Wednesday 24th of April 2024
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the choice of being unwashed...

homelessness
Abbott remarks draw Salvos' fire

The Salvation Army says it is worried by comments by Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott that homelessness can be a choice for some people.

Mr Abbott made the comments to a meeting of social service providers last week.

Major David Eldridge from the Salvation Army says he hopes Mr Abbott was not trying to politicise the issue.

He says he has not met anyone who has chosen to be homeless.

"I've experienced [people] who have chosen to stay on the streets because of their experiences in services or because of their lack of confidence about returning to the real world," he said.

"They don't think they can make it, but that just means we need to be more persistent."

Major Eldridge says while some cases are harder than others, all homeless people still deserve help.

"Let's not give up on any Australian who finds themselves in the circumstances of homelessness," he said.

meanwhile at the house of cards...

Joe Hockey has shown himself as a sloppy, gaffe-prone opposition treasury spokesman, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

Mr Swan accused his opposition rival of making a series of mistakes during an address to the National Press Club on Tuesday.

And top of the list was an endorsement of the government's strict spending cap, which flies in the face of "his own year-long scare campaign on government spending".

Asked at the Press Club whether he backed the government's two per cent cap on spending, Mr Hockey said: "I accept the framework the government has put in place."

That left the coalition's scare campaign on government spending in tatters, Mr Swan countered.

Mr Hockey also managed to mark his one-year anniversary as opposition treasury spokesman "with a new round of gaffes about core economic facts that demonstrate yet again the risk his sloppiness poses to the Australian economy".

The government has meanwhile slammed the opposition's plan to privatise Medibank Private, which was also flagged by Mr Hockey during the speech.

It says selling the health insurer would not make a dent in the national debt.

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As mentioned before on this site, please don't trust Abbott and Hockey...

sitting duck or staged near bum-ended?

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott got first-hand experience of an accident blackspot after his car narrowly avoided being hit by a truck this morning.

Mr Abbott was on his way to be briefed on safety issues on the Princes Highway south-west of Melbourne when the near miss occurred.

His car was waiting to turn right on a single-lane section of the road at Winchelsea when a truck nearly rammed him from behind.

Amid a cloud of smoke and dust the truck driver managed to go to the left of Mr Abbott's stationary car and pull up on the roadside.

Speaking after the incident near a billboard which read, "Choose a car that could save your life", Mr Abbott said he was relieved no-one was hurt.

"I've got to say that the driver did a great job in keeping his vehicle upright in that situation," he said.

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Gus got to say the driver shoud be charged for reckless driving... Bad driving for reducing speed too late!... Staged near-miss? see toon at top...

hopeless abbott and the homeless...

The Federal Government is being warned of thousands of job losses in the social services sector if it does not extend the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH).

The current agreement expires at the end of June, and Homelessness Australia says the jobs of 3,400 staff and services for 80,000 Australians will be affected if a new agreement is not put in place.

Glenda Stevens, the chief executive officer of Homelessness Australia, told AM the services "are really the safety net of our community".

"These are the organisations that pick up the people who have fallen through all the other cracks," she said.

The NPAH has provided over $320 million of Commonwealth and state and territory funding since it was first signed in 2009.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-06/uncertainties-grow-over-funding-for-homelessness-services/5301900

 

See toon at top...

meanwhile, father maguire...

South Melbourne priest Father Bob Maguire may seem an unlikely hip hop star, but he has set his sights on the charts with a new album to help the homeless.

Kanye West probably never envisaged a no-nonsense priest adapting his work, but this version of Jesus Walks could help Australia's homelessness problem.

It is one of the covers on Father Bob Maguire's album. Supporters who donate more than $25 will receive a download.

"I did exactly what they told me to do. 'Do you mind if the words include shit, drugs - do you mind?' - I said 'look, give me the words for God's sake. If this is what we have to do, this is what we have to do'," he said.

This idea of crowdfunding is popular among budding filmmakers and musicians, but Father Maguire says it will be a fresh way to deal with what has become a "beige" problem.

"The issue of homelessness is shapeless and colourless," he said.

"It's just an issue, and they know they should be interested in it but there's no kind of colour in it to attract their attention more than anything else, like the weather or the football."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-19/father-bob-maguire-hip-hop/5399814

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See Dopey in the toon at top...