject it.

Jobs Summit Fails to Address High Unemployment of Women 50+

It is a matter of great concern that the high rate of unemployment of women aged 50 to 66 was not addressed at the Jobs and Skills Summit 2022. The Summit did not address the key barriers facing older women without small children.

Why did it not look at women over 50+ locked out of the workforce by the impenetrable barrier of ageism? Older women face greater barriers and more discrimination than older men. Ageism combines in a toxic mix with sexism to diminish older women’s value even further and reduce their likelihood of employment.

No discussion of these issues during the Summit and no mention in the published 36 Outcomes of the Summit.

Jobs and Skills Summit – 4 Questions

There is a direct causal link between a woman’s age in Australia and her likelihood of becoming unemployed and homeless.
The Australian Government is to hold a Jobs and Skills Summit in September.
WomanGoingPlaces puts 4 Questions to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and key Ministers.

1. Why is this crisis that is engulfing Australian women aged 50+ not on the agenda of the Jobs & Skills Summit?
2. Will the Jobs and Skills Summit address the workforce experience of women aged 50+ and present programs to provide them with training where required?
3. Will the Government recognise at the Jobs and Skills Summit that the amount the Government pays in Jobseeker is a direct cause of the impoverishment of older women and will it immediately raise the rate?
4. Will the Government use the Jobs and Skills Summit to announce emergency changes to WorkForce Australia?

Government Integrity – It’s Not Just About Money

If an ICAC into the Morrison Government is established, it will examine its handling of public funds.
But the integrity of a government has to be measured by more than an investigation into money.
The integrity of a government must also be measured by the way it governs,
and whether it governs in the public interest and serves the common good.

By this measure, the LNP Government under Scott Morrison corrupted its mandate to govern in the national interest.

It did so by dividing the nation into adversarial camps and favouring one camp over the other.
At the same time, it shrank the mandate of government and divested itself of its Constitutional responsibilities.

Election Issue Universally Ignored

There is one election issue that has been universally ignored by the major parties and the independents in this election campaign. That is, the social crisis engulfing women aged 50+.

These women make up 30% of the female population in Australia, but they constitute the majority on Jobseeker, the majority of those who are locked out of the workforce by ageism and the majority of the homeless. There were over 400,000 older women already homeless or at risk of homelessness. Now, with the CPI at 5.1%, tens of thousands more will become homeless as they give up trying to survive on the obscenely inadequate amount of Jobseeker at $46 p.d. 

Lollies Instead of A Living

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Budget 2022 is handing out lollies when millions of Australians, despite being employed, are losing their ability to feed, clothe, house and support their families and themselves. Trumpeting about unprecedented unemployment figures is meaningless when wages have gone backwards, work has been casualised and employment is defined as working just a few hours per week. Over 60% of those dependent for food on OzHarvest are actually employed.