Contributed by Ugly

Some things never change. Centrelink is still crewing those who come in for same help. The news that more than 11 million calls had been unanswered in a year till last April in government data is not news to anyone depending on Centrelink income to survive. It would be better if the government Wallas asked those at the receiving end. This way they may learn something.

Of course, the Wallas must want to learn something in the first place. They don’t, because their job is not to help those in need. Centrelink exists to o give the unemployed and others a hard time. Under resourcing is deliberate. Any other outfit that routinely made its customers wait on the phone for an hour or more would go out of business.

Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has complained and pointed out that the waiting time is unacceptable. . It’s not only the unemployed getting hit. Carers, those on disability, single parents, and age pensioners are getting it too.

When this comes on top of a series of other abuses, like constant cutoff of payments for no valid reason or minor errors the harm caused is magnified. These other abuses are a major reason why people phone up in the first place.

Having too few frontline staff and a system designed to be as unfriendly as possible is a disincentive to going and fronting up in person at a Centrelink office. When they do, people are often told to go online instead. Negotiating MyGov is confusing to many and full of glitches. Using it risks getting into the cycle of getting cut off, try to ring, fronting up, and being told again to go online.

Robodebt was no accident either. This must not be forgotten.

If from the government end there was a genuine intention to fix this mess, there resources would be put in to make sure it happened. This is not the way it is. Punishment of those depending on the payments takes centre stage.

This is about creating the numbers that look like fewer are on these payments. That the price paid is people living the system because of the stress it causes them and forcing them into serious poverty.

We should all be angry about this, whether you depend on Centrelink to live or are just a good person with a sense of justice. We are all human beings deserving to be treated with respect. This and not being forced to live in poverty and as second-class citizens are basic human rights.

Australia must move towards being a society based on such values. If we had this, there would be no abuse of the less fortunate.