[Greens-Media] Centrelink breaches doubled, Aboriginals hit hardest.

[Twomey, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Centrelink breaches doubled, Aboriginals hit hardest. 

 

New data released by The Greens today reveals a massive increase in the number of people receiving 8 week no payment penalties from Centrelink, with Indigenous Australians hit the hardest by these breaches.

 

"There were 31 789 people breached by Centrelink between last July and this February. The breaches in this 9 month period are more than double the 15,509 no payment penalties handed out in the 2006-07 financial year," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

 

These figures were supplied in response to questions from Senator Siewert taken on notice by Centrelink at Senate Estimates in February this year.

 

"This is absolutely shocking, as that data also indicates that only 3,021 of those breached received the financial case management the Howard government promised when it introduced this punitive Welfare to Work policy," said Senator Siewert.

 

"2,642 of these people whose payments were cut for 8 weeks had dependent children. How will they manage to feed their kids and pay their rent with no money coming in for two months?"

 

The breaches have hit Aboriginal Australians the hardest -  29% of those breached in West Australia and 68% of those breached in Northern Australia are Indigenous. However only 255 of the 3,288 Indigenous Australians breached were offered financial case management.

 

"The new Rudd government needs to act quickly to address this injustice. For every week that they delay in implementing their promised Social Inclusion policy and changing this punitive regime another thousand Australians are being breached unfairly," concluded Senator Siewert.