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The Forum > Article Comments > Dobbing in to Centrelink > Comments

Dobbing in to Centrelink : Comments

By Jayne Harobed, published 15/12/2010

Whistleblowing may be the 'right thing to do' but it can be very detrimental to family relationships.

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Sorry Jayne, I don't think you did the right thing at all. You firstly did it behind your brother's back and you then tried to hide behind anonymity. Even when you were uncovered, you tried to pretend that it was all someone else's fault.

The mere fact that your brother was not charged with any offence is pretty clear evidence that he wasn't committing much of an offence. Centrelink investigate fraus cases quite thoroughly, I underrstnad. One of my friends, who has since passed away, spent some time in jail because he got caught fraudulently claiming something or other.

I'm not surprised your family won't talk to you, frankly. I wouldn't, if you were my sister. I'm also not all that surprised that Centrelink have checked on your own entitlements. They don't like being used in family disputes, I'm sure.
Posted by Antiseptic, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 8:33:47 AM
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I'm afraid I'm on YOUR side Jayne. I agree that the best approach would have been to phone it in.

BUT.. looking at the lengths your brother went to ...to hide his crimes and 'get' the whistleblower and the fact that the FAMILY then sided with the criminal..... well sorry to say but it makes you look like the only worthwile person in your whole family.

Now..you made an allegation that he was 'quadruple dipping' and that he was able to cover up the evidence.

This seems very skimpy on detail. You need to flesh it out more to show us 'how' he quadruple dipped, and 'how' he could cover up evidence.

I doubt he could cover it up because it just doesn't seem possible.

If he is quadruple dipping...

a) He must have used fale identities
OR
b) Using his own identity, he claimed things for which he was not eligible.

In both cases, there would be a paper/documentation trail which centrelink could access.

You can tell him that if he want's to rip off 'ME' (a tax payer) how about he come and tell me to my face and we can 'discuss' the matter.
Posted by ALGOREisRICH, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 9:25:56 AM
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Jayne you did what you believed was right and your family dumping you actually sounds like a bonus.

Shame you couldn’t convince him to stop ripping off the Australian public in general but people that can’t figure it out for themselves don’t often listen to anyone else either.

Anti what if it was a working solo mum living in govt paid for accommodation while child support is leached from the father, I suspect you’d want someone to nark in that situation.

Jayne:“It really made me wonder, as a mandated reporter for children’s safety, whether it would have been OK with my family if the situation had been that he was abusing his child or beating his partner - or whether the "you don’t do that sort of thing to family" excuse would still be their catch cry.”

As a mandatory reporter you would not have been allowed to be anon as far as I know. Yes your family would probably have the same reaction. Do you care? You must have predicted the reaction to be anonymous to start with. Now you are sure who they are. Probably hurt as well and I am sorry if that is the case… I still think you’re better off without them.

But I would “dump” you for other reasons in that particular situation. Do not report child abuse in Australia unless you know they are going to be better off and the abuse will not be worse where they are sent. Do not report DV in Australia for the same reason
Posted by Jewely, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 9:34:46 AM
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Jewely:"Anti what if it was a working solo mum living in govt paid for accommodation while child support is leached from the father, I suspect you’d want someone to nark in that situation. "

Nope, I would never do it and never have despite having every opportunity to do so. Certainly I wouldn't expect it of a member of her family. The problem here is that Jayne has obviously become deeply steeped in the "no one need ever know your name" school of cowardly, backstabbing informerism that is encouraged by our law enforcers today and authoritarian regimes throughout history. Her only regret is that she got found out and has been rightfully ostracised.

She didn't have enough courage of her own convictions to act openly and I find that quite despicable, especially towards a member of her own family.

As I said earlier, if she were my sister, I doubt I'd have been having much to do with her anyway: I'd be constantly watching my back if she were around.

Jewely:"Do not report child abuse in Australia unless you know they are going to be better off and the abuse will not be worse where they are sent. Do not report DV in Australia for the same reason"

Excellent advice. My apologies for having a go at you in another thread. Blame it on the heat.
Posted by Antiseptic, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 9:45:49 AM
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Oh, I gotchya now Anti... If you are going to do it then be upfront and honest about it? Have to agree, being outraged about something usually does go along with being very loud and clear and wanting people to know where and from who the accusation comes.

