Re: [AVN] Re: Is anyone keeping the bastards honest anymore?

[Guest guest]

Hi,Your wish is my command. Here is one section of correspondence that I've just scanned in and corrected as much as I can. It is time consuming so please excuse that I've only done one - I will do more this week time allowing. I have taken out the names of the AVN people involved since I do not have their permission to use their details.Ref No: С/98/45747 April, 1998 Dear XXXXXX Commonwealth OmbudsmanADDRESS: 25TH FLOOR JETSET CENTRE 288

EDW ARD STREET BRISBANE QLD 4000TELEPHONE: (07)32295116TOLL FREE: 1 800 133 057F ACSIMILE: (07) 3229 4010I wrote to you on 30 March 1998 and undertook to

confirm in writing the oral advice you had received from Mrs Leanne Carroll of

this office concerning

measures taken by Centrelink and the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS)

to provide information about the

exemptions to the requirement that children be immunised to qualify for the

Maternity Immunisation Allowance, Childcare Assistance and Childcare Rebate.I gather you were concerned that the December 1997 issue

of the Centrelink publication

"You and Your Family" contained no reference to the exemption

provisions when explaining the requirements for the new Maternity Immunisation

Allowance (MIA). You also complained that Centrelink Call Centre operators

contacted by members of your network either did not volunteer information about

the exemption provisions applicable to MIA; or provided incomplete or

inaccurate information about them.Ms McLellan of Centrelink Customer

Communications Unit wrote to you on 18 February 1998 to apologise that there

was no reference to the exemptions in the MIA article in "You and Your

Family". Centrelink undertook to include references to the exemptions in

future articles in the publication. She also stated that all Call Centres had

been issued with a reminder to provide information about the exemptions in

responding to calls about the MIA.As you know, there was an article in the March

1998 issue of "You and

Your Family" on immunisation and the MIA, Childcare Assistance

and Childcare Rebate. I understand

your concern that the first sentence of the article states:"To

help increase Australia's low immunisation rates, some government

assistance will only be available for children who are up to date with

immunisation". (Underlining added.)I

agree that it may have been preferable if the sentence had been worded along

the lines that "...assistance will generally only be available...".

However given that there is a quite clear and prominent section on Exemptions

on the same page, I think it is fair to expect that even "busy parents,

centrelink officers or maternity nurses" would read the relatively small

amount of copy on that one page of the publication. They should then be able to

gain an accurate picture of the position.I

know you are not satisfied, but we have concluded that the steps Centrelink has

taken to address the particular concerns you had raised about the "You and

Your Family" publication, and the Call Centre operators, are reasonable in

the circumstances. You are free, of course, to raise with us any complaints you

may have about actions of Centrelink in this regard in the future, although I

would ask that, in the first instance, you draw your concerns to the attention

of the Centrelink Customer Relations Unit. It can be contacted on 1800 050004.You

have also complained that a letter (and attachment) of 23 January

1998 from Ms D Swift of the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) to

child care service providers contains the unqualified statement that, from 27

April 1998, there will be"...the

requirement that children be immunised in order to receive child care

payments."You

were particularly concerned that the service providers have been transmitting

this unqualified message to parents, again with no mention of the exemption

provisions.You

received a letter dated 3 March 1998 from Mr Ian McRae of DHFS in which he

apologised that the letter of 23 January 1998 did

not refer to the provisions for exemptions from the immunisation requirements.

He explained that the letter had been intended as only a brief outline of a

number of changes to administrative arrangements for child care payments, and

indicated a fact sheet detailing the immunisation requirements would be sent to

service providers by the second week in March. In the event, it seems that

process was somewhat delayed, and a booklet explaining the changed arrangements

was sent to service providers from Monday 24 March 1998. I have enclosed a copy

of relevant pages of that booklet. It appears to include a clear explanation of

the exemption provisions and how they will operate.In

the circumstances, I do not think that there is any further action that we can

usefully take in relation to your concerns about DHFS. It would have been

preferable if the DHFS letter of 23 January 1998 to

service providers had provided information about the existence of the

exemptions from the outset.However

DHFS has apologised and explained how that happened, and it has now taken what

I would have thought were reasonably appropriate steps to provide accurate and

more complete information to service providers.You

raised some concerns about a letter to the Australian Federation of Child- Care

Associations from Mr Warwick MP, Minister for Family Services. I am sorry

but we can not help you in relation to that matter, as the Minister is not

covered by the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Ombudsman. I can only suggest

(if, indeed, you have not already done so), that you write to the Minister

direct about the matter.Yours

sincerelyKim

Bendali Assistant Commonwealth Ombudsman Queensland Dear

Service Provider^Commonwealth Department ofHealth andFamily ServicesI am

writing to advise you of administrative arrangements for childcare payments.

