Catholic social services organisation St Vincent de Paul Society has called on the federal government to not use Centrelink as “a weapon of deficit destruction”.
“Centrelink should not be used by the government as a blunt weapon to achieve a deficit reduction on the backs of people who already carry the greatest burden of inequality,” said St Vincent de Paul national council CEO Dr John Falzon.
The charity has demanded that Centrelink’s data-matching system – which has been responsible for thousands of false debt notification letters — be suspended while its shortcomings are ironed out.
[...]
Falzon said “people should not be intimidated and hounded for money they do not owe”.
“The government has a responsibility to provide social and economic security to its people. This should not be delivered as if it were charity and should never become a means of profit. Nor should it be overshadowed and accompanied by humiliation and shame.”
The St Vincent chief agreed with the Community & Public Sector Union’s prediction yesterday that Centrelink staff would not be able to cope with this issue on top of the others they’re already working on.
“The department of human services has been decimated by funding cuts and outsourcing to the private sector, eroding its capacity to deliver services,” said Falzon, adding that privatisation was not the answer to fixing the woes.