Joel Fitzgibbon Condemns Centrelink Debt Debacle

BY SARAH JAMES

Federal Member for Hunter Joel Fitzgibbon commenced the first day of Parliament for 2017 by championing the concerns of constituents affected by the Centrelink automated debt recovery before the House of Representatives.

Hundreds of Hunter residents are receiving letters from external debt collectors without being granted the opportunity to respond, appeal or have the decision reviewed.

Many of these debt notices are incorrect or date back more than seven years.

"Hundreds of... local constituents are being adversely affected...by the sheer under-resourcing of Centrelink and therefore the inability of the staff to service poeple adequately, and of course this debt recovery process which is unfairly targetting people," said Mr Fitzgibbon.

"The Turnbull Government has to start properly resourcing Centrelink again. The staff cannot continue under the current arrangements, people won't get proper service...and it needs to suspend this debt recovery process until it can be sure that people aren't being unfairly treated," he elaborated.

Joel Fitzgibbon is encouraging Hunter residents to make contact with his office if they have experienced issues with Centrelink, Medicare and NDIS.

Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon

Community Services down over industrial action

BY TYLER FARDELL

Industrial action by the Community and Public Sector Union has left many residents unable to access valuable services including Centrelink, Medicare and child support services.

The strikes are planned for Monday and Friday this week, with the union flagging for more action next week.

Customer payouts are not expected to be affected, although residents have been advised to delay any non-urgent business until sometime later in the week.

Customers are also encouraged to use online services instead through their myGov account.

General Manager for the Department of Human Services Hank Jongen has assured residents they are working hard to minimise disruption.

"We are focused on making sure staff are available to help people who are in financial hardship and need immediate assistance".

"We appreciate the community's patience during this time".

Fitz says Centrelink services in Crisis

BY GARY-JON LYSAGHT

Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon has told the federal Parliament this week that the government's cuts to Medicare and Centrelink have had a devastating effect on his electorate.

During his Constituency Statement, he said the support services were "in a state of crisis".

Joel Fitzgibbon

"You can't just keep cutting funding to Centrelink and Medicare and expect the services to be delivered," he said.

"These are not just the unemployed, they're families who have lost a loved one and need to make arrangements, they're pensioners who have had their financial situations change."

The cuts come amid claims the Turnbull government have prioritised cities and other metropolitan areas over the regions.

Joel Fitzgibbon says the lack of services is felt harder outside the city.

"It affects the cities and regions, but the regions are hurting most," he said.

"This is a government that has its priorities all wrong, they're giving big tax cuts to the big end of town but say they need to repair the budget by cutting things that hurt people on lower incomes.

"It's a disgrace that they're being left out in the cold."

Unfortunately, says Fitzgibbon, only money can fix the issue.

"The Labor party went into the last election promising an additional $80 million to address this problem," he said.

"The government needs to do the same.  Only, sadly, money will fix this.

"We need to have the resources we need to service people's needs."