You may be aware that the Government has received a number of representations

about the likely administrative workload on parents and services of the changes

to the child, care payment arrangements, planned for introduction on 27 April

1998. After considering these representations the Government has decided to

simplify the arrangements for parents by continuing the current administrative

arrangements for Childcare Assistance for the time being. This will mean that

parents in your service will not be required to complete a data collection

form, nor will they be required to inform Centrelink of their changes in using

child care.The

Government has now decided that while all reforms to the program (the

requirement that children be immunised in order to receive child care payments,

the limit of access to non work related care of 20 hours, the limitation of

approved new private sector long day care centre places to 7,000 during 1998 and 1999 and changes

to Childcare Assistance rates for school age care in all sectors) will be

implemented from 27 April 1998, it would be simpler for current payment

arrangements to be maintained for now. Revised payment arrangements will then

be introduced in ways which achieve the Government's objectives without

unnecessarily increasing demands on services and parents. As a

first step, Centrelink will take over the payment of Childcare Assistance using

the current procedures once appropriate administrative arrangements are in

place . This administrative change will have little impact on parents or

services. One enhancement to the Childcare Assistance system will be that

Centrelink will use information from the service reconciliation to advise

parents about the level of payments being claimed on their behalf by services.

In the meantime, Childcare Assistance payments will continue to be made by this

Department. Childcare Rebate will continue to be paid by Medicare. The proposed

introduction of a Child Care card during 1999 will allow for the integration of

Childcare Assistance and Childcare Rebate payments by CentrelinkAttached

is a brief outline of the changes and the implications for services. The Department

will also advise you of the detail of these changes shortly. In the meantime,

if you have any queries, please call your State Office.Yours

sincerely

Swift First Assistant Secretary Family & Children's Services Division2 j . January

1998Childcare

Assistance payments will continue to be made using fundamentally the same

payment procedures as are currently in

place, (ie a system of monthly advances and quarterly

reconciliations). Services will continue to calculate Childcare Assistance for families,

who will continue to have their income assessed by Centrelink.The

payments will be

transferred from the Department of Health and Family Services to Centrelink

around the middle of the year, but the procedures will not change.Childcare

Rebate payments will continue

to be made by Medicare.The

limit of 20 hours per week of Childcare Assistance for non work related care

will be implemented on 27 April 1998. Services will need to obtain confirmation

from parents about their work status to assess their eligibility for over 20

hours of Childcare Assistance per week.The

requirement for children to be immunised in order to be eligible for Childcare

Assistance will be implemented from 27 April 1998. The implementation of this

initiative will be staged, with only new applicants for Childcare Assistance to

be assessed in the first stage.Initially,

services will need

confirmation from parents about their children's immunisation. Centrelink will

take over the management of immunisation requirements as soon as practical.The

restriction of the growth of private sector to 7000 places in 1998 and 1999 will be implemented from 27 April 1998.The

reform of Childcare Assistance for the Outside School Hours Care sector is to

be administered under the same arrangements as those in the other sectors (ie a

system of monthly advances and quarterly reconciliations), and will be

implemented on 27 April 1998.CHrLD CARE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS

FROM 27 APRIL 1998Outside

School Hours Care services will receive the additional training necessary to

help them adapt their administrative processes. AUSTRALIAN¡VACCINATION

NETWORKJeannie McLellan, CentrelinkManager, Customer Communications Unit Box 7788 Canberra Mai I Centre, ACT 261025.2.98

Dear Ms McLellan, I

hope this letter finds you fit and healthy. I am replying to your recent letter dated 18th February, 1998.Yes, it is very unfortunate that "the team" left out the exemption clause, which has always

been part of the Maternity Immunisation Allowance. Many

new parents obtaining this form may now assume that their children must be vaccinated to receive this payment. Your response that references will

be included in future articles on

the subject does not please us at all. When do you anticipate a future article on the subject will be published? In the meantime, your department has made no

effort by way of media or direct mail to correct their unfortunate mistake by allowing

parents to be fully

educated on new policies that

directly affect them and their children.I am well aware that the claim form does mention the exemptions.