Jayne knew what reaction she would receive from her family and that is why she attempted to be anonymous. She’s probably appalled that she was so right about it, and I think this article was written as a stab back at them. Using the DV or child abuse scenario is right as far as her wondering just how far this kind of kin protection should go. Would they hide murderers – probably not, but it was a good dig.

So –

Dear Jaynes Family,

Stop supporting bludgers and making everyone else too scared to say anything out loud. It’s a horrible reflection on your family that first you allow members to rip off other hard working people in this country and then you punish the ones who complain. It is worse how you reacted with a punishment of expulsion from your family. I would be asking your Jayne why she felt she had to complain in the manner she did. If I was Jayne I would be asking myself if being dumped by a family such as yours is really any punishment at all.

Thanks,

Anon.

No worries about having a go Anti. I’m not sure which thread so will consider it global. :)
Posted by Jewely, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:32:12 AM
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Good on you Jayne, you did the right thing. Perhaps the fact that you stopped your family member, in his minor criminal activity, will have saved him from trying to profit from something more dangerous to his happiness, later in his life. You probably did him a real favour.

Antiseptic, your attitude is quite disgusting. Your belief that you, & your family are entitled to steal from me, & other taxpayers shows you as someone not to be trusted.

A neighbour of mine has a small turf farm. Turf farming is very hard work, & he can not get anyone to take a full time job with him, even offering $800 for unskilled labour. Still, much of his work requires 2 people.

He currently employs 7 or 8 dole bludgers, cash in hand, for one day a week, [or fortnight]. He often has to beg some of these people to come & do a day. He has even had to get me to help, when desperate, & I can't do much more than drive a truck, tractor, or forklift these days.

He lives in constant fear that someone will report some of these people, or him to centrelink. He is well aware that it will be him, not the dole bludger, who will get the greatest penalty. His problem is, either employ them, or shut down.

I can only assume that you, antiseptic, are fully in favour of our local young apprentices, & checkout chicks, struggling to get by on their small wages, should help support these leaches.

Good one mate.
Posted by Hasbeen, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:33:27 AM
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Jayne:

The above posters have summed up the whole deal but I would add this, Centrelink work in strange ways and you will not be informed of results of any investigations ongoing or past. It is a big wheel and grinds slowly but surely. The amount embezzled will be a factor in their motivation to investigate as well, (insider info).

You are premature concluding from recent Centrelink checks on you as being a sign of retaliation by them for exposing fraud. They are not the Mafia. Just maybe they are working the whole family over in the same way and their combined discomfort of the family is the real reason for the exclusion zone you now appear to dwell in. Remember you cannot be trusted (Family view of course).
Posted by diver dan, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:37:31 AM
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I dont condone whistleblowers unless I have all the facts. Government and society whether right or wrong puts to much emphasis on whistleblowing. I was once falsely accused of throwing a cigarette but from my vehicle by a whistleblower. It took me a lot of time and effort over 2 years to prove my innocence. I had to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that neither myself or vehicle were not there. Luckily on the day I was filming a wedding 20 kilometres away and my vehicle was in the film. Without that evidence I was deamed to be guilty. The EPA refused to name the whistleblower citing priviliged information acts.
Posted by gypsy, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:57:45 AM
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Jayne Harobed

It is very pleasing to know that their are still people with the guts to do the right thing despite the consequences. You are a hero.
Posted by runner, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 11:08:51 AM
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Gypsy, I think Whistleblower is maybe not the right term there or in Jayne’s case.

“Nark” (which I think is spelt wrong) might be the one you are looking for; sometimes they are right and sometimes wrong.

Hotlines all over the country are very active with malicious, untrue, incorrect, and mistaken calls, many of which governments have given themselves no choice but to take seriously.

I wouldn’t like the term Whistleblower over used like Terrorist now is.
Posted by Jewely, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 11:13:35 AM
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Hasbeen:"Your belief that you, & your family are entitled to steal from me, & other taxpayers shows you as someone not to be trusted."

Huh? Sorry old mate, I've got no idea what you're talking about. If you've read anything at all from me, you'd know I have my own business and I have not accepted any form of handout in years and years.

The problem with anonymity is that it encourages people who are predisposed to be passive-aggressive a means of rather nasty expression. It sounds to me as though there may be some of that going on here.

I'd rather live in a country full of people like Jayne's brother than people like Jayne. While he may cost the country a bit of money, she would turn it into a Police State.
Posted by Antiseptic, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 1:40:10 PM
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There seems to be a problem of definition here - Jayne is not a whistleblower, she is a citizen making an accusation of fraud against a Centrelink recipient.

