The number of letters sent out under Centrelink's controversial robo-debt policy has soared past 230,000 as the federal appeals tribunal braces for a flood of disputes.
Treasury costings have put the price of Centrelink's data-matching and debt recovery at least $93 million, including payments to commercial debt collectors.
Given the current furore over the Centrelink debt-recovery debacle, this is a fascinating reminder of how far politics has shifted since then. Despite exploiting fears about Labor's supposed "socialist objective", Menzies expanded social welfare to introduce the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, increased support for age pensioners and increased unemployment and other benefits.
The government decided to ditch it’s hard-working employers at the Department of Human Services who managed debts owed to Centrelink, despite their warnings that switching to an automated computer system would end in disaster.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Centrelink was sending out letters and hounding people for money they simply did not have thanks to a glitch in the system.
The Australian Government's ongoing Centrelink bungle is an indication of the fact that an obsession over the use of big data to balance the budget and the ability to do so skillfully are oceans apart.
The Federal Government has begun the political year defending its efforts to recover Centrelink overpayments.
AUDIO
The Centrelink robo-debt debacle won't cost as many jobs, but its impact will be worse. It'll dwarf that of the bungled census, for which the Prime Minister declared that heads would roll.
Labor calls for an investigation into Centrelink’s debt recovery scheme, calling it a disaster… but the government stands firm
VIDEO
Improving welfare compliance is a policy we can all support — in principle. The integrity of the system depends on payments going to the deserving, not anyone else.
But how big is the problem? For all that is written about welfare crackdowns in the popular press, they are little discussed in expert circles.
Centrelink has slashed the debts of two welfare recipients after they spoke out about the Federal Government's controversial $4.5 billion debt clawback program.
Ms Stilbe said she intended to the dispute the remaining debt.