However customers will not always

receive this claim form before they

vaccinate. Every time this Allowance is mentioned, it should go without saying that the exemptions are listed.Your response regarding Centrelink Call Centres

infuriates us the most. We spent a great deal of time calling Centrelink and noting the person's name we

spoke to. These names of both agents and Supervisors were passed on in my previous letter. I have again enclosed details of the calls and visits made to Centrelink by our members and theirfamilies.In addition to the errors in print, there is

also a problem with the Centrelink information number. Two weeks ago, we

received a complaint from one of our members that when they called this

facility, they were given incorrect information. We

called and spoke with three of the agents there, Judy, and Nick They

told us that if we were not going to vaccinate our children, we could not get

the $200 payment. They informed us that whether there were any exemptions, we

were told no ï¿¿ï¿¿that the whole

purpose of the legislation was to get people to vaccinate and if we weren't

going to, then we would not be getting the payment.Meryl Oorey, President of AVN, then spoke with

two supervisors. and Nigel Wakefield. had no knowledge of any

legislation regarding this payment - inexcusable for the body, which is

supposed to be administering it. Nigel Wakefield knew that there were

exemptions and could not explain why the staff was misinforming those who

called, but assured her that he would take care of the situation immediately

and make sure that everyone was aware of their responsibility to give correct

information.On 5/1/98, she again contacted the 131305 number

and spoke with someone by the name of (606) about these payments. She

said that she wanted to know if she could still get the $200 maternity

allowance if she did not vaccinate. He told her that it was only for people who

were vaccinating. When she asked if there were any exemptions, he started to

read out the act, describing medical exemptions. He seemed quite reluctant to

even let her know about that. When she asked if there were any other

exemptions available because a medical exemption did not fit her criteria, he

again reluctantly told her that there are conscientious exemptions available

but they are not easy to get and the doctor that a parent sees must be

satisfied that you are truly a conscientious objector before you will be

allowed to claim the money.This is, of course, completely false and against

the entire spirit of this legislation. Yesterday, another of our members living at the

Gold Coast contacted us. She went into her local Centrelink office to find out

about her entitlements for the child she is due to have this year. told

her in the Palm Beach office that there were exemptions but that she didn't

have the appropriate form to give her. She said that when she has her child,

she was to write a letter explaining why she isn't vaccinating, then, have a

doctor write a letter to explain that he had spoken with her, both letters were

to be attached to the mysterious and, as yet unseen claim form which would be

lodged at Centrelink She

would then get a cheque for $950.She wasn’t satisfied with this response and

wanted to see exactly what the claim form would say so she called the 131305

number and spoke with Anne in who told her that the hospital where she

delivered her child would have the claim form and would give it to her then.

She told Anne that she was having a home birth and had already asked her

midwife for the form but was told that it wasn't available.She asked Anne exactly what the process was for

filing a claim and was told that there are three separate exemption forms:She would get whichever form applied to her

situation, fill it out and send it in to Centrelink.Somebody at Centrelink (she never said who)

would then look at the form and make a decision, based upon some unknown

criteria, as to whether or not she was eligible for the payment.When this member asked Anne to fax her the

appropriate forms, she was told that it couldn't be faxed, but she would be happy

to mail her one in a couple of weeks!On the 25th February, I called Centrelink 131305 and spoke with

Tricia from Brisbane at 8.10am. She did not tell me about exemptions, but told

me I would receive the $250 when my baby was fully immunised. I said I did not

want to vaccinate my child so she told me that I would not be eligible for this part of the

payment. I then called again at 10.30 and spoke to Margaret. She

told me that I would be eligible for the $750 after my

baby was born and the $200 when I could prove my baby was fully immunised at 18

months. I said I did not want to vaccinate my baby so would I still get

the second part of this payment. She said she did not know, that Centrelink

only acted on behalf of Family Services Department and I would have to ring

them on 1800048998. That number was incorrect. I again telephoned 131305 at 12noon and

spoke with Glen

who told me that my baby would need to be

fully immunised at 18 months to receive the $200. I said I wasn't vaccinating

my child so could I still get this money. He said yes and I would need to visit

a doctor to get the exemption and it was a relatively easy process. Glen was the most

helpful but again he did not say that I could obtain the $200 if my child was fully immunised or

I was a conscientious objector until I asked him. This means that parents are

ringing and are being led to believe

that they must have their children fully immunised before they can obtain this

payment. Another lady also rang Centrelink in NSW and spoke with Fiona at

8.30am today. Fiona did not mention the exemption clause but said that to

receive the full payment, you had to show proof that your baby was fully immunised.

