Govt Warned on ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Welfare Quarantining

The Federal Government’s controversial welfare quarantining in the Northern Territory may face opposition from the nation’s peak indigenous body.

The first major policy announcement of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples warned against a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to income management or alcohol restrictions – including linking welfare payments to school attendance

Jody Broun, Congress co-chair, told The Age "A real problem would be saying we want to promote personal responsibility, but then doing things that deny and contradict that principle."

Broun said: "Where you are going to have an impact on people's welfare payments, there has got to be a process of engaging parents and mentoring parents so that it's a last resort."

Broun said the keys to improving school attendance included having good teachers, engaging parents more, making sure children had an interesting and positive experience and a pathway to a job, according to The Age. 

Broun expressed concern about the Gillard Government only embracing ideas from recent consultations that suit is its policy direction.