Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We know from people speaking out in the media, dairy farmers in particular, how distressed they are that it has taken the government so long to correct the issues with the farm household allowance. As I said in my contribution before question time, we have known about this issue since 2014 yet it has taken over three years for this government to put this bill before the House to try and resolve the situation. Even as late as last year, in October, South Australian dairy farmers spoke out about their long wait for assistance.

In an article in the news, these dairy farmers spoke about their demoralising process of asking the federal government for help. Hoping to get urgent financial relief but then waiting for up to six months for money to come through from the federal government was hard. They said that money available under the farm household allowance scheme is 'delayed by too much paperwork and not enough resources' helping to process approvals.

Complaints about Centrelink are not new. Chronic understaffing by this government has created a problem for many seeking help or access to allowances that they are entitled to. I know that in my area it is not just our dairy farmers and farmers that have had delays. There are people waiting for their aged-care packages that have been delayed, some by as much as nine months.

This is something that the government refuse to address. They refuse to work with the staff of Centrelink. They sacked a group of people working for DHS. They have not replaced them. As a result of their inability to staff Centrelink properly and to have people with appropriate training, we have seen delay after delay, not just for our farmers seeking the farm household allowance but for people seeking aged-care support, people seeking Centrelink support and people in the most recent scandal that the government have still not addressed, the debt recovery system.

In fact, in an audit report in 2015, the National Audit Office said that almost a quarter of all calls made to Centrelink went unanswered. This is a report made in 2015. The average wait time has increased by 17 minutes. Yet we have not seen any action from the government to increase staffing levels or to resolve the ongoing EBA negotiations with their front-line Centrelink team. You would think they would be embarrassed about the fact that almost a quarter of calls to Centrelink went unanswered, but they are not. Instead, they blame the people making the phone calls, or they blame the hardworking, overworked Centrelink staff.

This also gives me a chance to address something that the minister raised yesterday in this House, where he tried to suggest to the House that I had released information about constituents in my electorate to the media without their consent. This is wrong. Like many here on this side of the House, I have been inundated with phone calls from constituents who have received debt recovery letters from this government through its robo-debt collection scheme. Many of them, angry about their treatment on receiving this letter, have not only sought my support but also spoken publicly about their experiences.

Three individuals gave my office their consent for their details to be passed on to local media outlets. We asked them if they would be comfortable, if they would be happy, for us to pass their details on. All three of them said yes because they believed it was important that their story get out there and that they challenge the government. Like the farmers in South Australia have, these three constituents in my electorate said: 'I want to speak up. I want people to know my story. This government needs to change its tune.'

They are people like Robert Baker in Kangaroo Flat, who received a debt notice for $2,558, only for it to be reduced to $600 because the tax office had wrongly classified his employer as two employers instead of one. He is still pursuing Centrelink for $1,200 because he hired an accountant to help to try to correct a mistake that Centrelink had made.

There is also Robyn, who lives in Flora Hill, who was sent a debt notice by this government for $1,300 for the period 2010-11. She rang Centrelink several times, attempting to connect. When she finally got through, she was then told by staff that they did not understand what was going on with her case. They then rang back to say that a mistake had been made and she did not have to pay the debt. This was weeks after, causing much distress for Robyn.

Colleen from Newstead is another one who spoke up. She was sent a debt notice for $2,500, only to discover through challenging it, through working with my office, that she only owes $422.

All three acknowledge that Centrelink staff are working hard and it is not their fault. It is bad government rules. It is the government sitting back and delaying—delaying constantly to address the process problems that they have. This is a problem throughout regional Australia, whether it be people with debt recovery notices, many of them incorrect, or people with their aged-care packages or family tax benefits or childcare subsidies that they are entitled to, or our farmers.

Lots of people have a frustrating experience with Centrelink, and it is in the government's power to do something about it. Increase the trained staff in Centrelink. Hire more people. You will create jobs at the same time as helping to solve a problem that we have in Centrelink. Work with the Centrelink team to ensure that people's claims are processed on time and in an efficient manner.

I would like to finish with a few of the comments that were made by farmers and dairy farmers in central and northern Victoria. Whilst they acknowledge that some of them will need this allowance from time to time, they are frustrated that it appears to be the only thing that the government is really doing to help them. What they say in Gunbower and what they say in Cohuna is that they want this government to focus on water policy and pricing. What they say is that they want this government to focus on mobile phone coverage and the need for long-day childcare facilities. What they say they want this government to focus on is infrastructure like roads, schools and medical facilities. These are the issues that these farmers raise when I chat to them. They expect the government to be there to provide a strong social welfare net, but they are disappointed that they have to rely on it because this government has failed these towns and failed these communities in so many ways.

Whilst Labor accept the amendments in this bill, we say they are three years too late. We also use this opportunity to call on the government to properly fund and resource Centrelink so those in need get the help they need on time and efficiently.

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