‘Dob in a Drug User’ and Their Benefits will be Cut!

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison made waves last week when he proposed to stop welfare payments to people who are suspected of using ice.

The announcement is the latest in a series of nationwide attempts to tackle Australia’s ‘ice epidemic.’

While Morrison’s proposal may sound good to some, it has been resoundingly condemned by social workers and other professionals who are actually experienced in dealing with those affected by “ice”.

The Proposal

Speaking to journalists last week, Morrison made the sweeping generalisation that ice ‘is a drug you can see people on benefits using.’

He then proposed to limit or freeze welfare payments to people who Centrelink and Job Active workers “dobbed in”, and to users who admitted being on drugs.

Morrison declared the move to be necessary in order to address the fact that “ice” reduces the user’s employment opportunities.

He announced that the scheme would be modelled of that which is currently implemented in New Zealand, which allows welfare officers to “identify” vulnerable people and refer them to support services such as counselling.

The Problems

Many are outraged by Morrison’s plan, labelling it as ill-conceived and counter-productive.

And it’s easy to see why. The assumption that Centrelink workers will be able to identify those on “ice” is flawed – indeed, there is every possibility that they could mistake a mentally ill or otherwise vulnerable person as drug affected.

Centrelink workers have no training on how to identify people who are battling addiction, nor do they have any means of validating their observations. Their decision could have grave and unjust consequences for welfare recipients.

Since Morrison’s announcement, experts have banded together in a bid to prevent the plan from going ahead. Among them is Matt Noffs; Chief Executive of the Ted Noffs Foundation, an organisation that provides supports disadvantaged and drug-affected young people.

Mr Noffs has previously spoken out against government moves to tackle the nation’s ice problem – and has called the latest announcement a ‘thought bubble’ which will only lead to more crime.

Mr Noffs is so outraged that he has vowed to take a busload of ice users to Canberra to confront Scott Morrison to show him that ice addiction affects a wide range of people – both functional and dysfunctional – contrary to the Minister’s assumption.

Noffs’ assertion is supported by a recent article in which a man by the name of Chris describes his ongoing battle with ice despite being an IT professional earning over $100,000 per year.

In that article, Chris describes his frustration with “the media’s perception that all meth addicts are down and outs with teeth missing who don’t feed their kids and steal from everyone,”

The Director of the Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre, Jake Najman, has also criticised the proposal, saying that Morrison has exhibited “appalling ignorance of what the problem is.”

Mr Najman believes that freezing welfare payments will do little to deter addicts from getting their hands on drugs – and will push them towards crime in order to support their habit.