MEDIA RELEASE: Welfare Claimants Occupy Alan Tudge MP office

For Immediate Release

Wednesday 18 January 2pm

Welfare Claimants Occupy Alan Tudge MP’s Office, Protest Centrelink False Debt Debacle

A group of Centrelink recipients who have received inaccurate Centrelink debt notices occupied the electoral office of Alan Tudge MP, the Minister for Human Services, today.

The group occupying Alan Tudge’s office played Centrelink hold music on a portable amplifier, chanted slogans, and offered to give the Minister “a taste of what it’s like dealing with Centrelink”.

The protestors also presented their own ‘debt letter’ to the Tudge’s office, asking the Liberal government to return the $300 million they have taken from welfare recipients through the automated debt recovery system since the start of the financial year.

The Centrelink recipients expressed anger at comments made by the Minister in defence of Centrelink’s controversial automated debt recovery program.

Alan Tudge recently claimed that he was “not aware of individuals who are completely convinced they don’t owe money but have been given a debt notice” and that people disputing a debt notice could go into an office and see someone “in 10 minutes”.

The protestors rejected this and claimed that the Minister is either lying or knows nothing about the operation of the government agency he oversees.

Media reports have indicated that at least as one in five people sent a debt letter owe Centrelink nothing, and many more owe less than Centrelink claims. The Department of Human Services has admitted that the government knew this would be the case when the program was implemented.

The government has since indicated that it plans to expand the automated debt recovery system to pensioners, disability support pension recipients, and people who receive parenting payments, in coming weeks.

Remarks Attributable to Rebecca Harrison, who has received a Centrelink automated debt letter.

“Alan Tudge is living in a fantasy world. No one can walk into a Centrelink office and sort out an incorrect debt, in ten minutes or ten hours.”

“This automated debt recovery system is causing havoc in my life, and the lives of many other people. The debt letters are often wrong, meaning that thousands are being forced to scramble to chase up payslips from years ago. This creates anxiety and fear amongst ordinary people who have done nothing wrong, and who are simply claiming welfare payments they are perfectly entitled to. We deserve to be treated like human beings, not as statistics in some computer system.”

“This is a government policy designed to extort money from the poorest in society, while MPs like Alan Tudge and Sussan Ley claim millions in entitlements and the largest corporations get away with paying nothing”.

“We need more than an investigation or a suspension of the Centrelink debt recovery program. It clearly has systemic problems which cannot be fixed by making minor modifications. More and more welfare claimants will continue to be hit with false debts unless this automated debt program is abolished altogether.”

Periscope and other video of the occupation will be available on twitter from @kieranbennett, @asher_wolf.

Higher quality footage will also be available shortly, reply to request access.

The Australian Unemployed Workers Union has called a further rally against the Centrelink debt recovery system 31 January at 12:30pm at the State Library of Victoria.

For comment, call Rebecca Harrison on 0439503839.