The APSC defines whistleblowing as:

"Whistleblowing refers to the reporting, in the public interest, of information which alleges a breach of the APS Code of Conduct by an employee or employees within an agency. Section 16 of the PS Act provides legislative protection for whistleblowers29 within the APS."

Jayne none of us know the intricacies of your personal situation and we all make judgements on these matters especially in regards to family members which makes it all the more difficult.

What should be investigated more thoroughly is how this fraud was allowed to continue - it is very difficult to cover one's tracks after the event even with dual identities. Centrelink is probably inundated with complaints like this one and I would suspect it is far easier to fob off complainants than to have to find resources to follow up on the allegations. This is not an excuse just a possible reason.

Jewely
I disagree with your idea of reporting child abuse only if the accuser knows that the alternative will be better. That is never possible even a doctor who suspects child abuse will have no idea where the child will be placed - how could they ever make that call.

The only way to prevent child abuse is through strong duty of care in relation to reporting especially if it comes from the victims themselves. The biggest betrayal is to ignore it.
Posted by pelican, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 1:43:13 PM
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Jayne:

It would not be an easy task to dob in a family member to Centrelink, and even more difficult to be dumped by family members. However, you obviously thought long and hard before taking this course of action even tried talking to your brother about it, and finally felt strongly enough to do it. You acted according to your conscience. My advice to you now is to move on. You did what you thought was right. That's all anyone of us can do. We can't be responsible for the actions of other people, only for our own actions. Dumping you, is your families loss - and in time, hopefully they'll come around to understanding why you did what you did. If they don't, well as I said,
that's their loss. I wish you success, in getting on with your life.
Posted by Lexi, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 2:04:09 PM
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Hi there JAYNE...

I applaud your decision to 'give up' your brother for committing fraud against all of us, the taxpayers. If I were in exactly the same position, I'm not sure that I would possess the necessary courage to inform on a close family member ?

The fact that your family had 'put the dog' on you is regrettable indeed. Though it does illustrate that they (your family) don't have the moral credo and ethical convictions that you obviously have, otherwise they would've at least supported you theoretically, if not in reality.

For what it's worth, I do admire your stance. And you never know JAYNE, you may have helped your brother much much more than he and the family realizes ?

When offenders keep eluding discovery and prosecution, sometimes the enormity of their offence/s can magnify. Because of some erroneous belief that they won't ever be caught? And when they are apprehended, they can end up with a pretty heavy 'lagging', instead of a fine and a commuted custodial sentence.

Goodluck to you JAYNE, and I hope you have a very happy Christmas indeed.
Posted by o sung wu, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 2:36:48 PM
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Pelican:”I disagree with your idea of reporting child abuse only if the accuser knows that the alternative will be better. That is never possible even a doctor who suspects child abuse will have no idea where the child will be placed - how could they ever make that call.”

How can they make that call without being satisfied that the alternative being better is not only possible but demanding it?

Pelican”“The only way to prevent child abuse is through strong duty of care in relation to reporting especially if it comes from the victims themselves. The biggest betrayal is to ignore it.”

I consider the biggest betrayal to a child is when you chose to abandon the responsibility of what happens next.

We are discussing one of the most secretive of government departments responsible for thousands of Australian children, one that unless a child dies polices itself and allows its sub-contracting ngo’s to carry out their own internal investigations. These ngo’s are in a system that is set up where they lose funding should they find they have children being abused under their administration.

Millions of tax payers’ dollars spent on not keeping them safe.

Jayne might worry about her brother and followed through understanding the consequences for him. I'd like to see her dob in a whole department now.
Posted by Jewely, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 2:44:05 PM
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Jewely I am with you on the responsibility of the department responsible to ensure houses are safe - that and the secrecy component - should of course be exposed.

However, using your rationale, no report of abuse would ever be made if the accuser had to absolutely know what the alternative was, would the department even inform the person making the allegation (doctor, teacher, neighbour) the details of the new home. And how would anyone know if this was accurate - even the department may not know until after it is too late.

The real problem is not with reporting but with accountability in protective arrangements, screening and ongoing monitoring (you would know better than I what checks and balances would be required).

The aim should always be protection - reporting and then accountability are all part of the same equation.
Posted by pelican, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 3:22:31 PM
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Hi Jayne

You are brave writing and posting your experience on OLO and commend you highly for this as real life stories assist thousands of people from making the same type of mistake [although you may not see this until you are older and reflect more clearly].

