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Welfare crackdown

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Former senior public servant Renee Leon.

Robo-debt target says Morrison government sacked her after raising alarm

Renee Leon’s intervention means both she and her predecessor as head of the Human Services Department have rejected the public service watchdog’s findings.

  • Paul Sakkal

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Centrelink

Centrelink knows if you’re hiding a relationship – but it’s complicated

The welfare agency is asking police to trawl through people’s metadata and in some cases crack their passwords to find out if they’re in a relationship.

  • Angus Thompson and Tim Biggs
Andrew Dyson

Would robo-debt be a bigger scandal if its victims weren’t on welfare?

If we are honest, welfare and dole recipients are treated as outsiders and therefore, in the eyes of our political leaders, don’t really count.

  • Waleed Aly
Scott Morrison self-description that he can be “a bit of a bulldozer”, again proved prescient at the robo-debt hearings this week.

A vintage display as Scomo the bulldozer digs himself deeper

What the former PM told the royal commission on Wednesday was not remarkable. But the rambling delivery style was a reminder of how out of touch he can be with his surroundings and why he flopped in the nation’s top job.

  • Michelle Grattan
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten announcing the royal commission.

‘Robo-justice’: Royal commission set up to examine robo-debt scheme

A seven-month royal commission will examine who dreamed up the robo-debt scheme and how complaints and concerns were handled.

  • Katina Curtis
Centrelink recipients found themselves hit with debt notices that did not have a legal basis because of the robodebt scheme.

Services Australia used ‘learner’ staff to process complex robodebt refunds

A report the government used to argue robodebt refunds were calculated properly revealed “learner” staff performed the complex task of assessing who was entitled to a refund.

  • Nick Bonyhady
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Kathryn Campbell repeatedly gave evidence to the Robodebt Senate inquiry.

New DFAT boss comes with robodebt baggage

Labor and the Greens are disappointed Kathryn Campbell is moving on from her role in the Department of Social Services without what they see as a full explanation of the robodebt saga.

  • Nick Bonyhady
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Income support ‘not the only lever’: Labor’s plan to tackle disadvantage

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated Australia’s welfare bill would not rise significantly under a Labor government, with the opposition instead proposing to use national cabinet to work with state and territory leaders to tackle disadvantage.

  • Jennifer Duke
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash and Social Services Minister Anne Ruston have announced a suite of stronger mutual obligations for unemployed people.

Employers lukewarm on ‘DobSeeker’ hotline

Employers say they’re unlikely to use a new hotline to report unemployed people who turn down jobs while critics say it’s open for abuse.

  • Katina Curtis and Nick Bonyhady
Locals demonstrate against the cashless welfare card in the remote South Australian town of Ceduna.

Please Explain podcast: why has the government extended cashless welfare cards?

National editor Tory Maguire and political reporter Katina Curtis delve into the cashless welfare card controversy and why the government has temporarily extended the scheme.

  • Tory Maguire

Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/topic/welfare-crackdown-1n6h