At some point in their lives, millions of Australians will need financial assistance from the government, whether it is because they are studying, dealing with a crisis, out of work, too sick to work, too old to work… or just don’t really want to work.
Welfare. (AUS) is a 6-part comedy web series exploring the bureaucracy and hypocrisy of Australia’s welfare system, and how its rules and regulations lay waste to compassion and common sense. In each episode, a documentary crew follows the good-hearted, but illiterate, welfare centre boss and his three caseworkers, as they deal with customers from all walks of life. Faced with a wall of red tape, nonsensical public service jargon and well-meaning stupidity, the helpless customers have no choice but to try to cheat the system. If anyone actually receives help in this office, it’s not because of the staff, it’s in spite of them. In Welfare., no-one really gets what they deserve.
Laura Jane Emes, Creator, Actress and Producer of the 2020 Spotlight Selection series, told Melbourne WebFest about the issues addressed in the show and the challenges encountered in the creation process.
How did you decide on the subject matter, and why?
I started working on the concept for ‘Welfare’ 9 years ago whilst doing a mentorship with the brilliant Tom Gleisner. I’d like to say I came up with the original idea for this series, however, it was actually my younger brother. We have a very similar sense of humour. The inefficiencies of our welfare system have always frustrated me, and I very nearly called the show ‘The System’, as it’s not just about the welfare system but about bureaucracy in general.
Overall how long have you been working on Welfare?
Nine long years (!)
Welfare. Trailer
What was your greatest challenge creating the series?
We faced many challenges, one of which was finding the funds to shoot the series. Thankfully in 2016 my co-producer & co-creator, Steve Bastoni, and I collectively raised over $8k through a successful Pozible campaign, which then led to Tojohage Productions investing in the project and jumping on board as executive producers.
Behind the humour and satire of your show, you also tackle some important topics (such as Robodebt and Disaster Relief). Why did you decide to include such matters in Welfare?
Throughout my efforts in gaining financial assistance years ago whilst studying, and then later whilst recovering from an operation, I’ve always been torn between laughing and crying. The overall lack of compassion, logic and common sense in our welfare system just astounds me. This has been highlighted yet again in recent years through the Robodebt scheme, which has since been deemed unlawful.
As for Disaster Relief, I’ve always found it both peculiar and heartbreaking that someone can be denied disaster relief payments because their house was 1 street away from the “affected zone”. Never mind that their house has been burnt to the ground and they’ve been left with absolutely nothing. The ludicrous nature of these regulations astounds me and ties in with my dark and absurd sense of humour.
Why choose the web format?
It’s easily accessible and has enabled us to have a lot of control over how the series is released.
What’s next for your series? Do you plan on making more episodes? Why?
Should the opportunity arise, we are open to shooting a second season. At present we don’t have the budget for it, but of course the welfare system’s shortcomings have been brought to our attention once again during this Covid-19 pandemic so the subject matter is extremely topical right now.
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