Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. Today we are witnessing extraordinary scenes right across the country. There is an unprecedented number of Australians queuing outside Centrelink offices to get urgently needed assistance, and the myGov website has melted down due to unplanned demand. When asked on ABC Adelaide this morning whether a man who has lost his job but whose partner earns $70,000 a year would be eligible for assistance, the finance minister said: 'If he has lost his job, he will be eligible for the jobseeker payment and, also, he will get a significantly boosted jobseeker payment; we've effectively doubled it.' Did the finance minister provide the caller with an accurate answer?