Desperate families get nothing but platitudes

Annette King  |  Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - 16:31

Reports that the debts of families seeking budgeting advice have risen by 25 per cent show the Government’s promises to help struggling families are nothing more than platitudes, says Social Development spokesperson Annette King.

“The Federation of Family Budgeting Services revealed today that the average debt of clients seeking in-depth budgeting advice has soared from $20,600 to $26,000 in just a year.

“Mortgagee sales are up, personal insolvencies have doubled in a year and families are getting mired in an increasingly complex array of debts to banks, finance companies and Government agencies,” Annette King says.

“Budgeting services are stretched and struggling to cater for desperate families as a result.

“This is further evidence of the fact that the Government’s promise to blunt the sharp edges of the recession has been nothing more than empty rhetoric.

“Community agencies working at the coalface have seen nothing but a few crumbs, dispersed by a new layer of bureaucracy created by the Social Development Minister.

“The Government’s ReStart and nine day working fortnight packages have delivered far less than it anticipated and have quite simply been ineffective,” Annette King says.

“Labour believes the Government could be doing a lot more to stimulate job creation. More jobs equal fewer struggling families spiralling into debt. It’s time the Government cut the platitudes and started doing its job.”