Media Release - Sloppy Shorten has questions to answer

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten is dodging responsibility by failing to answer basic questions about his portfolio that includes the largest government agency of the Commonwealth, Shadow Minister for Government Services, Paul Fletcher said today.

“Minister Shorten is responsible for Services Australia, an agency that employs 33,000 staff and that last financial year oversaw payments totalling more than $224 billion yet has ignored Senate estimates questions to the point they are now almost a month overdue,” Mr Fletcher said.

“Mr Shorten has twice failed to respond by the due date to the questions lodged by Senators which cover serious matters relating to his portfolio including family and domestic violence and the Alice Spring crisis.

“Over a month has passed between the 31 March 2023 deadline set down by the Senate for the return of these questions.

“And now we have learnt through a Freedom of Information request that Mr Shorten hasn’t bothered to send his colleague, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, a single item of correspondence about major digital identity reforms affecting his portfolio.

“This is despite a recent report from the Productivity Commission recommending action on expanding our digital identity system.

“All of this comes on top of Mr Shorten failing to respond to various questions placed on the House of Representatives Notice Paper, and his decision last month to not even speak to a bill which will see his agency transition thousands of vulnerable Australians off income management.

“Taxpayers would be right to question just exactly what Mr Shorten is getting up to instead of being accountable to the Australian people through the Parliament.

“He hasn’t explained how he will address massive ICT job cuts at Service Australia or how he will fix the blow out in Centrelink call waits times on his watch.

“And in addition to these challenges, there is still no long-term plan from this government, nor any new funding, on how to bring old, clunky government services into the digital age,” Mr Fletcher said.

ENDS

Further information: Julian Leembruggen 0497 873 708

Key questions asked of Minister Shorten and Services Australia

Why did Minister Shorten and his Agency fail to respond to the deadline for the return of questions on notice during the last round of Estimates?

This financial year to date, how many Aged Care Specialist Officers are employed by the Agency?

How successful was the Family and Domestic Violence Strategy 2020-23? What outcomes were achieved?

This financial year, how many victim-survivors have confirmed they are affected by family and domestic violence? If this is not recorded by staff, why not?

With reference to SA SQ22-000092, why does the Agency not currently capture data related to referrals to social workers generated specifically from the Family and Domestic Violence Support Model?

This financial year, what ‘highly specialised drugs’ did the Agency assist in gaining access for on behalf of customers in custody and to how many customers was this service provided?

At what youth justice centres/correctional facilities are incarcerated customers gaining access to ‘highly specialised drugs’?

In this financial year, how many Agency shopfronts have had leases expire and what were the locations of those shopfronts? Provide date of expiration and detail what if any contingencies are in place for the shopfront.

How many times has the Minister or his office met with staff or members of the Community Services and Public Sector Union this financial year to date?

For each meeting the Minister or his office has held with members of the Community Services and Public Sector Union, including Ms Melissa Donnelly, advise which party instigated the meeting, where each meeting held, what were the minutes of each meeting, meeting agenda, who attended each meeting and did the Agency prepare a brief for each meeting?

What is the number for the dedicated phone line to assist day-to-day customers with enquiries regarding the SmartCard? When did this phone line become operational? How many Services Australia staff operate this line and what is the basis for this number?

How many times has Minister Shorten visited Alice Springs since he was sworn in?

How many times has Minister Shorten visited the Northern Territory since he was sworn in?

Can the Agency list all activities undertaken by the Agency this financial year to date which involve data matching?

This financial year to date, can the Agency provide the number of types of corporate credit cards on issue, the number of each credit card issued and the credit limit on each card. Include travel charge cards.

Does Services Australia maintain a record of official duties, including functions and events attended, undertaken by Minister Shorten? If yes, please provide these records.

How much did it cost the Agency to support the upgrade of Minister Shorten’s Electorate Office?

Can the Agency provide a list of all property and/or IT assets provided for the Electorate Office upgrade, including the value of each asset.

This financial year to date, how many public tip-offs have been received? How many staff are assigned to asses tip-offs? Of the tip-offs received, how many have been received via the Australian Government Services Fraud Tip-off Line and how many have been received online via the Reporting Fraud page?

What stakeholders has Services Australia consulted with on draft legislation dealing with Digital Identity?

Does new shopfront signage or other such amenity work require Ministerial approval?