There are a number of reasons why family should be loyal to their own and these are the following;

(i) at some point in your life when you have made a mistake that involves government or the law, family or a family member, are generally the only people one is able to rely upon. Friends leading their busy lives are often too caught up in their own problems and obstacles. Having said this, I have had fantastic long term 20 year friends who reciprocally been there for one another through crises.

(ii) It is not for another to judge when a person claims centrelink for the simple reason that there may be 'one or two' grey areas of validation that your brother rightfully and legally could claim for reasons unbeknownst to yourself and others [in addition to centrelink staff]. Counsellors hold clients files in confidence at Centrelink and some files are not privvy to staff or any one else for that matter. What appeared on the surface to you as centrelink fraud, in all probability, was not, given other circumstances in your brother's life that have occurred.

(iii) Centrelink, Taxation and DEEWR eventually discover fraud or wrongful claims made over the years, and these monies are required to be paid back with interest. It was your brother's business and life journey to experience these things and not your own.

(iv) Every person breaks the law in some way, including yourself, along the way, therefore, dobbing in another person, brother or not, is a total hypocritical and wrongful act.

Karma is the last point I wish to raise.

When you make an error in judgement through your life, do not be at all surprised if someone 'dobs' you in to authorities Jayne.

No-one is a 100% law abiding citizen in this country.
Posted by we are unique, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 6:19:04 PM
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We Are Unique,

Having read your comments, I feel ashamed for suppressing my reply earlier.
I preferred to stay out of trouble.
I was a coward.

Your comments are true and inspiring.
I should have written them myself, but I didn't.
Now I am inspired not only by the contents of your comments, but also by your courage to speak out against the background of supporters.

Below is what I intended to post earlier:

---

Jayne,

One should not fight evil with more evil.

- So your brother was not justified in what he did.

- Nor are you, for the same reason.

Your brother was hiding the truth. So were you.

---
Posted by Yuyutsu, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 8:22:16 PM
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I agree with pelican that this is not a case
of 'whistleblowing'. Rather, it's a very sad
story of one member of the welfare-dependent
underclass dobbing on another, made even more
pathetic by the fact that they are members of
the same unfortunate family.

This sort of petty crap occurs all the time.
An 80-something neighbour of mine was dobbed
in to Centrelink recently for not declaring the
meagre income he ekes from collecting cans and
bottles thrown by the roadside. A Koori lady
I know was dobbed in for receiving money to pay
for food for kids for whom she cares for no other
payment than her widow's pension.

While the self-righteous might cheer on the dobbers,
I wonder if they hold to similar standards the
corporate and political thugs and thieves who are
the objects of real 'whistleblowers'.
Posted by talisman, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 8:54:08 PM
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Hi Yuyutsu, never feel ashamed for your thoughts, I have read every one of your contributions on OLO - you have a kind good well meaning heart.
Posted by we are unique, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 9:31:28 PM
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Thank you,

I was not ashamed of my thoughts, but of the fact that I cowardly refrained from publishing them here, believing that I would be fiercely attacked by the previous posters.

I thought that they would blame me for supporting "dole bludgers", or argue that Centrelink is not evil, and I didn't want at this time to get deeply into this whole subject of why Centrelink is indeed evil. I still hold of course that despite being evil, it is not right to cheat Centrelink. Cheating causes more harm to the cheater than to anyone else.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 9:57:55 PM
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What a cheap trick! Trying to get the dole people to fight amongst themselves while the real criminals sit back and rob us all.

However.....I see it as........if I have to do the right thing, so should "all" the rest.

See.....this is what capitalism makes good people do( ripping off the system). They see the rich stealing the wealth from the land,( which by their view.........all are getting a fair go..lol..) and so while Australia prides itself on equal-opportunity, (and blindly thinks " she'll be right mate") MOST should be blowing the whistle on the rat-bags that sit in their ivory towers ( banks and big-business does come to mind............and lets not forget the circus pollies that run the show.........and then paint themselves as the almighty honest one's that are up to there necks in dishonesty.

Well monkey see.......monkey do.

This thread was designed to make the lower levels turn on each other.

Dont fall for it. The upper levels have much more to answer for than you.

BLUE
Posted by Deep-Blue, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:38:47 PM
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we are unique and yuyutsu, thanks for expressing my own feelings on this subject so well. I suspect Jayne is being taught a valuable lesson by her family, which is that if one expects loyalty, first one must demonstrate that one merits it. Jayne has been grossly disloyal to her own family, prioritising the State and its demands more highly.