When questioned if there were any exemptions, as this lady did not intend to

vaccinate her child, Fiona said she did not know and would ask someone else.

After holding for about 6mins, Fiona came back and said she thought there might

be medical or conscientious exemptions but could not tell her how to obtain

these. Then, another of our members visited Lismore Centrelink yesterday

24.3.98 and was not told about exemptions at all. She rang Centrelink 131305

today and spoke with with an

American accent. He told her she could claim the $200 in April if she did

not vaccinate her child.As you can see Centrelink operators are still not informing parents of their rights without being

prompted and even then they are not giving the correct information. Exemption

information is not forthcoming. We believe it is the Government’s

responsibility to ensure all parents are fully

informed and demand a media report be drafted and posted on the fact that all

parents are entitled to receive the MIA and how to go about it.If the Government and Centrelink did care about parents receiving

the right information, then they would have gone to great lengths to ensure all

information was correct before going to print. But more importantly, they would

have ensured journalists from major newspapers and television were

also aware of exemptions that are associated

with this policy. Only one major newspaper mentioned exemptions, and that was a very

small part of the article. I spoke to several journalists regarding this and

all were unaware that exemptions existed.We believe the Government and Centrelink owe it to the Australian

public to come clean on the facts, allow parents to be informed of their rights

without delay allowing them to make educated factual decision for themselves

and their children.Yours faithfully.XXXXXXXXX Secretary AVN WYNNUM

PLAZA QLD 4179 Reply from Centrelink to the letter

above: Dear XXXXXXXXX Thank you for your facsimile of 9 December

1997 to the Prime Minister, and your letter of 3 January 1998 to Centrelink,

regarding the Maternity Immunisation Allowance and an article in "You and

Your Family".I regret

that the immunisation article in "You and Your Family" did not

mention the exemption clause which is part of the Maternity Immunisation

Allowance. The

immunisation article submitted to the editor of "You and Your Family"

did contain information regarding exemptions to the

immunisation requirements. Unfortunately,

due to space and other considerations this section was edited. The impact of

the editing has been brought to the attention of the team, which produces

"You and Your Family". The team has now given an

undertaking to include references to exemptions in all future articles on this

subject.I can

assure you that exemptions are brought to the attention of customers when they

claim the Maternity Immunisation Allowance. A claim form, which incorporates

information on exemptions to immunisation, must be completed before the

Allowance is granted. I have enclosed a copy of the claim

form for your reference.In relation

to Centrelink Call Centres, all Call Centre Managers were issued with

instructions about changes to the Maternity Immunisation Allowance.

Instructions were also provided in relation to exemptions. Every effort is

taken to bring to the attention of all Call Centre Operators to policy as soon

as information becomes available. As I

do not know which operator and supervisor you

spoke with and the nature of the questions asked,

I am unable to comment on the specific advice given.

Given the sensitivity surrounding this particular Allowance a

reminder has been issued to all Call Centres to provide information about the

exemptions.The Government

and Centrelink do care about parents receiving the right information and there

was certainly no intention of misleading the public. I trust the information in

this letter clarifiesthe situation

for you. Yours sincerelyjeannie

McLellan Manager,

Customer Communications Unit J The

Hon Warwick MPMinister for Family Services Federal Member for Bass /ï¿¿/ï¿¿Ms Judy Atkinson President ,..Australian Federation of Child Care Assoes

(AFCC A)PO Box 317 CURTIN ACT 2606. С g toÌï¿¿'*Dear Ms AtkinsonI am writing to advise you of administrative arrangements for childcare payments.

