For decades, the private funeral insurance company ‘Youpla’ (also known as ACBF) misrepresented itself as an Aboriginal-run organisation and aggressively sold poor value funeral plans to First Nations peoples.
Now this company has collapsed, leaving thousands of First Nations people unable to access funeral plans they had paid for to cover the cost of grieving loved ones through Sorry Business. We’re calling on the incoming government to support those affected by this scandal.
Below is a link to the Government press release. It includes a link to the Treasury website, where interested people can register to receive updates from Treasury.
For consistency do you have a similar opinion to governments helping those affected by floods, cyclones, shoddy buildings, bank failures, and so on? Should insurers or governments help people who buy flood prone houses or those in cyclone affected areas since they should 'be aware"?
In this case, ignoring the relationship to the aboriginal community that is germane, Youpla reportedly used deceptive marketing over decades and there was apparently no government oversight or response until it went into administration.
The reality is some communities are more worldly and more able to ‘buyer beware’ than others. I for one support government’s decision, as well as support for the other categories that some may view as ‘cynical opportunities’ such as disaster relief and so on.
“For consistency” - of course that is the only sensible view! Its horrendous that govts of all ilks are paying uninsured flood victims compensation for their losses, when they could/should have either taken insurance, or moved. This kind of distortion merely encourages people to build in flood zones.
The “cynical” comment, is about the timing. Why would such a move have an end date close to the next election… most of those with policies dont expect to die just because Albo is PM.
I agree wholeheartedly about “worldly”, which is why there is necessity for interventions such as Indue debit cards for welfare payment management assistance. Education alone is a poor substitue.
More dodgy behaviour from the Aboriginal Community Benefits Fund (later Youpla) who made millions of dollars facilitated by the government’s Centrelink deductions system:
A new government scheme is set to provide over 13,000 people with the option of a government-backed bond, or a payment of 60% of the premiums paid (capped at the insurance benefit amount).
