5 years ago
MORRISON GOVERNMENT LIES ABOUT CENTRELINK
ED HUSIC MP
Morrison Government lies about Centrelink won't improve Centrelink service
The Morrison government has been caught lying in a desperate attempt to cover up the impact of its job cuts on Centrelink service.
Today the Government told Australians that:
"Centrelink staff numbers boosted by addition of an extra 2,750 jobs."
Minister Keenan media release
30 October, 2018
What they didn't tell people is that these aren't in-house jobs - they're a wave of privatised labour brought in by the government to clean up after cutting jobs and service.
All the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments have relied upon is bringing in thousands of contractors to prop up Centrelink.
And in a desperate attempt to convince the public about the value of privatised labour, the Morrison government referred to a report - conducted by consultants about Centrelink contractors - which miraculously concluded that Centrelink contractors are good value. Who knew?
Not surprisingly the government refuses to release the report to see if the claim stacks up against reality.
The reality that the Australian public has to confront is that the government’s cutting and outsourcing of Centrelink jobs on a mass scale has coincided with huge blow outs in call wait times and payment wait times.
The public's view about the quality of Centrelink service is damning - captured in the Department of Human Service's latest annual report which showed that satisfaction with Centrelink has dropped from 50 per cent in 2016-17 to 46.5 per cent last financial year.
On top of this complaints about Centrelink rose from 168,709 to 236,563. This is a 40% increase year on year.
Centrelink is one of the most common touchpoints people have with the Government - but this Government’s cuts and neglect mean that service horror stories are all too common.
We know the awful impact poor performances are having on older Australians who are waiting months to get their pensions processed.
That is why a Shorten Labor Government will invest in 1200 new permanent and full-time Department of Human Services staff around the country, improving waiting times and services Australians rely on.