Handouts provide the great divide

COMMENT
FROM the first week after the bushfires the Mail has received calls about people “rorting” the money provided by the government under the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP).
In the immediate aftermath of the fires Centrelink was criticised for requiring identification from fire victims.
The Prime Minister apologised and it was a fair call that the requirement to provide identity and back up evacuation status was dropped at that point.
Now, however the letters and conversations, in homes, in coffee shops, on the street, have grown with each week and it is a situation that has divided friends and has the potential to divide communities.
It is also, you could argue, taking money away from those who need, or deserve it most.
The first woman to ring accused two Healesville people of claiming the $1000.
“They only live in Don Road and they were only away from their house for a couple of days, staying with relatives.”
She was volunteering at the relief centre and was angry that, having seen so many people who had lost everything now reliant on others for their basic needs, others were, she said, “taking advantage” of the system.
Legally, they were entitled.
One Upper Yarra woman told the Mail she knew of people who had fraudulently claimed the money, simply phoning Centrelink, stating they had left for the required 24 hours and passing on bank account details for the money to be deposited.
“I am appalled at the number of people I know and thought were decent, law-abiding citizens, who did this and actually worked that day.”
She said she knows of others who drove down to the Lilydale Relief Centre, signed up and immediately returned home.
She said she was angry that at this late stage taxpayers money was still being handed out with no proof being required that it was a legitimate claim.
Another caller to the Mail said she had stayed and defended her property out past Warburton and was also angry that those who left had such easy access to the money.
She phoned Centrelink to complain and was advised she too could claim – for emotional trauma. Having stayed in a heavily bushed area under ongoing fire threat, she was undoubtedly stressed. She was approved over the phone for the payment.
There are “stories” of people walking around the corner from a pub in Lilydale and coming back with a cheque for $1000.
Another from a Healesville business operator who said he was disappointed and surprised at some of the people who have come in to his business wanting to cash their AGDRP cheques.
The Mail has spoken to volunteer firefighters who were away from their homes for days and weeks in February … and stressed.
Some, quite rightly claimed the payment to make ends meet.
Others decided not to – a personal decision with no judgements attached to colleagues who in many case needed that money to survive.
There are others who were laid off their jobs who also were encouraged and entitled to the money.
The criteria for the AGDRP, as set out in the Mail last week, is broad, and while it would seem some people are quite legitimately and morally entitled to be compensated, others are fraudulently misrepresenting their case, or just taking advantage of an opportunity.
With the fund remaining open until Friday 7 August, it’s reasonable to expect that some checks and balances now be put on the handing out of AGDRP fund.
It is also reasonable to expect that people who know of fraudulent claims let Centrelink know so they can act, and that Centrelink does follow up on those reports to restore confidence in what was intended to provide much-needed immediate support to people in need.