Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moore for that question. We have a very generous welfare system, but he knows, as everyone on this side of the House knows, it only works when it operates with integrity and when people only get what they're entitled to. We don't have any tolerance for people who are doing the wrong thing or who are defrauding the Australian taxpayer. And we're using the latest technology to help us identify people who are doing the wrong thing and we are then taking action to punish those people who are stealing.

The latest weapon that we're using is an agreement for data matching with AUSTRAC, our financial intelligence unit, which helps us to identify and track down wealthy welfare cheats. We're identifying those people who have significant unexplained income, who have significant unexplained assets or in some cases who are even operating businesses that they have failed to tell the department about. In around two years, we've identified over 1,000 people who are doing the wrong thing and we've already achieved savings of over $43 billion by targeting those committing significant fraud against the Australian taxpayer. The average debt that has been raised under these data-matching arrangements is over $43,000 per individual and, in some cases, we've identified people who have been over claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars. These people, who should be supporting themselves, are reliant on the goodwill of Australian taxpayers to fund their lifestyle.

I'm asked by the member for Moore about alternative approaches. Under Labor, compliance—the integrity of the welfare system—was not a priority. They only conducted 16 per cent of the compliance checks that we undertake today. We're doing six times more compliance work than the Labor Party when they were in office. And that's why they routinely attack our compliance efforts. Under Labor, the value of debts raised was about half of what we raise today, and we see this attitude continuing with the sorts of comments and interjections that we're hearing.

While Labor's busy raiding the retirement savings of hardworking Australians, we're doing the hard work of making sure the welfare system operates with integrity and that people are only getting what they're entitled to. By creating a fairer system, a more sustainable system, the government is ensuring that help only goes to those who are in real need, like our age pensioners, and we will continue to look for ways for people to only get what they're entitled to through the welfare system, including using the latest technology like we are with this data-matching program we are running through AUSTRAC.

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