CENTRELINK EXPOSED IN TELL ALL BOOK.

Interesting article from 'THE AGE'; a Melbourne newspaper. Although it is four years old and we have had a change of government, many of you will not be able to discern a noticeable difference.

Even though we call it Democracy, it is not, and it can't be defined as such, if both sides are essentially the same. This was George Orwell's major point in his book 'Animal Farm'; that the pigs are the same as the farmers, that Labour and Liberal, Democrat and Republican, Labour and Tory are ostensibly the same. The Mikiverse will write an article for your consumption on this topic in the future, but in the meantime, enjoy this trip down memory lane.....

 

June 19, 2005 - 4:00AM

Centrelink has dismissed allegations its staff reject welfare claims in order to meet performance targets.

A new book by a former Centrelink manager and whistleblower, Rod Whyte, details examples of massive hidden errors within the welfare agency, a lack of payment scrutiny and a culture of assumed guilt on the part of welfare recipients.

Only five per cent of Centrelink decisions are checked, despite evidence more than half of transactions for some pensioner types are wrong, Mr Whyte says.

In one case, a new welfare applicant was denied her payment so that the Centrelink worker could meet their performance indicator, he said.

"This highlights the extreme pressures that Centrelink staff are under in their performance ... and also throws into doubt every single decision that Centrelink has ever made," Mr Whyte writes.

Mr Whyte estimates Centrelink is responsible for around 80 per cent of all debts it raises because of mistakes, a failure of duty of care, and a failure to inform welfare recipients of their rights.

"I don't believe there would be one Centrelink customer that has not been affected at some stage by a Centrelink mistake," he said.

Many of the problems came from saddling staff with too much work and too little time to perform their duties, he said.

The welfare agency, however, has hit back at the allegations in the book, describing them as inaccurate and out-dated.

"This is essentially a re-print of the same book the author released last year in which the broad-brush allegations were also rejected," Centrelink general manager Hank Jongen said in a statement.

"Centrelink is already one of the most scrutinised agencies in the land.

"We are transparent, accountable to parliament, and customers can ask for a review of absolutely every decision we make."

Mr Jongen also accused Mr Whyte of trying to make money by generating fear and alarm.

But Mr Whyte says every claim in his book is backed up by evidence.

"It's certainly not over-inflated ... Absolutely everything that I've got in that book is backed up," he told AAP.

"It's disappointing ... They're attacking me personally when they can't really attack the book."

Labor says there have been concerns about internal Centrelink processes for some time.

"Labor's been very concerned about the breaching and suspension regimes for a long time in Centrelink and this government is all about punishing the least privileged in our society rather than helping them," opposition social security spokesman Chris Evans said.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), which represents Centrelink staff, said they were under a lot of pressure at work.

"It hasn't always been adequately resourced by the government, particularly when the government is making new demands on it," CPSU spokesman Paul Ingwerson said.

Mr Whyte's book, Australia's Artful Dodger: Centrelink Exposed, is due to be launched next month.

The welfare provider distributes payments to about 6.5 million people nationwide.

-AAP