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THE ECLECTIC NO-MORE-AID DRUG TEST ‘Hello, Madam – have you looked for work this week? And could you just urinate in this jar?’ Are my eligibility and capacity for work actually present in my urine? The federal government wants to play tough-lovedaddy and drug test welfare recipients. If a positive test is returned, then they’re subjected to income management, via a cashless welfare card. If the Newstart recipient refuses the test, then they lose their benefits. Oh that makes sense – force them into crime – that way we can just keep our ‘unwanted’ in prisons. If we hurry up and privatise the prisons, then pretty soon we’ll be able to monetise our low-level drug users! They’ll be off the streets and in our corporate jails. The government is criminalising the poorest and most wretched, calling it Tough Love. What a bullshit term that is. It basically means ‘sort yourself out. If you do, then we’ll take credit, because we disowned you, and if you die, well that was your choice. ’ That’s Tough Love. It’s a compassion cop-out. To do it properly you have to be sociopathic. It’s clear our federal government are. Perhaps they could coin a new term that embraces their leader’s vision: Sco-ciopathic. Leave people on welfare alone. Because let’s face it, if you’re on the dole and you’re drug dependent you aren’t a player. You’ve been played. I don’t know if you’ve been on welfare, but if you’re ever going to use drugs, that’s the time to do it. It’s not like you’ve got anything to lose. You’re already on the bones of your arse. Being poor and broke and without a future is depressing – it’s so hard to stay positive… it’s virtually impossible not to test positive. The government are taking a moral stance on your lack of lifestyle choices. As though being drug-addicted on welfare is a choice, and not the result of long-term social disadvantage in a system that has been screwing over poor people for years. How many people made a choice to have alcoholic or drug-addicted parents? Or a choice to be sexually abused by a family member or someone trusted to care for them? Like a Catholic priest, or a school teacher, or a swimming coach? Or a choice to be lost in an education system that didn’t have time or resources to make a difference? Or a choice to have a behavioural disorder, or a mental illness? Or the choice to be disregarded and lost? The choice to have no sense of a future or any idea of what you could do to make change happen? You don’t just become drug dependent as a lifestyle plan. Most people with substance issues have suffered some sort of trauma. You don’t just become an ice addict because it sounds like fun. Something has happened to you. So the government is going to punish you. They’re clearly in the business of upping our homeless figures. This government has no regard for intervening and supporting people towards wellness. To make systemic changes that might offer new generations hope rather than despair. Of course it’s okay if you take legal drugs like antidepressants. Just not illegal drugs. If you are going to be medicated the government would like to do it. A lot of people on welfare smoke pot. I certainly did when I was on welfare. I smoked weed from morning till night. When I was stoned I didn’t feel so bad about not owning anything. Not having a car. Not having food. In fact getting stoned made me really productive. I cleaned the house with a toothbrush. And I enjoyed it. Being stoned made me creative. I started painting. I started painting a lot. And guess what, I started selling paintings. I started writing jokes. Lots of them. Mainly about being stoned on welfare. You could pretty well say that using drugs while on welfare helped me create income that eventually got me off welfare. So, Scott Morrison, put that in your hash pipe and smoke it. You can, because even though you’re living off the tax payer too – no-one’s drug testing you.
www.echo.net.au/byron-echo Byron Shire Echo archives
MULLUM MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT GALA Now is the time to grab the hottest ticket in town when Mullum Music Festival throws open its doors for its Gala Opening Night Party. Featuring short performances by top festival acts, the Opening Night Gala offers a thrilling taste of the wonders of the festival weekend to come. This is a separately ticketed event that sells out every year, with limited tickets left, so best get organised now! The inimitable Mojo Juju will headline this year’s Gala lineup. Audiences will also be treated to performances by South African guitar sensation Sibusile Xaba, Chilean musical maestro and social activist Nano Stern and UK power trio Z Star Trinity. The winner of the Youth Mentorship Under– 15yrs category will also debut at the Gala. The entire evening is irreverently MCd by the Mutha of Mullum, comedian Mandy Nolan. ‘There’s something about the Opening Night Gala that sets the tone beautifully for the whole festival,’ says festival director Glenn Wright. ‘It’s that special moment when artists and the Mullum audience first meet. It’s a celebration and an
opportunity to showcase some of the amazing musical talent on the lineup.’ Get in quickly to get your tickets to this special one-night event and kick off your Mullum Music Festival in style. Mullum Music Festival Opening Night Gala. Thursday 14 November. $20/$32/$60. Buy Tickets at www.mullummusicfestival.com
TORA RETURN Formed in Byron Bay, Tora are the 4-piece electronica band who’ve captured the world’s imagination. School friends who developed a sound and image together, these evolving multi-instrumentalists, songwriters and producers work with an immensely creative palette. After their relentless global domination, Tora are coming home – stay tuned for a feature interview next week. They play the Hotel Great Northern Friday 27 September at 7pm. Tix are $33.55 at thenorthern.com.au
Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought. E. Y. Harburg
9 piece band
DJ
Tuesday 31st December 2019 | DOORS OPEN 7.30pm CLOSE 1.30AM Locals & EARLY BIRD $59 / 2nd RELEASE $89 / FINAL RELEASE $95 VIP GREEN ROOM GRAZING FEAST $140 TICKETS ON SALE NOW @ beachhotel.com.au/newyearseve | LOCALS TICKETS FROM BEACH BOTTLE 1 BAY S TREET BYRON BAY | (02) 6685 6402
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BEACH H OTELBYRON BAY
What’s On THIS WEEK
MIC NIGHT WED OPEN W/ HARRY NICHOLS
THUR ARTS FACTORY JAM
HAPPY
HOUR 4-6PM
HAPPY
HOUR 4-6PM
FRI
JOLLEE
HAPPY
S AT
EMMA LOUISE
FREE BREWERY
SUN
FREE BREWERY TOUR 2PM
GURL + HANNAH CAMPBELL
HOUR 4-6PM
TOUR 2PM
FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT WWW.BYRONBAYBREWERY.COM.AU ĕżƐĕŔćĕſ Ǩǯǽ ǩǧǨǰ The Byron Shire Echo 35