Download pdf - Composite 2STUDYLINK July2014

8/12/2019 Composite 2STUDYLINK July2014

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Dear *********

Attention *****I am a lifetime artist now studying Full time at Massey University Art School.

In 2010 Graduated from Victoria with a BA in Eng Literature.

There seems to be a 'gap' between support over holidays (doing virtually nothing; I am after 64.5 years old) and real funding provision for any full time students finishing degrees.

Please help me with a favourable outcome so I can maximise the $29,000 the Government has already spent on my behalf in this one degree alone. As we are all working together for a prosperous future. I had sought better financial arrangements from Studylink twice before over this issue. I am not sure if it is elder abuse or gender discrimination toward an older man that gets in the way. As I have pled 'disability allowance' based on historic trauma: much like women receive forabuse cases. Yet so far receiving far far different treatment than I am sure women receive for presenting exactly the same thing for themselves. They act as ifit-could-not-be-true by definition for a man from without a feminist perspective. I really feel like the other 'other'now. Bearing the unearned brunt of thousands of years of patriarchal 'oppression': apparently. Being now white haired andbearded, the very image and 'proof' of it I suppose. Hilarious if it were not so sad.

My 'better finances option' did not come off: Studylink now pays just $85.50 perweek for food, bus travel ($20 per week), art gear (huge cost), living expenses($60 per week alone); insurances alone are $263 of this per month. I am now behind on several major bills to the tune of some $2000 or so. Including smaller embarassing debts to friends. I have genuinely been struggling to act like a professional soon-to-graduate student. The government has already spent $41,000 towardmy two degrees in total. This year has paid $6000 on fees alone; it seems to make better sense to back me to the hilt in order to make this prior expenditure worthwhile. Previously their payment offer to me was Just $51/wk. I had been offered just $3 per week as well! How can I live as a mature student on that; it almost amounts to elder abuse. Enclosed are Income Earnings from IRD for both the 2012-13 year and the 2013-2014 year to date; for 52 weeks in each case. (Around $

8k something and $7K something per year). As you can see the earnings are very low.This winter has seen increased difficulties for me at Massey in regard to finances.Power is expensive at this time of year because it is so cold. I wonder how they would have treated me at Studylink if I had been female; no wonder men weardresses in Newtown they get more regard and respect than real men. Is what theyare doing against United Nations legislation on discrimination on grounds of gender relevant? I am beginning to think so. I am grateful for what has already been supported but the logic of this low level of support just before the end seems unjust and completely against their own philosophy.

It is the fourth and final professional year before graduation so expenditure for that is expected to be at a much higher level - and that means higher costs t

oo delivering, arranging and displaying. Framing and paint costs uses up cash fast. It doesn't go far.

I have had to plead with the City Council to extend the deadline for more substantial payments toward an overdue RATES account? Prospects are better beyond December as then I should be clear of almost all smaller debts. Yet they know I havepaid over $50,000 to the WCC in the last few decades.This admittedly is a nightmare year. I had hoped to have had a $600 rebate lastyear from my submission- however that appears to have failed for some unknown reason. I have resubmitted a claim for this year as well. As all up this would hav


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e been $1200 its being awarded might have considerably assisted my accounts. I did request a waiver of that sum; it would make my first years of retirement so much easier. Of course I intend to create and exhibit artworks as before: the advantage of retirement is having more uncommitted time available for such pursuits. I am not sure if this has been granted (though it would help my overall yearsexpenditure it is not assistitive of my immediate student needs: in other wordsit is not like spendable cash)so possibly it has.The intervening two/ three months is terrible however; so I am asking for your help.

