22 May 2012

UN advises Govt it’s not too late!

The Government must cancel its welfare reforms after the UN slammed them for breaching human rights, the Green Party said today.

Overnight, the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said that the National Government’s Welfare reforms are inconsistent with our international obligations and makes several suggestions on what can be done.

The Committee calls on the Government to reconsider the work test requirement being introduced and highlights the “possible discriminatory impact of welfare reforms”.

It said income management should be applied on an individual basis and according to need.

“This shows the Government should pull back on reforms before it becomes too hard to reverse them”, said Green Party Welfare spokesperson Jan Logie.

“These reforms are an international disgrace.

“The Human Rights Commission, as well as a range of other organisations, has raised concerns about the possible breaches of human rights on the basis of age, gender, family status, and employment status inherent in the reforms.

“Without any solid evidence that the reforms will achieve better outcomes, the Government is willing to sacrifice the human rights of our most vulnerable people.

“This UN Committee clearly does not consider that to be okay and wants amendments in the reforms in order to meet our international obligations. The Government can’t ignore this message,” Ms Logie said.

ENDS

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