At the moment, being a social worker in, say, Queensland Health,
Housing, Communities, or Disability Services, means being unsure about whether
you will have a job in six months time. At least, this is what I am reading in
the Courier Mail, and hearing from my
friends and family members who belong to this profession. Of course, this is
not a situation affecting social workers alone. Allied health workers in general,
nurses, and a broad spectrum of public service workers, are similarly
afflicted. The current right wing State government is slashing, burning and generally
reducing staffing to minimal levels, affecting a broad range of front line
services and vulnerable service users. For example, the Barrett Centre, a
one-off residential facility for adolescents with serious and life-threatening mental
health issues, is currently in the firing line. (No wonder they didn’t want to
take on a social work student - but that is another story...).
The future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in
Queensland is similarly in the balance, with the LNP refusing to commit to funding
it.
My original motivation in doing a Masters of Social Work was
to go into private practice as a mental health social worker. And I guess you
could say, well this is one area that the LNP would support (private
enterprise). However, the Medicare Better Access to Mental Health Services rebate
scheme, which makes psychological and counselling services affordable and
accessible, is not that secure. It has
already been threatened once, and the economic rationalists are likely to reduce
funding to it again in the future.
My overall prediction is that it will be harder to secure social
work placements (and indeed jobs) in the future. Social workers with jobs are
going to be at greater risk of low morale, stress, vicarious trauma and burn
out, as they will be doing more work with less resources.
So is there any good news? Well, its helpful to remember that
governments and their policies only last as long as we allow them to remain in
power. We have seen in recent years that mass political action can bring down
unpopular regimes. Meanwhile, it is important to have an understanding of political
ideologies and their impact on individuals and communities. In other words, know your enemy. And so I am looking
forward to studying Political Economy and Policy Making in January.
more later.
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