Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon marked the first day of Parliament for 2017 with a speech in the House of Representatives about an issue critical to hundreds of Hunter constituents.
Fitzgibbon’s 90-second statement highlighted the government’s current Centrelink crisis and the debacle surrounding automated debt recovery.
“This must stop,” he said.
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Mr Fitzgibbon said the government must restore Centrelink’s resources.
“This is now becoming a crisis for too many people,” he explained.
“The government also stands condemned for the way it has been pursuing people for so-called Centrelink debts.
“Many of these debts actually do not exist and many of them go back so far – in some cases in my electorate for seven years or more – and people are not in the position to challenge the debt.
“They no longer have the pay slips and the records from seven years ago.”