You maybe aware that the Government has received a number of representations

about the likely administrative

workload on parents and services of the changes to the child care payment arrangements,

planned for introduction on 27 April 1998. After considering these representations the Government

has decided to simplify the

arrangements for parents by continuing the current administrative arrangements

for Childcare Assistance for

the time being. This will mean that parents will not be required to complete a data collection form, nor will they be required to inform Centrelink of their

changes in using child care.As announced last year, reforms to the program

are to be implemented on 27 April 1998. These are the requirement that children

be immunised in order to receive child care payments, the limit of access to non work related care of 20 hours, the limitation of

approved new private sector long day care centre places to 7,000

during 1998 and 1999 and changes to Childcare Assistance rates for school age care in all sectors.The Government has now decided that while these

reforms to the program will be implemented from 27 April, it would be simpler for

current payment arrangements to be maintained for now. Revised payment

arrangements will then be

introduced in ways which

achieve the Government's objectives without unnecessarily increasing demands on

services and parents.To make the changes to payment arrangements

easier to implement when the necessary systems are in place, Centrelink will take over the payment of Childcare Assistance,

using the current procedures, once appropriate administrative arrangements are

in place. This administrative change will have little impact on parents or services. One enhancement to the Childcare Assistance

system will be that Centrelink will use information from rhc service

reconciliation to advise

parents of the level

of payments being claimed on their

behalf by services. In

the meantime Childcare Assistance payments will continue to be made by the Department of Health and Family

Services. Childcare Rebate will continue to be paid by Medicare The

proposed introduction of a Child Care card during 1999 will allow for the integration of Childcare Assistance

and Childcareï¿¿ Rebate payments by Centrelink. I have greatly appreciated the efforts of your

organisation in keeping the Government informed about the sector's views

on the proposed changes. This

decision further demonstrates that the Government is listening to the concerns of

all the parties, and will continue to consult and respond in ways which involve all relevant parties. You will be advised about the detail of these changes by the Department

shortly. If you have any queries about the changes, call Ian McRae, Assistant

Secretary, Subsidies and Financial

Management Branch, on 02 6289 3829.I look forward to working further with you to

ensure we have an effective and viable

child care industry as we move into

the next century. Yours

sincerelyWarwick

XXXXXXXX

Secretary

Australian Vaccination Network QUEENSLAND

4178 Dear

XXXXXXXXXXX Thank

you for your letter of 26 February 1998 concerning the

letter sent to child care service providers in late January regarding

administrative changes to child care payments.The

January letter to services contained only a brief outline of changes to the

administrative arrangements for child care payments. In an effort to keep the

letter short and to the point a large amount of information was

not included, eg. exemptions to the limit on access to non work related care. The

letter advised services that the Department would send details of the

administrative changes at a later date.Notwithstanding

the intention of that letter it is agreed that some services

and families could have been given an impression that there were

no exemptions to the immunisation requirements. This is

certainly not the case as the exemption arrangements included in the Child Care

Payments Act 1997 will all be retained under the revised

arrangements. I apologise

for any inconvenience which may have been caused.I

would expect that the detailed letter to services relating to revised child

care administrative arrangements will be sent to services by the second week in

March. A separate fact sheet detailing the immunisation requirements, including

the exemptions, will be included in that letter. A copy of that

letter will be faxed to your organisation upon finalisation.1 hope

that this response has addressed your concerns. Please contact Bent on

02 62893729 if you have further concerns regarding this matter.Yours

sincerelyIan

McRae Assistant Secretary Subsidies and FinancialManagement

Branch 3 March 1998 XXXXXXXXX

Secretary

Australian Vaccination Network QLD

4178Dear XXXXXXXXThank

you for your correspondence of 25 February, 15 March and 23 March 1998 regarding Centrelink's Maternity

Immunisation Allowance. Thank you also for your facsimile of15

March 1998 to the Minister

for Social Security.I am

sorry that you were not satisfied with my previous response. Contrary to your

comments in your letter of 25 February

1998, the names of the Centrelink Call Centre operators and supervisors were

not contained in your previous letter. I appreciate you sending them to me now.

You will be pleased to know that your President, Ms Dorey, also raised these

issues with the Minister through representations to the Hon Kathy Sullivan MP.

