Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to bring to the attention of the House today a letter I received from a constituent. This constituent pointed out to me the predicament that he is in and the stresses that are being placed on him by his inability to meet all his expenses through his age pension. He gave me an example of the types of events that occur that place unusual and unexpected strain on his and his wife’s finances.

He believes that the government has not thought through the effects of these issues. His wife became ill and she was referred to have an ECG, an echocardiograph. They had to pay a gap of $72. In the same week his wife had to have a heart monitor, which cost $152. They had to pay that up-front. Then they went to see a cardiac specialist and they had to pay $180 up-front. This placed an enormous strain on them. He said: ‘I will have to sell my home to survive and probably have to move into a caravan.’ He feels that every time he turns around he is hit with some new expense and that the cost of living is outstripping the pension. He is getting further and further behind. He is particularly concerned, given that the government’s Work Choices legislation has been introduced and the effect that that will have on the long-term viability of the pension. That is what I would be saying to him.

In addition, the government’s Welfare to Work legislation is due to come into force on 1 July. My office has been inundated with constituents who are already finding that Centrelink has adopted a very harsh approach to their circumstances. One lady in particular has a part-time job. She is a certificate III (AIN). She has managed to crack a job that has got her into the Hunter New England Health Service. She is working 14 hours a week; sometimes she even works 38 hours a week—it fluctuates, but she has a definite permanent, part-time 14 hours a week. She has been required to register with Salvation Army Plus to look for full-time work. This is where I become very concerned. Salvation Army Plus have been pursuing her and putting extreme pressure on her to find another job. They ring her five times a week before she has to go to an appointment. They SMS, they write and they are constantly having this invasive contact.

She has become so upset about this that she recently went to see her doctor. For the first time in her life she has been placed on medication for stress. She believes that she has got herself to the position where she is going to end up losing the job of her life, the job that she has worked and trained for. She is being required to apply for casual jobs as a sales assistant. She is being required to travel an hour to a job interview and being asked to apply for jobs that do not fit in with her qualifications. This is a woman who is dedicated to returning to work.

I have also found that Centrelink, in line with the government’s requirements, has been putting undue pressure on people in receipt of disability support pension. People are finding it harder and harder to obtain the disability support pension. Those who do find work are having more and more pressure put on them to increase their workload or, alternatively, to go off the disability support pension. The legislation has not even kicked in yet, and here we have Centrelink, at the behest of this government, placing this very harsh regime on the people that they are there to service. (Time expired)