Lest we forget?

25th April is ANZAC day - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. This is supposed to be a solemn remembrance of soldiers who fought and died in WW1. On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers joined together to set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. Anzac Day was officially named in 1916, and the Australian Army website says: "With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians who died in that war. The meaning of Anzac Day today includes the remembrance of all Australians killed in military operations." Just Australians?

ANZAC included New Zealanders, who might not have reflected as many soldiers as Australia, but they fought just as well as Australians, they died just as Australians, and Anzac Day is still remembered in New Zealand. In a New Zealand history website they explain that for later wars - WW2 and Vietnam - Anzac soldiers fought together against the enemy. Why don't the Australians remember this?

Australia remembers a military history which no longer has any relevation in current history. Since WW1 and WW2 there has been Korea, VietNam, Papua New Guinea, Gulf War, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and, most current, military intevention against ISIL. Australia has been at the front of the war military, often with no New Zealand, yet they still, every 25th April, remember WW1, Anzac Day, and not New Zealanders.

I was in the New Zealand Army back in the 80s. On Anzac Days I used to go with my troop to local towns and stood as a guard on the memorial. It has been many years since then when I moved over here, yet at the one and only Anzac Day I would attend here I was told at one RFL that I wasn't allowed in that day because I was not "Australian" defence. I don't attend any more.

It winds me up that "Lest we forget" is still used, every year, when Australia is somehow only remembering their own soldiers in WW1. It's now 100 years. Isn't it time to lay it down? There are far too many issues and people in our current life. I have listed a few that I support. Do you?

• Brain Foundation introduces themselves as "a nationally registered charity dedicated to funding world-class research Australia-wide into neurological disorders, brain disease and brain injuries." The Brain Aneurysm Support Australia Facebook page which I admin has set up to try to win some funds for Brain Foundation to do research for aneurysms. There is a video included in this application which tells so much about what an aneurysm is and does. Will you vote for us?
• Indigenous people have been in this country for more than 60,000 years. Quite a few Aboriginals were in the Australian Army in WW1, but they were left behind when the white soldiers came home. Now, the current LNP government is still working against them, trying to get them off their own land in WA. That is absolutely unacceptable! Will you support them?
• There are many domestic violence groups throughout the country, yet LNP has cut funds. If you need to find a group in your own area, try the Google search. There are quite a few listed. Jess Hill in The Monthly noted that so far this year "a woman is murdered at least every week, another hospitalised every three hours." Do we allow this to happen, or do we do something to stop it? 
• Oscar's Law works in Victoria to protect companionable animals. It has supported cases against breeding factories. Their website explained: "The smell of a puppy factory is unforgettable, an overwhelming stench of urine and faeces. The simultaneous barking of hundreds of dogs creates a wall of sound that makes it hard to think, let alone converse." That is so sad that most people should support them! Will you?
• Throughout Australia here are some Blind Guide Dogs and Assistance Dogs, which have proven very helpful to people who do need them. These dogs are complete reversals from the Oscar's Law dogs, so support them because they will certainly be trained to help!
• The Heart Foundation "seeks to strategically drive cardiovascular research and facilitate high quality research into the causes, diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, stroke and blood vessel disease." Their website is very good, full of information that every person should know about how their heart lives and how they should look after it. Just like the Brain Foundation, the Heart Foundation relates to everyone. Does it relate to you?
• People on the present unemployment benefit usually do look for work. The Statistics Bureau provides monthly reports which show the movements of the rates, and this has increased from 733,000 from February 2014 to 778,000 this year. In the last 5 years this has grown from 614,000, and does not ever look like getting lower. The government needs to increase the benefit. People need to be supported really. The Guardian wrote an article in February this year with very interesting details - have you read it? Do you support unemployed people? Or do you believe that all of these people choose to be unemployed? Perhaps you should be reading reality about this.

