Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the major concerns in my electorate of Richmond is the ever-increasing and disturbingly long delays in the processing of age pension claims. The delays are a major concern affecting age pensioners and their families and really highlight how out of touch and uncaring the Turnbull government is. Labor is deeply concerned about the extremely long periods that many are waiting for very simple claims to be processed. Every week, I'm approached by many locals and my office receives so many calls from people who are extremely distressed and bewildered about this situation. Their inquiries relate to why they're waiting five, six, seven and sometimes eight months for the age pension application to go through. The waiting time is not just weeks anymore but months. The waiting time has blown out to epic proportions.

Those accessing the age pension are people who have contributed to our community for their entire working lives and now, instead of receiving acknowledgement and recognition for their efforts, they're being forced to wait months for the support they're entitled to, support they deserve for their years of hard work and dedication to our country. They should reasonably be able to expect that when they reach retirement they will get that support.

In addition, we've heard many stories of long delays in the processing of routine Centrelink functions such as appeals, the lodgement of forms and changes to information. We do not believe that this is acceptable. Labor believes that hardworking Australians deserve a system of income support that is efficient, transparent and accessible, and Labor will continue to oppose the poor treatment of those who receive income support. We're all familiar with the long wait on the phone to get through to Centrelink just to make an inquiry. Many constituents report having to wait in Centrelink offices for long periods of time to speak to someone face to face when making further inquiries. The fact is that ongoing cuts to Centrelink staff and the increasing casualisation of the workforce in the Department of Human Services have aggravated the problem. These demonstrate the lack of investment the government is willing to make and show the contempt that the Prime Minister and his counterparts have for those who are most in need of assistance.

We know that this government has a very poor track record when it comes to looking out for and looking after the most vulnerable in our communities. There is now further proof that the government have turned their backs on age pensioners in their cutting back on frontline services. They're dooming these people to months of anguish and uncertainty, and that is how my constituents feel. Our pensioners deserve so much more than this. I thank them for their contribution to our community and I'll keep fighting in my electorate for them to get access to their well-deserved pensions after a lifetime of working and a lifetime of commitment to their communities.

We on this side will continue to advocate for higher standards and more transparent reporting procedures and for a reduction in the length of time individuals have to wait to access outcomes regarding their payments. We do that because Labor is absolutely committed to standing up for a better service for all Australians and we'll fight for those who need our help. The situation, particularly with pensioners, is exasperating in my seat. I have many retirees in my area sometimes waiting months and months for their age pension. It's just not fair. I'll keep holding this government to account.