Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

They are cutting another thousand jobs from Centrelink. This minister is cutting 1,000 jobs! That is 1,000 fewer people to help process claims, answer phones or help submit applications. The staff are totally distressed. These are not the actions of a government that wants to fix the problem; they are the actions of a government working hard to undermine our welfare system. When I talk to Centrelink staff—as we all do—they are increasingly concerned. On all fronts the government is failing. Centrelink staff want to do their jobs, and they are doing their best, but they are under enormous pressure. Morale is low.

I also have to say that it is time we changed the language that we use to talk about our social safety net. We should be proud that we have a welfare system that means, for the most part, that being diagnosed with a serious disability, losing your job or just getting old will not force you over the edge. People who cheat the welfare system should be caught and they should be punished, but the majority of people—as you know, Minister—are being punished because they are in these positions. They are being punished because you are cutting jobs. They are being punished because the system is so hard to negotiate. Making life difficult for people with long-term disabilities will not make them more able to work. Making it more difficult for the unemployed to access support will not help people find a job. Making people wait months to receive their aged pension will not improve their standard of living. So why does the government keep doing it? The truth is that this government, even though we have a new Prime Minister and a new Treasurer, is still operating with a Joe Hockey mindset. We all remember the cigars back in 2014!

In this government's view, people who visit Centrelink are not valued members of our community. They are not voters or constituents. This government and this minister say they are just 'leaners'. They are not leaners; they are people who rely on people like us to give them a hand up. Minister, the hand up is not there. The hand is there taking things away, making it more difficult, pushing people to the edge where they become desperate. Minister, you cannot cut another thousand jobs. You cannot make people wait for 1½ hours to get some sort of assistance. People do not choose to have a disability. People do not choose to have ill parents so that they have to be carers. You, Minister, are responsible.

See this speech in context