The Minister is replying to Mrs Sullivan.I

understand XXXXXXXXX, Vice President of the Australian Vaccination Network, met

with Centrelink National Support Office managers last month in Canberra and

discussed a number of issues with them. A copy of the draft conscientious

objection form was provided to her during that meeting. Ms XXXXXX

was also provided with a copy of the additional information which was to appear

in the March edition of "You and Your Family".Centrelink

welcomes customer feedback and appreciates the information the Australian

Vaccination Network collected and provided. When customer feedback is received,

managers can follow up with an inquiry into identified concerns so that

appropriate action can be taken to prevent similar problems occurring in the

future.As an

improvement to customer service and to increase accountability, a Call Centre

receipt number is issued to customers when their record is accessed by an

operator. This enables Centrelink to identify the operator and the information

provided. The receipt numbers are automatically generated by the computer system,

so unless a customer's record is accessed a receipt number cannot be provided

to a caller.Unfortunately,

the information Ms Dorey provided in her letter to Mrs Sullivan, quoted in your

follow up letter to me, is insufficient to follow up with the specific

operators. Without a receipt number there is no record of the conversation and

with whom the caller spoke, unless they have provided the caller with some

other form of identification. The reference to (606) is also not

possible to follow up as 606 contains insufficient characters for a Centrelink

receipt number.We

are, however, taking action to provide a better service on this issue. In

addition to the general reminder issued in February, a letter has been sent to

all Call Centre managers to reinforce the need for details of the exemption to

be included when responding to customer enquiries on this subject.You

comment in your letter that you believe information in the relevant article in

the latest edition of "You and Your Family", is misleading. The

opening sentence describes the major objective of the Government's immunisation

initiative. The remainder of the article provides more detail on how to meet

the requirements for Childcare Assistance, Childcare Rebate and the Maternity

Allowance. The article has a sub-heading of "Exemptions" which brings

to the attention of readers that exemptions to immunisation exist. The purpose

of "You and Your Family" is to provide a guide to Commonwealth

payments and services available to families. It is not intended to include

detailed information on all benefits and allowances available to families.Thank

you for the suggested form to be used by people applying for the Maternity

Immunisation Allowance and who do not wish to vaccinate their children. It was

referred to Centrelink's Families area for consideration. You will be pleased

to know that the information you provided will be included on the final

conscientious objection form. The only exception is a correction to details you

provided. Information in your final paragraph will be included on this form as

an option for claimants. Your form included a reference to the Child Care

Payments Bill 1997, however, the Maternity Immunisation Allowance is paid under

the Social Security Act.The

conscientious objection form is expected to be available this month and will be

distributed to all Centrelink Customer Service Centres and Call Centres.I

trust this information is of assistance. Yours sincerely Jeannie McLellan Manager

Customer Communications Unit Senator Rosemary Crowley Labor Senator for

South AustraliaIt is

clear that there is a range of sincerely held views about

immunisation in the Australian community and the Opposition has received many

letters about this matter. On the one hand, many Australians are concerned

about the dangers to our community as a result of our low immunisation levels.

On the other hand, there are concerns about the risks

of the vaccines themselves.The

Opposition supports the current immunisation campaign and believe

the package contains an appropriate balance of incentives and

penalties. We are also pleased that the campaign builds on Labor's initiatives

on immunisation, particularly the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register

and the Divisions of General Practice.Labor

believes that the range of measures in the campaign

will lead to significantly higher immunisation

rates amongst Australian children and that this will be of

benefit to the community as a whole.The

package will lead to higher rates of immunisation

coverage, and while there is a strong inducement to encourage immunisation, the

Government's policy promises that parents who do not wish to

have their children immunised are free to make that choice without any penalty provided

