News: Welfare changes forcing single mothers into prostitution

There have been reports over the weekend that single mothers whose welfare payments have been cut this month are turning to prostitution and stripping in order to make up the shortfall.

News Limited reported that brothels and strip clubs around Australia have reported a sudden rise in the number of single mums looking for work. They believe the rise in interest has come in the wake of the Federal Government’s changes to single parent support payments.

The changes saw up to 84,000 single parents (mostly women) moved to a ‘Newstart unemployment allowance’ when their youngest child turns eight.

Many of those parents said they would be worse off under the changes, receiving between $60 and $100 less a week.

IN OTHER NEWS STORIES AROUND TODAY:

More than 90 per cent of school counsellors encounter “over-involved parents”.

A Queensland University of Technology survey has found children are so closely parented these days it’s affecting their life skills.

The survey of 130 school counsellors and psychologists found only eight per cent had never encountered ‘over parenting’ (also known as helicopter parenting).

Examples of the over parenting included “a parent cutting up a 10-year-old’s food, forbidding a 17-year-old to catch a train to school or confronting other parents about why their child was not invited to a classmate’s birthday party”.

Joe Hockey gets gastric band surgery.

Coalition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says he’s lost 20 kilograms after having gastric band surgery over the Christmas break.

The 47-year-old said he’d lost the weight because of the procedure, a healthy diet and regular exercise.

In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Mr Hockey said “I’m shaping up for Wayne Swan’s job.”

Anti-vaccination campaigner finally quits.

Anti-vaccine campaigner Meryl Dorey has resigned as leader of the Australian Vaccination Network (also known as The AVN.) The anti-vaccine lobby group – with an extremely misleading name – has also announced it will stop publishing its newsletter.

In recent years, Dorey and the AVN have been active in propagating vaccination myths to sway parents against vaccinating their children.

The resignation of Dorey, who founded the organisation in 1994, comes just weeks after the NSW Minister for Fair Trading announced that the AVN would be required to change its misleading name before February 21 this year.

Dorey,  will be replaced by Greg Beattie.  The father of seven told Fairfax he would not change the AVN’s name until “a plebiscite of members was conducted.”