The controversy around Centrelink’s recent debt collection debacle climaxed last week when they started Tweeting out the contact info for Lifeline to distressed welfare recipients.
Have you been caught up in the Centrelink debt collection debacle? Then you definitely need to watch this hilariously blunt ‘infomercial’
Some context? Basically, Centrelink have a new(ish) automated debt collection service that many have slammed as being hugely flawed. Many welfare recipients have been receiving erroneous letters saying they must pay back money received in overpayments from years ago – sometimes thousands of dollars.
Understandably this has caused a huge amount of stress for heaps of Aussies. And to top it off, the agency’s official Twitter account has been responding to users stressed about receiving debt notices by referring a bunch to Lifeline.
Despite the sincerity of this response from Centrelink, many Twitter users have slammed the process as being a further evidence of a flawed system.
In response to the debacle, political media group The Juice Media has created a savage hilarious ‘honest government advert’ that nails the entire situation.
“Did you know that one in five people who received our letter didn’t actually owe us money at all?” a ‘Centrelink’ spokesperson explains in the video. “We knew this, we just thought it would be more fun to force you to prove yourself innocent!”
This is just one of many zingers in the clip. A personal favourite is the climax: “sending out a clear message to poor people that this government fucking hates you”.
Watch and laugh below, and if it all seems a little too real for you, you can always call Lifeline (seriously).