I owe the Lawyer $200 for finalizing mortgage at a discount rate.I owe WCC $1,600 plus for BACK rates payments (with NEW ones due also). Mostly because a rebate from one year was lacking in the new documents required.From January to most of April I was offered just $3 per week by Studylink via WINZ; I insisted this was not enough; they boosted this to $50 per week. I wrote letters, saw politicians, wrote the minister etc and they let me have $85! Unbelievable. I now walk every day to university, no bus ever! Showering only on the days where I must absolutely be amoung people. One main meal; a day; puddling myclothes in the shower to wash them and save on powder, writing letters like these to put off further debts most smaller than this but requiring at least nominalattention. When Im sixty four by the Beatles was never meant to be like this.Painting is going great and I am doing good work. Passing most of my courses; failed one, partly due to having to spend so much time chasing officials from Studylink/WINZ and other places. Not their fault.Will pick up units/credits from pre

vious fine art papers not so far incorporated into my degree from Victoria University: Film Studies and Fine Art History faculties.

I am living on Tea and toast. I am getting tired of peanut butter and such undergraduate fare. Occassionally potatoe flakes and frozen peas. The jug has broken.I shower just one day in three to conserve power. Credit cards are maxed out after five years of university. Yet I am now listed on Saatchiart.com which is a curated ecommerce site. Not every one gets on.To obtain the $85 Ive had to go disability allowance based on historical trauma.I had hoped to avoid this humiliating necessity. The Doctor was kind, and appeared to believe me. I joined a mens group recently formed in Newtown on preciselythis issue for men. This year is my most expensive year. Yet I have wonderful dreams of what is possible with a gold card and the possibility of some eventual

savings in the bank once again. Planning on writing several books as well with some well advanced already on feminism and its effect on men; also working on what is unique to men- a masculist theory of art no less; one to final draft stageat 352 pages, another based on my website at masculist-art.com which is passionately driven by my thinking about such historical trauma in the lives of other men affected powerfully by feminism but in the negative. One such has been my University lecturer recently divorced so I felt he was ready for a 'light-touch' version of my political masculism. First inklings involve the notion of sacrifice -men are prepared to sacrifice their lives, reputations, careers on principles or to save the ones they love. Women believe they die too- in 'huge' numbers in childbirth (like 17 over a 43 day time from parturation per year)- yet men die atthe rate of 800 to 1000 over recent history per year, many more die too withina (43 day period of an industrial accident) thus far far outranking the women. E

specially over a longer history going back 100 years or more. This is far more ubiquitous in the lives of men than mere war; war is infrequent, yet it is the only time men are honoured so in the memory of the culture. Men sacrifice their lives regularly in the day-to-day grind of wresting a living from the soil, out tosea, deep in mines, in remote lost corners of the world and doing most dangerous things.Since a womans maximum biological 'litter' is now potentially quite large, some speculate up to 54 children per female counting twins and so on. The death of one man is worthwhile to save so many in one womb so to speak. One man can take many wives and have many more children on behalf of his dead brother say...this is in the bible, believe it or not....(And so on; there are other purely


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'man things' as well I'm thinking on; entirely new field; the theory of the ideology of the male gender- no one at all has done this honest...)I have had to write magnificent plea letters to Tower Insurance and to my localLawyer; but I cannot put them off forever. I cannot ask my 90 year old Mother for help as she supplied 'inheritance' finance of $1000 to pay off one looming bill and that's it from her; Im glad she did as I did not know then my payments would dry up. I am going up however to Tauranga to be at her ninetieth; (golden agefare $59 return with no refunds option); not bad, as I have had to be there.Normally I am a very good bill payer, and have 'otherwise' lived in my house nearly thirty years...I had finished the 200 weeks limit late in 2013; I am of course over 55.I am looking for a discretionary, executive or 'special' decision. Hopefully onethat is useful to New Zealand: as artists who have slowly and carefully built their reputation can sell well and at fairly lucrative taxable rates. And to backthe investments already made. This is exactly my ambition lifelong: I can smellit within my grasp. For, in 'retirement' can devote myself to my new found andprofessional level understanding earning good money for New Zealand..

There seems to be a 'gap' between support over holidays ($245 per week doing virtually nothing; I am after all 64.5 years old) and real funding provision for any full time students finishing degrees.

Please help me with a favourable outcome of at least that amount per week for ten weeks and some back pay from mid march or so. $254 per week. Then I can maximi

se the $29,000 the Government has already funded on my behalf in the Fine Arts Degree with Honours in previous years.

Working together with you for a prosperous future.

Yours SincerelyPhillip O'Sullivan