The sudden closure of a major Centrelink office in Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked outrage.
Centrelink in Abbotsford, Melbourne, will close its doors on Thursday because the landlord has refused to renew the lease.
Stuart Robert, the Minister for Government Services, made the announcement on Wednesday.
He said Medicare and Centrelink offices would consolidate at another location in South Melbourne – six kilometres away.
A crowd is pictured outside the Centrelink office in Melbourne’s Abbotsford in March when the COVID-19 lockdowns began
People are seen queuing outside a Centrelink office in Preston, Melbourne after an estimated 88,000 people lost their jobs
In an explosive Twitter post, Greens leader Adam Bandt slammed the government’s decision not to open a new office in the area during a ‘Depression-era joblessness’ as a ‘savage attack on people in need of help’.
‘In the middle of the biggest ever demand on Centrelink, in an area with more public housing than almost anywhere in the country, the minister gives just over 24 hours’ notice that people will be left without a local service,’ he wrote.
The centre saw some of the largest queues of the in city when the COVID-19 lockdowns rendered thousands of residents unemployed earlier this year.
Abbotsford is also in an area with more public housing than anywhere in the country.
But Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said the South Melbourne location is prepared for an influx of welfare recipients, according to 7 News.
Greens leader Adam Bandt slammed the government’s decision not to open a new office as the country suffers ‘Despression-era joblessness’ as a ‘savage attack on people in need of help’
‘We’ve been making rapid improvements to support the many Australians who need our help and we know people are increasingly taking advantage of online options to manage their Centrelink and Medicare needs,’ he said.
The closest Centrelink offices to Abbotsford are in South Melbourne, Prahran and Camberwell.
Each are 15 minutes away by car, 30 minutes by tram or an 80-minute walk – which Mr Bandt said was unacceptable.
‘The minister’s supposed solution for these thousands of people, to walk the 6km all the way over the Yarra to South Melbourne to the next closest option, would be laughable were it not unimaginably cruel,’ he said.
Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten took aim at the Minister for Government Services and said the announcement ‘robs communities of local services’.
Queues for Centrelink in Darlinghurst stretched around the block after 88,000 people were let go from their jobs
On March 23, tens of thousands of newly unemployed Australians lined up at Centrelink offices around the nation (pictured in Sydney)
On March 23, tens of thousands of newly unemployed Australians lined up at Centrelink offices around the nation for hours to find out whether they’d be able to pay their rent and feed their families.
Lines to access Centrelink in Brunswick, Melbourne, were 200m long by 7am after 88,000 hospitality workers lost their jobs on Monday when the government closed all pubs, bars, cinemas and gyms to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Last week, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg warned the country faces a bleak economic future with unemployment hitting ten per cent in June.
About 1.4million Australians will be out of work due to coronavirus lockdowns.
The unemployment figure has not been in the double digits since 26 years ago in April 1994.
Australia has only had double-digit unemployment during the 1930s Great Depression, the early 1980s and early 1990s.
As a result of mass unemployment, 1.4 million people are now receiving the JobSeeker allowance from Centrelink.