James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Welcome back, colleagues. Great to see you all after a clearly restful break over the summer. I am sad that Senator Dastyari is no longer in the chamber, because I was going to compliment him on his haircut. He is looking very sharp, in contrast to the way he finished the end of last year.

I thank the Greens for raising this important matter in the Senate. They are right that the efficient administration of government programs is a very important issue and they are right that bureaucracies must be as careful as possible to administer their payments in the most sensitive way. But the Turnbull government makes no apologies for ensuring the integrity of our welfare system. It is a $170 billion welfare system which takes up nearly one-third of the budget, and its integrity is of paramount importance. People deserve to be paid exactly what they are eligible for, but they do not deserve to be paid $1 more—