Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier today, I spoke about the cost of living for one of my constituents. He was hit with a massive robodebt bill, even though he, in his 20s, had contracted cancer. He had expended all of his sick leave and holiday leave. He then went to Centrelink and got a payment in order to get by—in order to buy food at the supermarket, in order to survive. He got hit with a debt, a debt that he did not owe, because of the system that was put in place for robodebt by those opposite. So on top of having to deal with chemotherapy and cancer, in his 20s, he had to deal with the pressure that was on him and the anxiety that caused, which had an impact on his health. That is the real impact that people had to deal with.

We, on this side of the House, understand that people are doing it tough. We will put in place practical measures to make a difference to them. But we won't be lectured by those opposite about dealing with the most vulnerable in our community while they continue to defend their robodebt system and continue to stand up as well for the one half of one per cent who aren't saving for their retirement but who are using the system in order to gain a significant benefit through a concession that those opposite acknowledged was not sustainable. (Time expired)

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