Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Sterle for his further supplementary question. In a normal year Centrelink takes around 30 million phone calls so, to be frank with you, it is usually very busy in any event. But there are a number of reasons why Centrelink is especially busy at present. People are understandably interested in the Rudd government’s Nation Building and Jobs Plan and are calling in large numbers to find out how it will affect them. Yesterday alone the Centrelink call centre network received 142,000 or more calls. I know it is hard for some customers to get through to some of our lines at present but I thank them for their patience. I want to remind people that they do not need to contact Centrelink to receive payments being delivered under the government’s Nation Building and Jobs Plan. Eligibility will be automatically assessed by Centrelink and most payments will be made directly into bank accounts, usually as close to their usual payment day between 11 March and 6 April— (Time expired)