When Britney Jean Spears penned “Work Bitch” in 2013, she described a world in which we all hustled hard for monetary gain — which we could then exchange for goods such as “a Lamborghini” (Spears, et al. 2013). What she did not envision, however, was a society in which the NSW government makes 10-year-olds participate in unpaid labour so that they may work off large COVID fines. In this essay, I will…
According to the Guardian, the NSW government has floated the very serious and not at all fucking stupid idea of children as young as 10 being put to work.
I would love to count the bald spots on the old white men who came up with this idea in a board room because I just know there were plenty.
According to Redfern Legal Centre, the fines issued to 10-17-year-olds since mid-2021 equate to $2.1 million in the government’s pockets. And of course, most of these children come from low socioeconomic areas in Sydney (such as the western suburbs that were heavily policed) or are First Nations children and people of colour.
It’s almost like the police in Australia love enforcing poverty. Scratch that, that’s literally what the fuck is happening.
Let’s be real. The only 10yos that will be forced to work off covid fines will be Black and Brown kids. https://t.co/rkE74igxrY
— irreconcilable (@MelindaMann01) July 21, 2022
cops fined 3,000 mostly highly vulnerable children for bullshit “covid violations” and now they want them to do forced labour if they can’t come up with the money to pay the fines. real sick sad world shit
— Eleanor Robertson (@marrowing) July 20, 2022
Per recent data, it was uncovered that in NSW alone there were 3,000 fines issued to kids between 10-17. The fines range anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000.
Revenue NSW told the Guardian that it had already issued work and development orders (WDOs) to kids under 18, but didn’t specify how many were handed out. WDOs are essentially a way for people to participate in unpaid work to reduce their fines.
All fine and dandy for an adult, but what on Earth is a child going to do? Pick up a rake and clear leaves off the Hume Highway? Why were they even handed a fine to begin with? These children don’t have a source of income you absolute fuckwaffles.
Honestly, WDOs sound a whole lot like slavery to me, but okay. Unpaid labour under the guise of a fine? NSW government fuck right off challenge.
Chief Commissioner of Revenue NSW Scott Johnston told the Guardian that there were no plans to remove the fines from the kids under 18 or replace them with warnings.
“A general withdrawal of PHO (Public Health Order) fines issued to children aged 10-17 years of age is not supported.
“Revenue NSW will work with the customer to determine the most appropriate method to resolve the fine, such as an extended payment plan or a Work and Development Order.”
Yes, you read that right. The NSW government would rather refer to 10-17-year-olds as “customers” than as what they are, which is KIDS. They also have some fucked up obsession with putting kids to work. What fkn year is this?
We’re back to Dickensian times. The NSW government suggests children between 10 & 17 can work off Covid fines. The Guardian.
— Di Atheist Lefty Vote yes No DMs (@DiPw122) July 20, 2022
NSW govt disproportionately applied Covid rules leaving vulnerable communities with heavier restrictions & more stringent police checks. They instructed police to issue fines to kids as young as 10, refused to have them waived & instead gave them the option to “work” instead. 😳
— stranger (@strangerous10) July 20, 2022
Community Legal Centres NSW and a whole bevy of other legal groups are reportedly pushing for all fines handed out to under 18s to be withdrawn immediately.
“Is the chief commissioner suggesting a 10-year-old get a job?” Community Legal Centres NSW’s Executive Director Katrina Ironside told the Guardian.
“A child already living in poverty burdened with a debt they cannot pay further entrenches that poverty before they are even old enough to earn their own money.”
She has a point, she’s correct and she knows what’s up. Again, how do kids even pay fines? It’s just another way for the NSW government to get money out of their parents. Most kids under 18 aren’t working and if they are it’s in a job that doesn’t pay much at all.
I’m not surprised that the NSW government is like this, however. It wasn’t long ago that we were talking about kids operating forklifts with far too much seriousness.
