Stop attacks on Centrelink
A Melbourne constituent contacted my office after her disability support pension was cancelled in July last year without notice.
She wasn’t able to go to a service centre due to her disability and didn’t have a phone. She spent 45 minutes standing in the freezing cold at a phone booth waiting on hold to speak to Centrelink, who then gave her the wrong information and didn’t reinstate her payment.
She was told her payment was cancelled because Centrelink wanted to transition her to the age pension, when, in fact, it was cancelled because Centrelink had sent a letter to the wrong address.
She told my office she’d been living off bread and tea for two months – and that she’d just run out of tea.
She was sent threatening letters to vacate her residence because she was so behind on rent and she was at risk of having all her belongings sold because she couldn’t continue paying for storage.
This should not be happening in Australia.
But instead of going after the top end of town to raise revenue, this government attacks people who are least in a position to afford it.
For six years, the government has punished people through Centrelink instead of supporting them. Newstart is so low it is locking people into poverty. We need to lift it by $75 a week – and we will keep fighting until we do. We need to kick this government out.
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