Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM
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Australian Politics
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'Ere's me post on another forum:-
One guarantee of a free society is a free exchange of information.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
So now we see the picture entire for the drinking.
First Colonel C'link unliterally creates a new set of rules by which it alone wishes to operate, without any notice to its customers or any announcement in any way, i.e. rather than looking at income over the accepted for many years (and possibly statutory) period of two weeks, one two week period at a time - the Good Colonel now wishes to view the entire earnings of any of its customers over the full twelve months financial year – and then wishes to re-calculate their Entitlements under Social Security.
In order to achieve this end, they take the tax information willingly and freely lodged with the Australian Tax Office for a full year's earnings, under their 'new' data matching system.
Then, without notice, they re-calculate any person's annual earnings and determine that this individual averaged a certain amount of income over that twelve months – rather than viewing (as above) their income received over each two week period whilst in receipt of Social Security payments.
Their letters of demand offer two weeks in which to resolve the matter or face further action, including a 'collection fee' of 10%, and possible criminal action, as well as suspension or forced re-payment from current benefits.
The Good Colonel refuses to allow discussion or even a viewing of the affected individual's personal reporting record, or even to accept that a mistake may have been made, and that there is a chance of resolution by a proper audit.
They do this to countless thousands just before Christmas, meaning that the individuals concerned have little to no chance of even beginning to collect their wits, let alone their information needed to correctly resolve this situation.
On top of that, it is not possible for the affected individual(s) to gather their OWN INFORMATION lodged with the ATO, by their employer(s) in accordance with law, every pay period. The ATO will say that is protected information under the Privacy Act or whatever, and it is now the property of the ATO and NOT that individual.
Thus the affected individual is left with no possible avenue of mounting a defence – unless they are fortunate enough to retain all their pay slips in an orderly fashion (who does that these days? People rely on their employer to keep correct records and on the ATO AND Centrelink to deal with them properly).
The affected individual MAY lodge a 'Freedom of Information' claim with the ATO – OR take the matter of access to personal information to the appropriate court... but either of these actions will NOT occur BEFORE the time limit demanded by Colonel Clink has expired – meaning the person will be stung with a 'debt' they have had no means of defending, plus costs, plus interest, and will have no choice but to pay or suffer sanction by a court of law and pursuit by bill collectors.
As I said – this entire issue should fall at the first minute in a court hearing, since it has no remote association with Natural Justice.
This approach – of Colonel Clink arbitrarily positing that income will now be looked at over a full financial year, and even beyond, means that Centrelink, under direct orders from this government, is arbitrarily and unilaterally decreeing, without recourse to historical usage, regulation or possibly law, that SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOW A LOAN, that must be repaid on demand. I have every expectation that this is the thin edge of the wedge to forcing on the public the concept that an Age Pension is now also a 'loan' due upon death.
(Copy forwarded to Andrew Wilkie – thank you, Colonel, for your actions)...
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The growing Centrelink debt scandal (Read 41922 times)