It's now April 2015. Many Australians will attend either the dawn parade or the main parade for the Anzac Day. It is, this year, 100 years since the history happened. For me, it was only a year ago when I had brain surgery for my aneurysm, accompanied by a stroke. I am not working now but I am volunteering in an Art Gallery. If you know people who don't work, for whatever the reason, help them. If you have your own dog because you love dogs, if you run to support some of the very large charities for your own or your relative's reason, if you know about Indigenous people, homeless people, refugees, people who are domestically beaten, people whose property has been stolen, people who are alone, so many people in this country who are not supported, help them.

Lest we forget.

Need a job?

I've been following the articles about this government (LNP and Abbott) who seem to despise unemployed
people, whether young or older, label them as dole bludgers and make some terrible plans for the unemployed to "work for the dole" (WFTD). The Department for Employment started its website (https://employment.gov.au/work-dole) with:

"Work for the Dole activities provide eligible job seekers with work experience which helps job seekers to learn new skills and improve their chance of finding a job."

"Dole" became the principle description for unemployed people and unemployment payments. Britain was even paying it back in the early 20th century. Aussie's WFTD was started back in the 1990s.

"Dole" actually means "a person's lot or destiny" (noun) or "distribute shares of something" (verb). The dictionary.com explained the idiom as "They couldn't afford any luxuries while living on the dole." So very real, but still ignored by the government.

What, exactly, is "WFTD"? Wiki describes this as started in 1998, as "one means by which job seekers can satisfy their mutual obligation requirements. Other mutual obligation measures are accredited study, part-time work, Army Reserves and volunteer work" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_for_the_Dole). On 1 July 2015 "jobactive" comes into existence. It says that jobactive organisations "will assist eligible job seekers to find and keep a job and ensure employers are receiving candidates that meet their business needs". This is broken down to age groups, meaning that people under the age of 30 still need to WFTD for at least 25 hours a week. Perhaps just sweeping the floors. Those aged 30-49 need to do WFTD for 15 hours a week. 

Those from 50-59 still need to do something, but not WFTD. According to ABC last year, more than 200,000 over 50s are on unemployment benefit, an increase of 45% since 2010. Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said: "I would suggest that that's not just population increasing as our population ages – that there are some employment barriers there that older workers are facing and that they are not being able to re-engage with employment." (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-29/older-australians-turning-to-the-dole-new-figures-show/5630552)

A couple of years ago Julia Gillard, the Labor PM, was doing very well to save Australia from the world financial crisis. Australia had low debt compared to many other countries, but we changed when Abbott got into government. Our debt has increased and the debt payment looks to continue to grow in the next 5 years (http://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2014/jun/09/government-debt-it-all-depends-on-how-you-look-at-it). The government has become determined to get an aggressive TPP and fails to tell everyone what this means. GetUp had info on their website about it, calling it "The dirtiest deal you've never heard of" (https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/tpp/tpp/the-dirtiest-deal-youve-never-heard-of). Government just don't care, are just as determined to deal with very large companies who seem to get the right to sue this country if their deal is broken.

To make money the government plans to cut the unemployment benefit and to make unacceptable job training which, in my mind, goes against school training. So why are unemployed people supposed to do "training" to "get them ready" for work? Will sweeping a floor help? Will stacking a shelf help? Will working, with no pay, for companies who have signed a TPP, help the unemployed, or will that help these companies or this government to make their money? 

The government has very recently provided a report on the "Unemployment benefits and the minimum wage" (http://www.ncoa.gov.au/report/appendix-vol-1/9-11-unemployment-benefits-minimum-wage.html), which talks about the change to Newstart Allowance, which is nowhere close to current unemployment benefit. It sounds, from this, that if a person is out of work but may not have been unemployed long enough to go broke, they need to support themselves. This seems completely wrong, but doesn't seem to be able to be changed. This may have been passed to, or advertised to, companies who inform immigrants (for instance, https://www.justlanded.com/english/Australia/Australia-Guide/Jobs/Unemployment-Benefit), and seems to be written as for real already when the government website says 1 July 2015. What do we just believe in?

http://www.chermsidedistrict.org.au/chermsidedistrict/01_cms/details.asp?ID=112

In Google, when I searched for some photos to come on here, I found this one. These, most only men, were unemployed in 1930, lining up waiting to be offered a minimum wage.  What has happened in the 85 years since that day? How many times have governments complained about the dole and make changes to how unemployed can WFTD? Has the dole been related to minimum wages or slipped below that - to well under the "poverty" line? How will any parent, with very little of their own income, support people up to the age of 25?

