The government is not supporting middle aged Australians. That is, tremendous support is provided for young and the elderly, but those between 40 and 70 are falling between the cracks.
Seeking to implement an initiative to support this group, I have for the past year been engaging with government for support. Response times have been completely inadequate (why are Ministers and others still using letters when everyone else is using email ?).
With constant reference to Lifeline, it appears the government is creating the illusion of support for this cohort. LifeLine is overwhelmed, provides minimal support and is at best addressing the outcome rather than the cause. This is leading to immense frustration and despair in the community and ultimately is costing the government far more than if they supported the cause of issues.
While headlines note jobs being created, they do not note that these are part time or casual roles which have enormous consequences for people lives (ie not being able to secure home loans etc).
Although the government has now launched the "Try, Test, Learn"fund, the timeframes used by government are out of touch with whats required by the community. ( You will see in the attachment that requests made in July and again in September were only responded to in November,, and were only responded to following extensive correspondence with the local MPs office (who happens to be the Prime Ministers). This considerable wait led to enormous financial strain and stress
Perhaps more effective use of technology, co-ordination across government and a focus on service delivery rather than administration will help alleviate these issues.
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