I don't see any "courage" at all in what Jayne did. She skulked around in secret, tried to hide her role, then tried to blame-shift when she got caught. She tries to justify her actions with a false analogy (the child safety rubbish) and to cap it off she's now complaining because the State she prioritised over her own blood hasn't shown her special treatment by allowing her own Centrelink misdemeanours to go unpunished.

I have no doubt that her family are better off without her obviously rather nasty presence.

As for the rest of you, I'm ashamed to read some of that stuff written by Australians. This country was founded by people who had very often been falsely accused or had been subject to the worst of punishments for the most minor of infringements. The horrible and unaccountable excesses of the British State were burned into the memories of its victims and were a very large part of the reason for Australia's culture developing such a high value for the "fair go" and "standing by your mates".

Events such as the Eureka stockade cemented that ever more strongly.
If you people had been there the gates would have been opened for the troopers and Peter Lalor would have been delivered with a handy anonymous note.

I'm shocked that you are so willing to create a State in which informerism is a standard part of life. This is the stuff of the Stasi and gestapo, with children encouraged to inform on parents and wives against husbands. I'm frankly appalled at what Australians have become if you people are any example.

I don't blame Jewely, she's a Kiwi and doesn't know any better...
Posted by Antiseptic, Thursday, 16 December 2010 6:59:54 AM
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Hey Pelican, no report of abuse should be made until the system they enter is known to be non-abusive. It will always be a gamble but we should be making it impossible, at the very least, for anyone to have cards up their sleeve.

Anyone reporting should be able to follow through with an official interest in a child’s continued wellbeing. It is because people are happy to turn their backs and leave it in the relevant authorities’ hands that these systems go unchecked.

The system in place now does not promote protection. It is obvious from several articles here that one cannot complain to the department about the department - they are not likely to ever hang themselves.

Once you have looked into where you could be sending a child … your conscience would stop you making any call. I’d object at even the suggestion of it being "mandatory" to do so.

Pelican:"Whistleblowing refers to the reporting, in the public interest, of information which alleges a breach of the APS Code of Conduct by an employee or employees within an agency. Section 16 of the PS Act provides legislative protection for whistleblowers29 within the APS."

Just covers "employees" from what I have read so far.

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/fragview/inforce/act+157+1998+ch.6-pt.1-sec.105+0+N?tocnav=y
“must not be published or broadcast in any form that may be accessible by a person in New South Wales whether the publication or broadcast occurs before any proceedings have commenced, during the proceedings or after they are disposed of.”

And this stops anyone protecting a child when the government is part of the abuse.
Posted by Jewely, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:26:53 AM
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Anti I reckon that based on an anonymous complaint her brother would be imprisoned immediately and tortured Jayne would not have made it. All that happens here is someone has to pay back their dodgy money at say ten bucks a week that Centrelink give them to begin with.

In NZ Jayne would have been taken out and beaten for dissing the fanau. Dobbing there is fully tapu bro cause you gotta triple dip just to get your close to the minimum Oz dole.
Posted by Jewely, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:29:31 AM
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Jewely:"In NZ Jayne would have been taken out and beaten for dissing the fanau. Dobbing there is fully tapu bro cause you gotta triple dip just to get your close to the minimum Oz dole."

Sweet.
Posted by Antiseptic, Friday, 17 December 2010 7:11:03 AM
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Piper said.....

"In NZ Jayne would have been taken out and beaten"

Yeah....that's just your stile, isn't it. Jayne.....just charge them with assault.......jail is just the place for them:)

Go suck a rock!

BLUE
Posted by Deep-Blue, Friday, 17 December 2010 1:57:38 PM
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DB:”Yeah....that's just your stile, isn't it.”

Jewely not Piper and are you being cheeky to me Blue? You watch it; I’ll fully dob you in to the OLO police. :)

I wonder if dobbing is all about the consequences. If someone thinks the punishment isn’t a big deal maybe they are more inclined to nark or if dobbing is made easy to do like the little red crosses at the bottom of posts and how our orphan Jayne filled out an internet form.

She’s given us a good warning though… don’t attempt it anonymously because those forms are not as private as we might assume.
Posted by Jewely, Saturday, 18 December 2010 2:26:10 PM
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It seams to me that the only people who would condone welfare cheats would be those with a guilty conscience.

