To Philip ODonoghue in Reply to You Personally

To: Philip O’Donoghue (DEEWR) Thursday, March 3, 20011 of 3

From: Gary Looney (Menindee, NSW. 2879)

Hi Philip Re: If more needs to be done, please do reply. Qualification: As you will note from our correspondence “I have applied for Austudy” through Broken Hill Centrelink office, provided the application is successful and the bus fare to attend TAFE is paid for my personal education issue would be resolved. More broadly problems for clients and outcomes still exist, if you wish to employee my advice I would consider. I do not care who pays for the bus fare but would prefer it be the department to give me personal confidence moving forward. Re: LETS has agreed to fund Mr Looney’s bus fare to attend TAFE. (Who cares what LETS do to me?) Qualification: LETS decided to not fund the bus and removed my ability to attend study without notification, entrapping me to pay the bus fare or breach their EPP’s and not study web design. LETS entered into TAFE 2011 commencement with a decision they had made sometime prior to a previous years appointment at Menindee where it was stated LETS planned to not pay my bus fare. This year at a LETS employment meeting in Broken Hill my NSP suggested I contact our local member regarding the bus fare which I did. Whatever LETS want to say now verbally is mute and irrelevant. In general I find LETS to be incompetent, which does not afford decency, honesty or trustworthiness. It should be noted that study of website design and administration has remained my EPP’s plan with LETS, Mr Rudd’s policy of in work or training resulted in LETS putting people in full year courses midyear, further to this TAFE wanted Cert II completion before entering web design study, this was understood by LETS. My Cert II results suffered when I found out in 2010 LETS were discontinuing bus fees payments in 2011. I turned all focus to finding a solution for the problem, not attending the final days exams as a result. There were other hindrances through LETS obligation requirements at different times when other exams were being studied for between TAFE days. Results are not representative of my skills but my treatment. Re: Mr Looney’s relationship with his local Centrelink office is good and he regularly attends the office. Note the advice below regarding Centrelink’s approach. Qualification: I would not send you a letter with reference to correspondence unavailable to you, with reference to social relationship deliberately or by accident! What is Centrelink’s approach? When I rang your office asking for you I made one statement or request: I explained I was not happy with the department adding other matters to ignore & confuse, I asked you look at the issue of bus fare while on AuStudy. I rang the Centrelink number months ago asking if I could ring by public phone for my Centrelink appointments. Why? Because the Centrelink office in Menindee is ran by Central Darling Shire Council, the husband of the lady who runs this office entered the establishment at quarter to five one day and violently yelled threatening abuse at me, claiming I knew he and his wife were shutting early to go on holiday, at a later date he entered the building with the outside sign and thrust it provocatively at me, he continues to mumble stuff in my presence. I informed Centrelink on the phone that I had previously gone to the police and raised the issue with concern an unpreventable provocation may occur.



Centrelink said they would not allow me to ring via public phone for appointments but would have to use the Central Darling Shire office to phone, and would contact the Central Darling Shire office in Menindee to resolve the matter. I demanded they not proceed. Stating life would only get harder for me in my own home town because of alliances, the Shire Council employees and some residents have a culture club of protecting each other blindly which exists in many if not all Government departments, to some degree. I would suggest. Note: because of isolation most Centrelink appointments are made by phone, the ones not made by phone cost me $15 bus fare which I raised with Centrelink several times previously. This is another reason to fund the bus, for Centrelink approved study and necessary personal appointments! I have no personal problem with Broken Hill Centrelink office; I have questioned Broken Hill Centrelink as to why client experience of JSP is not handled in person by regional Centrelink offices, this is a suggestion, not personal. Physical disconnection of complaints over the phone and the associated disincentive to complain has the cost of local ignorance. Re: Mr Looney has indicated that he would like to transfer to a new provider. NO. I have never stated a wish to transfer to another provider. I have stated as fact I wanted to go on AuStudy so I could put my full time in study but instead I am sitting here at midnight writing you this letter, after 3 weeks missed at TAFE. Re: Mr Looney’s TAFE course has been paid. Qualification:



How dare the department claim the course has been paid for, I walked the LETS Manager into the TAFE on the 24th of February after demanding the Bill be paid. Read on. I caught the bus into Broken Hill to apply for AuStudy on 24/2/11 after missing 3 weeks of TAFE study. I stopped in at TAFE to obtain a receipt of course payment to be told LETS had not paid the bill. I had signed up to TAFE, validated application with Centrelink and retained Application Form copy from LETS after handing in all documentation completed and signed on the 27th of January a month before. I walked to Centrelink and used their phone to call DEEWR, I told DEEWR what I thought about LETS and demanded someone fix the immediate problem of getting LETS to pay the fees, not tell me the contractors will be informed and get back to you in a couple of weeks, I also reminded DEEWR why they transferred me to LETS from Sureway. In an Email yesterday from DEEWR they are ignoring my application for AuStudy and transferring me to Sureway against my will: DEEWR transferred me to LETS from Sureway after a privy employee decided to share my personal details over a bar, and asked why I was such a girl and lived with my parents! Which is not true. This shows how seriously the department treats client rights, complaints and privacy. My father tells of the past, a story in the newspaper, involving two men and a shearer which seems an appropriate analogy. Re: LETS has given assurances that no agencies or individuals listed on the Consent to Release/Obtain information form will be contacted. The Release and Obtain document is not a valid legal document through illegal practice in contempt of any client rights, end of discussion. The Department is showing disrespect and contempt of LETS clients! On 24/2/11 when I asked LETS to pay the TAFE bill LETS Manager claimed he could not pay the bill which there office had stated to be paying a month before, claiming I had refused him permission to pay the bill through DEEWR in regards to privacy. I do not care what LETS assures or does not assure! All JSP’s including Murdi Paaki should be independently accessed periodically to ensure services and client rights are maintained. I remember when DEEWR nominated Murdi Paaki Aboriginal JSN as my provider, I had no choice and the single woman JSN was complaining to me (Then client) she had to service Wilcannia, Ivanhoe and Menindee commuting between these towns by car and attend/run an office in Broken Hill which was why she was late to appointments. As I have stated, I have applied for AuStudy, if you wish to employee my advice I will consider. If the department can pay my bus fare or at least ensure it is paid for me as an AuStudy client that would be helpful, please consider funding our town’s bus service for all client Centerlink approved study. I add that the stress and pressures from this experience has raised my blood pressure, I am feeling

seriously unwell with migraines and heart palpitations, I will try and see a doctor as soon as possible.

Regards

Gary Looney

To Philip ODonoghue in Reply to You Personally

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