WILLIAM WALKER'S OWN WELFARE REFORM PLANS

I HEREBY CALL ON CENTRELINK TO DENY WELFARE PAYMENTS TO DRUNKS, GAMBLERS, SMOKERS AND DRUG ADDICTS AND RESTORE PAYMENTS TO THOSE WHO HAVE KICKED THE HABIT

Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard have already flagged welfare reform but so has William Walker as well.

After expressing dismay and anger at the large number of able bodied bludgers who constantly drink, gamble, use drugs and smoke, I hereby call on Centrelink to deny their payments to those who gamble, drink, smoke and take drugs.

Under my plans people will be required to show bank statements to Centrelink every two weeks, weekly or so and the bank statement must be shown on or before the payment day. Failure to do so will have their welfare payments suspended until they show their bank statements to Centrelink. The bank statements provided to Centrelink will help determine if they have been smoking, drinking, gambling and spending money on drugs. If there are any evidence of that, Centrelink will automatically cancel all their welfare payments until the client is really serious about kicking his habit.

Pubs, hotels, casinos, clubs, liquor bottle shops, supermarkets, smoke shops, doctors, hospitals, pyschologists, police, justice department, corrective departments, and financial counsellors will be required to report to Centrelink on the clients' habit and whether the client has kicked the habit or not. Clients can either have a basics card from Centrelink or not have a basics card at all.

It will be the client's own responsibility to seek help at his own expense to kick the habit but Centrelink will not restore the payments until there is evidence that the client has kicked the habit.

It's all about making sure the client help himself before others can help him. Not only is it unfair for the whole community to pick up the pieces of the mess caused by one unthinkable person but also it is extremely unfair that the taxpayer has to pay to support the person's bad habit. It doesn't serve any purpose to the client or to the whole community, not to mention the whole nation.

This is in response to complaints of late about the able bodied bludgers causing a huge mess expecting others to clean up the mess for them. I wasn't there at the time to witness it but I was told about it and couldn't believe my eyes in utter disgust.

This is an opportunity to reform the welfare system and tie it to the person's bad habits and how to kick the bad habits out so that they will become better people and the community will benefit in the long run.

I hereby agree with Julia Gillard's and Tony Abbott's position on welfare to work.

William Walker