After a lifetime of full-time paid employment, upon retirement I approached the St Vincent de Paul Society in Darwin and offered my services. My wife was ill so I could not offer much away from home time, but could do other things like administration or publicity etc. from my home PC. The president offered me the job of council secretary. Not much to it, he said, just sign a few letters and come to a monthly meeting. No worries — I'm in.
The monthly council meetings were more than I had bargained for, but I managed to make plans to see my wife was looked after while I attended them, including one meeting in Batchelor which I fitted in on my way to see our daughter in Alice Springs when she had her first child. Things travelled smoothly for over a year.
But a week ago I get a phone call from the CEO of Northern Territory Vinnies. Could I come in and sign a letter about emergency relief before the next council meeting? 'Of course.' The letter is produced and, being conscientious, I actually read it. The Federal Government is offering Darwin Vinnies additional ER funds for the rest of the year. And I stop. I am not comfortable.
This same Government has just brought down its 2014/15 Budget and cut programs for the marginalised, especially the unemployed. Those under the age of 30, who could have reckoned on receiving Newstart allowance if unemployed, will spend six months qualifying for it with no financial assistance from Centrelink. No wonder Vinnies and the Salvos and everyone else managing ER will need additional funding — we will be overrun by applicants bringing through the door with them the saddest and most pitiable stories.
I know this because as the year had progressed I had taken on the presidency of a local Vinnies Conference and also started to work in the ER office in the local Vinnies shop. I had seen and heard the stories of people who could not cope in Darwin, where rents are high and costs of living are above the national average, and where, if you are a little outside the mainstream or lacking in trade skills, employment opportunities are limited.
The employment bubble that Darwin has experienced for the last three years is about to contract as INPEX completes its construction phase, and work will be even harder to get. Just as