Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to make a statement on the threat to the Centrelink service in the town of Maclean in my electorate. It appears that the federal government is intent on treating Maclean residents as second-class citizens. Until recently, the people of Maclean were able to call on the services of two Centrelink staff at an office in the town every weekday morning. These staff were able to offer a full service, including the handling of new claims. Now the level of service has been reduced and the staff are only able to help customers into online self-help options.

My office has been advised that the present staff will be withdrawn as soon as premises can be found to house an unmanned Centrelink access point. All personal contact in Maclean will then cease. The reason for this appears to be that Centrelink has opened a new office in Yamba. That is all well and good for Yamba, but for Maclean residents it is simply not good enough. Maclean residents will now have to travel to Yamba or Grafton to receive the same level of service. I believe the Minister for Human Services and Centrelink have treated this issue very insensitively.

Centrelink recently wrote to recipients advising that a new customer service office had been opened in Yamba, saying: 'This change will not affect the normal Centrelink services we provide.' This is not true for Maclean residents, because they will now have to travel to Yamba or Grafton. The minister has also demonstrated a lack of understanding on this issue. For more than three weeks, Centrelink management have been waiting for the minister to sign off on a formal briefing for me with regard to details of the changes. This is completely unsatisfactory and highlights the contempt this government has for the residents of Maclean. I call on the minister and Centrelink to reconsider their actions and restore the previous level of service to the residents of Maclean.