We shall provide better care for the socially weak people focused on:

• Simplification of the administration and distribution of welfare (reorganizing and streamlining of Centrelink). Extensive changes in welfare administration and bureaucracy will enable substantial savings, which will be channelled back to the community.

• Discontinuance of government support for Job clubs, Job Search Training, Job networks and other parasitic services creating little or no value for the community or the job-seekers alone.

• Abolition of active job-searching requirements for basic welfare recipients (such as the current Newstart). If there are enough jobs most people will always prefer paid employment to the dole. As in every society, there will always be a few people not interested in work for various periods of time, happy with the basic standards of the welfare system. For this little minority it will be far better to provide some means of existence instead of forcing them to work or look for work. The value of such work is often much less then the dole expenditure.

• “Work for the dole” system will be transformed into efficient government enterprise (similar to Roosevelt’s Work Progress Administration), capable of providing jobs for everyone who wants to work. The new Department for Public Works will be a non-profit organisation and will pay real wages much higher than the dole. It will target key industries, requiring relatively low level training but being of special significance to the country: waterfront, infrastructure, utilities, health and aged care, public service, etc. The enterprise will be professionally managed and competing with other businesses, for the benefit of the whole community. It will provide short and long term career opportunities for many people, much more fulfilling than crowding the Centrelink or other welfare offices.  While such a venture may not be able to provide careers for people like rocket scientists or astronomers, it will be an important stepping-stone towards further career development for many others.

• We shall also streamline the welfare payment system by making it readily available to everyone in need. The claim, interview and assessment process shall be conducted entirely over the phone/internet. Approval of most claims shall take no more than a day (if not on the spot), rather than weeks... Once approved your allowance shall be maintained without any further bureaucracy and effort – no weekly, fortnightly or other regular forms to fill, mandatory activities to perform or other time and money to waste (the only obligation of the welfare recipient shall be to inform Centrelink when the circumstances change towards the better). Your allowance shall be automatically deposited into concession debit card account (which shall be available from many banks) and the key card shall be posted to you within a couple of days. This government key card shall be used for obtaining concession prices, rates, etc. on a great range of goods and services available from many private and govt. businesses, agencies etc. (e.g. paying your energy bill, vehicle registration, rent or movie ticket with the card would automatically select the concession amount), as well as normal daily shopping and many other services (please note that it won’t allow cash withdrawals and gambling, as well as purchase of alcohol and tobacco).

• Current welfare rates shall be reviewed (many of them aren’t enough to pay for the very basic necessities) and then updated and indexed for inflation every 6 months.