It would surprise me if honest people, who have not themselves, ripped of the tax payer, would be happy to see others doing it.
Posted by Hasbeen, Saturday, 18 December 2010 3:59:53 PM
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hasbeen:"It would surprise me if honest people, who have not themselves, ripped of the tax payer, would be happy to see others doing it."

And it seems to me that people who would condone informerism wouldn't be very trustworthy people to have dealings with.

BTW, you'd best be surprised, because I've never ripped off anybody at all.

Now off you toddle and make sure your neighbour isn't watering the lawn on the wrong day or something equally as deserving of righteous punishment according to your rather fevered imaginings.

I'm sure the government appreciates the efforts of lickspittles everywhere.
Posted by Antiseptic, Saturday, 18 December 2010 4:09:47 PM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH4p9BQ3V9o

Remember this Hasbeen?
Posted by Jewely, Saturday, 18 December 2010 4:22:51 PM
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Jewely not Piper and are you being cheeky to me Blue? You watch it; I’ll fully dob you in to the OLO police. :) Oh silly me.....I think I was playing the wrong tune;)

Dole cheats, tax cheats, seem to be part n parcel with this being the norm of human nature. Some people just get off on being bankers.....which even those who cant help themselves........ at least try to keep their hands out of the cookie jar. Banks and CEO's would have to be the biggest cheats of them all.......and I personally couldn't live with the thought of cheating......however some just have very low morals indeed:)

Ho HO HO

Merry Xmas.

BLUE
Posted by Deep-Blue, Saturday, 18 December 2010 8:27:27 PM
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Hi all,
Thanks for all your interesting comments about this article. Firstly I need to clarify that it was not my brother who was committing this alleged fraud but a member of his wife's family. My brother was just the one who confronted me and threw me out of the family.
Secondly, that member of the family was quadruple dipping by receiving a disability pension, mobility allowance, full family payment, rent assistance, all while he was working for my brother and receiving cash in hand to do so.
The disability pension was supposedly issued because of a mental health issue which wouldnt allow him to work, the mobility allowance was so that he could attend voluntary work at gamblers anonymous - which wasnt the case at all he was attending gamblers anonymous for his gambling addiction. Full family payment was being received even though he was no longer looking after his child all the time on his own as his childs mother was actually living with him again (and also claiming full sole parent benefits from Centrelink under a different address not reporting that she was in fact living in a defacto relationship and sharing the care of their child). The rent assistance was being claimed even though he was part owner in another house to which he was living and hadnt reported that shared asset to Centrelink. It was done that way so that he didnt lose the house when he went bankrupt due to his gambling debts. Plus he was claiming pensioner discounts everywhere including for rates and car rego etc even though he was working full time cash in hand.
They are the reasons why I approached him at least 20 times about all that I knew he was doing wrong and suggested he make things right with Centrelink and he refused and told me I was an idiot for doing the right thing with Centrelink myself.
I just found my hard time with Centrelink since then ironical and wondered about the Kharma of it as well.
Jayne Harobed.
Posted by holhav10, Thursday, 23 December 2010 5:42:32 AM
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Jayne, thanks for the clarifications, but I'm not really sure what relevance they have. They sound like pretty trivial offences to me, what was the total amount he managed to get away with do you think?

Moreover, if he was seeking treatment for his addiction, why would you resent him being paid to travel to meetings?

Australia is made up of people in families and our State depends to a large degree on those families supporting each other. If they did not then the country would require some additional taxation to pay for the things that people do for each other for nothing, like caring for sick or aging relatives, providing child care, mutual support in tough times.

It is such an important part of our society that our system of laws assumes that individuals will give their first loyalty to family and it exempts close family from testifying against each other in court if they so choose for that reason. You not only chose to "appear for the prosecution", you were the judge, jury and would-be executioner.

If you thought this person was doing the wrong thing, you should have sought the support of senior members of your family to sort him out. If they wouldn't help, then you should have examined where your genuine loyalty might lie. I suggest to you that the Nation State doesn't much care about you personally, but your parents, etc most certainly do. I'd also suggest to you that you are now discovering that you actually value them pretty highly too.

Perhaps next time, you might like to consider where your real loyalties lie: with a group of faceless pen-pushers who care about you not a jot except if you look like affecting their KPIs, or your loving family, flawed as some members might be?

You already know the answer.
Posted by Antiseptic, Thursday, 23 December 2010 6:14:21 AM
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