I met with Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten recently to discuss the situation with Centrelink in Benalla and present him with a report prepared by locals into the effects of the closure of the Centrelink office.
I told him about Benalla and the surrounding region, what it means to have to travel for appointments and the way the agency model doesn’t meet people’s needs. In Benalla almost 1 in 5 residents are on the aged pension – the needs of this community can’t be ignored.
The report prepared by locals included responses from the more than 150 people who completed a survey about their experiences with Centrelink. This community has banded together and made the case to the Government, getting involved with the political process.
Mr Shorten committed to do more work with Services Australia to look at what could be done for services for the town. I’ll report back to you when we hear back.
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