Centrelink seeking to keep GLBT community informed
Centrelink has begun conducting research in the gay and lesbian community on how best to communicate the changes as a result of the Rudd Government’s equality reforms.
This comes after an elderly gay pair, formerly partners and now in a carer relationship, were told their pensions could be cut under the new equality reforms.
A pensioner or person receiving family benefit payments will no longer be entitled to receive the single rate if they are in a same-sex de facto relationship.
However, gay and lesbian people who live together but are not partners must talk to Centrelink to prove they aren’t in a relationship, a spokeswoman for Community Services minister Jenny Macklin’s office told Sydney Star Observer.
That can mean having separate bank accounts, or a range of measures like that, she said.
Lyn Morgain from Victorian GLBT community organisation, the ALSO Foundation, said it was encouraging to see Centrelink considering the needs of the community.
There are numerous government departments that will be affected by these changes and I personally have a lot of respect for Centrelink that has proactively worked to communicate with the community, she said.
The ALSO Foundation is helping recruit focus group participants in Melbourne and regional Victoria this month. For more information email [email protected] with Urbis in the subject line. Dates for Sydney and NSW sessions are not yet available.
As of 10/12/08 there is nothing at all about this on the Centrelink Website that I can find – so much for informing the public on something which is going to effect most gay people in the future – no matter what age. I’m very angry about these changes – maybe I’ll change my vote at the next election. We might as well wear pink triangles so we can be easily indentified for the staff at Centrelink.
That there are no comments yet on this article and many pouring in to others about Centrelink speaks volumes.
Perhaps the folk from Urbis should read the comments going up on all the other articles about gay pensioners being dumped in the soup, and ponder the remarks from people who are so angry but so afraid they will not attend any focus groups with anyone, people I know in their 70s and 80s are now seeking treatment for anxiety attacks and talking about suicide. Thanks for that, elders can suffer while we get consulted?