Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to raise an issue of great concern to me and a number of people within my electorate, and that is the lack of communication from and accountability upon Centrelink, whereas conversely there is an enormous amount of accountability upon people who must respond to Centrelink directions. I put very clearly on the record that my contribution here is not a criticism of Centrelink; rather, it is a criticism of the system that is in place.

To demonstrate this, I would like to put before the House the story of a young man who lives in the Shortland electorate. He suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of a premature birth. He is dyslexic, he had testicle cancer nine years ago and it spread. It was treated with chemotherapy and he is currently in a chair. He needs a wheelchair for mobility. His pension was stopped recently because he did not attend an interview at Centrelink. He received no notification of the interview and the only advice he received from Centrelink was a notice saying that his pension had been stopped. That letter arrived after he had been to the bank and found he had no money in his account. He further contacted Centrelink and was advised that he had to attend interviews even if he did not know that those interviews had been arranged and that it was totally and absolutely his responsibility.

I believe that accountability goes both ways. I believe it is imperative that we do not make the lives of people with disabilities like this young man I have spoken to you about, Stephen, unbearable. Rather, we need some compassion and we need an agency that works with people rather than one that causes angst for not only him but his family.

In the seconds I have remaining, I would like to put on the record my absolute disgust at the government’s handling of interest rates in this country and the Prime Minister’s performance on them. Interest rates have risen nine times in a row. The recent one is the fifth since the last election, when the Prime Minister was telling everyone that interest rates would not go up if he was re-elected. That was in countless commercials. Working families are under more pressure and the Prime Minister has told them that they have never been better off. The reality is that working families are suffering under further rate rises, and within my electorate they are suffering particularly. We have low to medium incomes and over 30 per cent of the population are paying off their homes. (Time expired)