they have received balanced information on the risks.If

you would like more information on the immunisation

campaign, the ] )epartment

of Health and Family Services has prepared an information kit which can be

obtained by contacting Olga Kusiak on (02) 6289 8654.Thank

you for taking the time to write to me on this important issue. Yours

sincerelyRosemary

A Crowley Senator for South Australia19January

1998 SENATOR BELINDA NEAL Shadow Minister for Child Care, Consumer Affairs, Local Government

and HousingXXXXXXXXX

Secretary

QLD 4178Dear XXXXXXXX5

December 1997Thank

you for your letter concerning the Government's changes to

childcare. The Labor Party believes that these cuts will cause hardship for

parents and disruption to a system which,

while not perfect, was delivering high quality childcare which was affordable

to parents.We

are concerned that the Coalition Government has withdrawn operational subsidy

from community based long day care and outside school hours care as an economy

measure, and at the same time has reduced real rates of

subsidy to parents through freezing Childcare Assistance and the Childcare Cash

Rebate and changing the income tests.In

total, the changes to childcare in the

last two Budgets have taken $820 million out of the childcare industry.But

worse than that, the changes have been brought about in an incompetent

and piecemeal fashion, without proper consultation with the industry or

parents. Even after the legislation had been passed in the

House of Representatives and was being debated m the Senate, the Government had

not drafted the documents which contain the detail of the implementation of the

changes.Labor

has forced the Government to change some of the most obviously unworkable

features of its legislation - such as the

implementation date, which will be 27 April instead of 1 January.Unfortunately,

there were other changes which illustrate the Government's lack of

understanding and which we were unable to alter. Among them were the limit on

family day care for shift workers, which remains 6 hours

a day outside 'normal' hours; the need for a

doctor's certificate for Childcare Assistance

to be paid if a child does not use a day's care

because of illness; and the huge increase in administrative

requirements for outside school hours care and family day

care.The

Opposition will be working to protect the childcare system from further cuts.

Your support will be important to us.BELIND; NEALShadow

ML ster

for Child Care, Consumer Affairs, Local Government &

HousingParliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 3095 Facsimile:

(02) 6277 3092 Suite 3. Level 1. 22-28, Edgeworth Oavid Avenue, HORNSBY NSW 2077 Telephone:

(02) 9482 1099 Facsimile: (02) 9482 1042 Freecall:

Meryl Dorey,National PresidentThe Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.Investigate before you vaccinateEditor,Living Wisdom MagazineFamily, Health, EnvironmentPO Box 177BANGALOW NSW 2479AUSTRALIAhttp://www.avn.org.auhttp://www.living-wisdom.comPhone: 02 6687 1699 - FAX 02 6687 2032skype: ivmmagThe AVN is a Charity Authority Holder (CFN11694).We rely on the help and support of our members and subscribers to continue offering our services freely and without prejudice.Please consider helping us by subscribing to Living Wisdom and joining as an AVN member. Go to http://www.avn.org.au to subscribeWe also sell books and information packs. Go to http://avn.org.au/catalog/ for more details.

On 19/01/2010, at 6:58 PM, oufreshtideas wrote:

Hi Meryl,

I was wondering if we could see this?

In fact, we have letters from the Commonwealth Ombudsman dating back to 1998 saying basically, "[Medicare] [Centrelink] (fill in appropriate name) are very sorry that they gave Australian parents the incorrect information about their rights when it comes to vaccination. They promise not to do this again.

It might help with any letter writing. I don't believe there was any question as to how it was meant to sound in the article. It wouldn't matter if you were an American, Kiwi or come from Timbuktu - if you have a command of the English language the general gist is they were trying to pull the wool. But I don't speak DER SPIEGEL de bureaucrat so maybe that is what it means to them. Hmmmm.

Cheers from

>

> Is anyone keeping the bastards honest anymore?

>

> Similar versions of the following story have been reported by the sycophantic, unquestioning Australian media over the last 2 days. Please read the report and then, read my comments following. This is very important information so any help you can give in publicising it would really be appreciated!

>

> Immunisation History Should Be Checked (January 17, 2010)

>

> Parents are urged to check their child's immunisation history online ahead of the new school year, says Minister for Human Services Bowen.

>

> Medicare Australia Online Services allows parents to download their child's immunisation history from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register.

>

> "It's important to get your child's immunisation history statement now, as many primary schools and some preschools require proof of immunisation prior to enrolment," Mr Bowen said in a statement on Sunday.

>

> Parents also need to ensure their child is up to date with immunisation for the Child Care Benefit and the Maternity Immunisation Allowance family assistance payments.

>

> More than 380,000 immunisation statements have been viewed by parents using Medicare Australia Online Services.

>

> *********************************************

>

> Government ministers, just like all other public servants, have an obligation to tell the truth when they are speaking in their official role. This article, which states it is from Minister Bowen, Minister for Human Services, is completely wrong (and that is putting it nicely.)

>

> The AVN was involved in drafting the legislation which preserved the right for all parents to receive their financial entitlements whether they vaccinate or not. Parents do NOT need to `ensure their child is up to date with immunisation'. If they want to get the Child Care Benefit and the Maternity Immunisation Allowance, all they need to do is register as a Conscientious Objector.

