Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate:

(a) notes that the Government intends to charge interest on income support debts;

(b) recognises that income support recipients often accrue debts through no fault of their own;

(c) considers this is a sledge-hammer approach and will disproportionately hurt Australians who have made a mistake or do not owe a debt at all; and

(d) urges the Federal Government to abandon this punitive approach and instead focus on measures that will decrease inequality and poverty. (general business notice of motion no. 801)