Shirley Johnson: Youth Justice Consultant critiques the Government's new benefit sanctions scheme

The Government's being accused of failing to learn from past mistakes with its new benefit sanctions scheme. 

It's announced new rules requiring beneficiaries to reapply more often. 

People who fail to follow the rules could see half their benefit put on a payment card can that only be spent on essentials. 

Youth justice consultant Shirley Johnson told Ryan Bridge we've had measures like this before and claims they didn't work.  

She says it feels foolish to go back and re-do what didn't work before, when other measures are already working and are very effective. 

Johnson said that while accountability's important, many young people are grappling with a challenging job market.  

She told Bridge that unemployment's going up, and it's currently twice as high for young people. 

Johnson says many young people are doing it tough and punishing them won't help. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Beneficiary bashing or reasonable expectations. The government has introduced tougher
rules and harsher penalties for beneficiaries. Job Seekers will have
to reapply for the benefit every six months, and a
new traffic light system which will indicate whether you're complying
with the rules that came into a false yesterday. There
will also be new sanctions like money management. It means

(00:21):
that half of a person's benefit could go on an
electronic payment card which you can only use for things
like essentials like groceries and clothing, but only if they
break the rules to begin with, don't meet the obligations, right,
So what does this mean for particularly young job seekers?
Youth Justice consultant advocate Sherley Johnson's with me now, Sheery,
good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So I suppose there's two Well, there's obviously two arguments here,
But my question to you would be what is unreasonable
about the expectations?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well, you're right, obviously we need some accountability, but there
always is a bit of an undertone about people who
find themselves on benefits for whatever reason something the people
who you can't trust, so therefore you've got to manage
their money. And it's a sense that they're sitting at

(01:19):
home English and on this money which we are giving them.
It's just not the reality. We exist in a recessionary
times for adults finding it hard to get to work,
and so if you look at adult unemployments going up,
young people it's always about double of that. So for

(01:40):
them to get work, it's really tough times at the moment.
And I don't think punishments it's the way to activate
this in any way at all.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
But so let's be clear, you don't get punished for
just being on the benefit. You only get punished if
it and you don't even get punished if you're on
the benefit and you can't find a job. You get
punished if you don't meet the obligations right, and there
are levels of punishment and traffic light systems, etc.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, I think even that idea, like i'd like to
believe that every young person has a casework that they're working,
how you wouldn't know very clearly how they're going in
terms of trying to get a job in supporting them.
The idea that every six month scene you've got to
reapply it really is a bit of a sense of punishment.

(02:33):
Nothing is more terrifying than him to go into an
organization like MSD to apply to see whether you've got
any more money again, and like, I just think some
of those steps are just unnecessary because one of the
key things that we've found over the years in terms
of turning things around for young people, because a lot

(02:56):
of young people are on benefits kind of either don't
have the skills, have been through a lot of traumas
that have lost tufts and confidence both in themselves and
the system as quality relationships are really important so that
they rebuild themselves and anything that gets in the way
of that is quite destructive. And none of this is

(03:19):
new none, No, I know we have tried before where
beneficiaries are only allowed to purchase whatever I've tried before
where you know, you have to work to get the
doll and they actually found that it didn't work. So
it's kind of feels to me a little bit fullness
to go back and redo what we know doesn't work

(03:42):
when there are in fact a lot of programs out
there that are working incredibly well.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Surely thanks for your time that Shirley Johnson, she's the
Youth Justice Consultant Advocate. Responding then to the government's changes
on penalties and you know, criteria, et cetera. Sanctions.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
For more from news talks there be and live on
air or online.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
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