Petition Tag - dsp

Schedule 2 of the Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2010 (Changes to Disability Support Pension) plans to restrict the movement of disabled Australians.

The Bill homepage: http://bit.ly/e66jvR

The government (without regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) wants to restrict international travel for its disabled citizens.

A copy of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities can be downloaded here. http://bit.ly/gtgNyG

Under Article 4:
Countries are to make sure that people with disability enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination of any kind because of disability.

To do this, countries agree to:
- remove or change laws, policies or ways of doing things that discriminate against people with disability;
- make sure that government officials act consistently with the obligations in the Convention;

and more importantly

Article 18: Liberty of movement and nationality

Countries agree that people with disability are free to move, choose where they live and to have a nationality, in the same way as other people.

They should make sure that people with disability, in the same way as other people:
- have the right to get and change their nationality,
- are free to leave any country (including their own), and
- are able to return to their own country.

Many disabled Australians have family including young children overseas and this bill (if passed) will separate them. Many Australians, disabled and abled, young and old will suffer if this bill becomes law.

People have created lives and families within the boundaries of the law. If that law is changed what regard it is there for the human lives left behind?

A list of Senate committee submissions can be found here. http://bit.ly/dF8zBh

Sadly the committee gave them little to no regard.

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TO THE HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER, JULIA GILLARD, THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

This petition supports the citizens of Australia with permanent or severe disabilities on the Disability Support, DSP, draws to the attention of the House: all citizens of Australia with permanent or severe disabilities on the Disability Support, DSP are particularly disadvantaged in regard to finding and maintaining meaningful open employment and must be allowed to retain their full Disability Support Pension, DSP without being unfairly income and assets tested by Centrelink.

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Please sign our Petition requesting that Minister Chris Bowen, the Australian Federal Minister for Human Services remove the blatantly unfair Centrelink income and asset testing, particularly of the wheelchair and scooter users with permanent or severe disabilities on the Disability Support Pension, DSP, registered with a Disability Employment Network, DEN open employment service organisation.

In Australia the Disability Employment Network, DEN comprises of open employment services, large and small to provide specialist assistance to job seekers with disabilities who require on going support to find and maintain employment.

Australian wheelchair and scooter users with permanent or severe disabilities are particularly disadvantaged in regard to finding and maintaining meaningful open employment and must be allowed to retain their full Disability Support Pension, DSP without being unfairly income and asset tested by Centrelink.

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The Issue:

Like most clothing, Penn State apparel is produced in sweatshops. The workers who make our apparel endure starvation wages, long hours, forced overtime, and dangerous working conditions. Most are women and children who suffer mental, physical, and sexual abuse. If they try to assert their basic rights, workers are fired, terrorized, beaten, kidnapped, and murdered.

We know this because the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)--two monitoring agencies affiliated with Penn State--are going into factories where Penn State apparel is being made and are reporting these human rights violations.

The Solution:

Penn State must adopt the Designated Suppliers Program. The DSP would guarantee that university apparel is produced in factories where workers enjoy living wages and are afforded the right to organize unions.

The DSP would not close factories or take people's jobs. In fact, the program promotes job security by empowering universities to provide a constant flow of business to factories where workers' rights are respected.

The DSP simply raises the standards for the workers who are producing Penn State apparel.

The Problem:

Sadly, Graham Spanier's administration refuses to support the DSP. If you'd like to hear their arguments, you can read Dr. Spanier's letter to our organization: http://live.psu.edu/story/28955

If you'd like to hear the truth, read our response:
http://www.safeguardoldstate.org/articles/2008/02/25/student-against-sweatshops-respond-to-spaniers-letter/

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