JobSeeker clawback, pension threat put the heat on Coalition

The Morrison government has come under fire over Centrelink payments as a centenarian in locked-down Sydney was threatened with having her pension withdrawn.

Employment Minister Stuart Robert. Picture: Gary Ramage

The Morrison government has come under fire over Centrelink payments as a centenarian in locked-down Sydney was threatened with having her pension withdrawn and new figures ­revealed 11,000 people received debt letters claiming they had ­received excessive JobKeeper payments.

Tony Burke, the Labor member for Watson in southwest Sydney, told question time he had been contacted by a relative of Anne Hawkins who was told she would lose her pension if “she didn’t provide specific proof of age documents”.

He said Ms Hawkins was: “102, bed-bound, has been a pensioner for 40 years and, were it not for the intervention of my office, would have had to travel in an ambulance to Service NSW to keep her pension.”

It comes as thousands of people received debt notices as part of an attempt to claw back almost $33m in JobKeeper wage subsidies despite the government ­refusing to crack down on businesses that have made large profits during the pandemic but have refused to hand back payments.

Services Australia confirmed that by April 30, 11,771 people had been sent letters “after the completion of a ­review of their income support payments and the JobKeeper ­income that was paid to them”. “As at 30 April 2021, ­approximately $32.8m in debt has been raised through completed reviews,” the agency said.

Greens senator Rachel Siewert said there was a “clear double-standard” between people receiving income assistance and businesses that claimed Job­keeper while generating a profit. It comes less than 24 hours after the government shut down a move by senator Rex Patrick for greater transparency from large businesses that claimed the Covid subsidy but still made money.

Opposition government services spokesman Bill Shorten ­accused Scott Morrison of not understanding how hard people were doing it during lockdown.

“At the same time Mr Morrison is gifting $13bn to big corporations who increased earnings during the Covid lockdowns, he is sending out his goons to collect a few dollars off people who lost their jobs,” he said.

Employment Minister Stuart Robert said overpayments weren’t allowed under the law. “Governments have ­respon­sibilities … to ensure the debts are recovered fairly, lawfully, transparently and respectfully,” he said.