Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for the answer and I thank him for conceding that the new system has, in fact, delivered eight per cent less service than that of the previous government. Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. The government’s arbitrary 3.5 per cent efficiency dividend imposed this year has reduced Centrelink’s ability to provide services to Australians. Centrelink’s own annual report stated that the reviews completed on time were down by four per cent and that requests for appeals on Centrelink decisions were up by more than 6,000. Given the increase in consumer demand, will the government now concede that they also got this wrong and restore the funding to Centrelink?