The closure of a Centrelink agent in a remote West Australian town has brought the challenges faced by some in the Indigenous community into stark relief.
Key points:
- A WA shire president says conditional welfare programs are being used as “punitive tools” in remote communities
- The closure of a Centrelink agency in Leonora left community services struggling to help locals
- Community leaders say agencies are used by Services Australia to “cover Centrelink not providing an adequate service”
Centrelink agents and access points differ to service centres — they are run by host organisations such as a council, community centres and organisations on behalf of Centrelink.
They do not have the full range of services that Centrelink Service Centres offer.
When Leonora’s agent shut up shop for a month on March 25, the local Community Resource Centre (CRC) was inundated with enquiries about payments and the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) it was unable to answer.
Leonora Shire chief executive Jim Epis said staff at the CRC had spent hours on the phone trying to assi