>

> As for the other part of the article, the one that states, "It's important to get your child's immunisation history statement now, as many primary schools and some preschools require proof of immunisation prior to enrolment,", this is also completely wrong. Firstly, rules governing what information is required prior to entry into school or preschool is under State – not Federal jurisdiction. And every single State in Australia states (with different words – but with the same meaning) that it is illegal for a school to discriminate against a child as a result of their vaccination status.

>

> Every Australian State has requirements for parents to produce a certificate of vaccination status, showing what vaccines if any their child has received. But whether they are fully vaccinated, completely unvaccinated or somewhere in between, they cannot be denied a place in school, preschool, childcare, daycare or playgroup. It is illegal. In every State. And Minister Bowen should have known this. Just as he should have known that you do NOT need to vaccinate to receive any government financial entitlements.

>

> Today, I called and spoke with Bowen's Media Liaison Officer – a woman who seemed to epitomise what it means to be a bureaucrat.

>

> When I informed her of what I was calling about, she asked me what the problem was with the wording of Mr Bowen's statement. I told her that vaccination was not compulsory for schooling. She then tried to tell me that I had interpreted the words incorrectly. That when it says that, "many primary schools and some preschools require proof of immunisation prior to enrolment", that wasn't intended to convey that it was actually a requirement. Hmmmm. I know that I'm American, but I think that my command of English is good enough to know that required means `you have to'.

>

> I asked her how she interpreted this phrase and she refused to answer me.

>

> I then told her that the information about the Childcare Payments was also incorrect and she insisted that it was right because it had been provided to them by Medicare.

>

> Well, excuse me, but both Medicare and Centrelink have a long and checkered history of omitting the fact that you can still get your government payments even if you do not vaccinate and we have the Ombudsman complaints to prove it. In fact, we have letters from the Commonwealth Ombudsman dating back to 1998 saying basically, "[Medicare] [Centrelink] (fill in appropriate name) are very sorry that they gave Australian parents the incorrect information about their rights when it comes to vaccination. They promise not to do this again.

>

> The Media Liaison stated that she would contact Medicare to clarify this issue (I gave her the name of the legislation and the year it was passed) but she could not promise when she would do this or that she would get back to me when she has an answer.

>

> There you go! That's a responsive government official for you!

>

> Of course, we are currently filing yet another complaint with the Commonwealth Ombudsman (against Medicare for continuing to provide this incorrect information) and also with the Special Minister of State regarding the incorrect information given out by the Minister.

>

> But why is it that the government can continue to issue incorrect statements? Why is it that our tax dollars continue to be used to produce information that is just plain wrong. And where are the investigative journalists who will actually ask the right questions when statements like this are made rather than kow-towing to the government and the medical community on any drug or vaccine related issues?

>

> Lastly, is this statement related to the up-coming legislation being debated in Federal Parliament this February which seeks to quarantine and withhold Family Allowance payments from parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, calling that neglectful parenting?

>

> If you are also concerned about this misinformation, please write to Minister Bowen and let him know how you feel.

>

> His details are below and if you can send a copy of your letter to me at meryl@..., that would be very much appreciated.

>

> Electorate Office

> 115 The Crescent

> Fairfield NSW 2165

> AustraliaOffice hours: 9am-4:30pm

>

> PO Box 802

> Fairfield NSW 1860

> Australia

>

> Telephone: 02 9726 4100

>

> Facsimile: 02 9724 6115

>

> Email: chris.bowen.mp@...

>

> Parliament House

> M1/24

> Canberra ACT 2600

> Australia

>

> Telephone: (02) 6277 7200

>

> Facsimile: (02) 6273 4406

>

> Meryl Dorey,

> National President

> The Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.

> Investigate before you vaccinate

> Editor,

> Living Wisdom Magazine

> Family, Health, Environment

> PO Box 177

> BANGALOW NSW 2479

> AUSTRALIA

> http://www.avn.org.au

> http://www.living-wisdom.com

> Phone: 02 6687 1699 - FAX 02 6687 2032

> skype: ivmmag

>

> The AVN is a Charity Authority Holder (CFN11694).

>

> We rely on the help and support of our members and subscribers to continue offering our services freely and without prejudice.

>

> Please consider helping us by subscribing to Living Wisdom and joining as an AVN member. Go to http://www.avn.org.au to subscribe

>

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>