Single Mums Suffer from Welfare Tightening

Theoretically, it is a fine idea to spend within the budget by cutting wastage. 

One fell swoop, all single mums (bona fide and genuine or not) have suffered severely.  All are forced to give up on the slightly more generous single mother scheme to Newstart. 

Presumably to weed out the bulk of fraud and cheats who have allegedly milked the welfare system, though unstated, this is a blunt instrument. It is uncertain if it would be effective at all to force more Australians to be more productive economically. 

However, the timing could not have been worst as unemployment figures have shot up last month. 

Many can't make ends meet and may have to resort to drastic measures, ironically, cheating and prostitution if necessary! or so they say, as some have pleaded with the media. 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/govt-defends-welfare-cuts-to-single-mums/story-fn3dxiwe-1226558474956

Most of us have heard stories of faked separation and divorces,  or incentive for women to leave the husband due to the ease of getting  parenting payments. 

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/motherblaming-is-an-outdated-simplistic-view-20130120-2d14g.html

While it may be true that some cheats exist among single mothers, not everyone is out to fleece the government.  Even if there is motivation to remove the culture of dependency and single parent families, changes take time and support from institutions and society.  

To add insult to injury, administrative errors have caused more anxiety and pain for single mothers who were told to destroy their concession cards. 

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/single-parent-pension-warning-an-error-20130113-2cnon.html

This link has been removed from various Australian newspapers. I wonder why?  The likelihood that this is exaggerated and difficult to prove is high on the scale!

Single mums figure big in $80m South Australian welfare fraud 

For the majority of single mothers living in hardship, little help is forthcoming. They must find employment to complement the reduced allowance and cut down on whatever little they have to live with. 

The dire straits faced by single mothers do not matter much to politicians. They do not constitute a large enough voter base for politicians to worry about.