Has anything changed?  

Get on with it!

In February this year I was a year on into my RRV and I had the right to apply for citizenship. My income made this look not available - I had dropped to DSP after my aneurysm and stroke in April 2014, which is less than half what I had earned when I still had a "job". But belonging to OzKiwi, thankful to them for giving me the information which allowed me to apply for - and get - my RRV, now meant I should, at least, apply.

The information about fees is interesting. Most applicants pay a minimum for their citizenship application. Mine, it seems, has a discount for my DSP. I paid that and I certainly hope that it's real.

Completing the application online is hard, for people like me who have lost our own thoughts with our stroke. I had found that out since I'd been released from the hospital, but I didn't really have anyone to help me to apply, but I have finished it and sent it off - and now have to wait!

The citizenship is covered by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection with this site: http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/fees_forms_appeals/online_apps/. Even the first page on this website gives a whole lot of links to other pages, which you need to check. The following points might help someone like me, who is applying for citizenship.

• Determine if you are eligible. Many Kiwis, it seems, are not eligible. Australian governments have changed the CER 'rights'. Many years ago Kiwis came here from New Zealand without a required passport, but that law changed to call for passports from everyone. Sometime back in 2001 the visas and citizenship were cut off for Kiwis. Some will never be eligible.
• What documents you need. This, basically, includes identity documents, good character documents and supporting documents. There is a separate link to a document checklist which has further links to
  
  tell you just what you need, including for your children. Perhaps they do this to frustrate every applicant. There is a Form 1195 to have completed and enclosed which requires someone who has known you for at least a couple of years, who already has an Australian passport.
• Start your online citizenship application. This covers two general applications - Form 1300t for the age between 18-59 which seems fairly easy, and Form 1200 which covers 60 years of age and over, or 17 years of age and under. This also covers 18 year old people who have ongoing physical or mental incapacity. It doesn't seem to apply to older people who have ongoing physical or mental incapacity. I believe I have an ongoing mental incapacity which is why I'm on DSP. I applied on this form - I guess I will be eventually confirmed or turned down.
• Continue your saved application. It usually can't be immediately finished so you will need to make a "sign in" log with your own password. The government department will send you an email with your Saved Application ID details. Don't lose your password, or you will need to start again!
• Attach documents to your application. When you have completed your application you might then think about your documents. They have to be sent on after you have paid for and sent your application. You get about 7 days to send them on or you might have to re-do your application. The link within this link has more links to tell you what documents you should attach, how your documents should be attached and what size they should be.
• Check the progress of your application. This is to follow your own application online, but, strangely, doesn't really tell me how long my application will be worked on. I received an email from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection just saying they'd received my documents, but they do not give you a date. I rang them a few weeks later to ask how long and they told me that it might be another 8 weeks. That is not "normal". There is a link to a Client Service Charter, which doesn't really tell you anything - except, maybe, in more links.
• Technical information and accessibility. I just didn't even bother with going into the links for this one. To just open the link on the first page says: "We try to make the online information and systems user-friendly for you regardless of your ability or background, by following worldwide web standards and providing information for you in multiple formats." I think that will take me to all sort of places.  I just felt that putting my application in would give them something to look at...
• Frequent asked questions for 1300t and 1290 online forms. If you have someone who knows anything about some HUGE website, they might just be able to read this. This link takes you to this page: http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/fees_forms_appeals/online_apps/faq/ This page has links
  
  to a whole heap of questions, which have further links to other stuff. This, for me, is "phew!!"

If you are a Kiwi, or any other person of source, who is hoping to apply for citizenship here, just remember that using a "guide" will cost you. Lots. If you can have any feelings that you can do this, then DO IT.

I wish everyone who is applying the best of luck.