No excuse for rorting
Sunday Herald Sun editorial, 11/2/2018
THE Sunday Herald Sun is heartened by the federal government’s successes in recouping millions of dollars from those who have been caught out rorting the system.
We report today that a record $1.4 billion has been recovered in the past 18 months.
It is shocking and disturbing to see the levels to which some people are willing to go to bludge off the generosity of ordinary Australian taxpayers. One Melbourne woman made up a fake family to scam more than $300,000 in Family Tax Benefit and Carers Allowance.
A man was jailed for three years after receiving $160,000 worth of disability payments through a fake identity.
Others tried to hide second homes, incomes and other assets to claim taxpayer help to which they weren’t entitled.
Australians believe in a “fair go for all.” It’s part of our DNA and the fabric of our community.
Those who need a helping hand and support get it through our social security system, which is paid for by the vast majority of honest individuals and businesses who pay their taxes.
‘What Australians cannot abide, and what the Sunday Herald Sun is opposed to, are bludgers, those who rip off and take advantage of that ‘fair go” spirit and social safety net.
As we reveal today, there are too many people who believe they deserve money for nothing, who believe the rest of us should fund their lifestyle.
In all, Human Services investigated more than 1400 cases of potential fraud in 18 months, with 956 cases referred to police.
The Turnbull Government has increased use of data matching checks to compare the claims of welfare recipients with other records to more than 600,000 every year.
This has driven the unprecedented $1.4 billion claw back – more than four times the rate of the $220 million recouped in the final year of the Gillard/Rudd government.
Welfare rorters have been scamming us for decades so it is a welcome change to see smarter checks finally putting the brakes on their gravy train. The message from this crackdown is clear – the good times for welfare cheats are over.
The rest of us are sick to death of funding these people, many of who think they are owed something by society.
So many Australian families are doing it tough, grappling with high power costs, escalating health insurance costs and stagnating wages.
Conversations are being held around kitchen tables and in lounge rooms across this state between people wondering how they are going to make ends meet.
These are good Victorian families. These are families that pay their tax.
So, it is beyond the pale that these very same families are having to see their hard-earnt money go to people who do not get off their backsides and work, who somehow believe that it is right to take money for doing nothing.
These people must understand, you need to work hard to get ahead in life and for those who do the rewards will come. Of course, honest work is itself also its own reward.
It is vital that we have a safety net in place for those in need, who cannot work, whether through illness, injury, disability or age.
But it is very clear that some who are not in need are taking cash from families in Victoria to fund their lifestyle.
Families deserve better. Taxpayers of Victoria deserve better.
Let us hope that the full force of the law is felt by those who have been ripping off the system and that they are forced to pay their own way and work hard like the rest of us.
They might even find that in work there is a great return in boosted self-esteem, expanded social networks and happiness.
As anyone who has ever had a job knows, the benefits of honest work are far more than just money.
Maybe they will discover that not only were they robbing the rest of us but were ripping themselves off by missing out on the true return of a productive life.
Linked from 24/2/2018 Journal