Post by Banjo on May 21, 2014 9:47:11 GMT 7
Bill Shorten's team use Centrelink wait times to criticise Abbott's PS cuts
Scottish-born Labor firebrand Doug Cameron has wielded Centrelink wait times to show how bad customer service can get even before the Abbott government's slashing of 16,500 public service jobs and increased efficiency dividend.
The opposition spokesman for Human Services has received answers to questions on notice showing customers waited an average of one hour and 15 minutes in the most extreme example.
"They'd have to send in teams with survival kits," Mr Cameron said.
"The KPI (performance benchmark) is 15 minutes."
It comes as one Labor frontbencher, the opposition's public service spokesman Gary Gray, said he expected Bill Shorten's message will be more about how Abbott's cuts to the bureaucracy degrade frontline services.
This message was aimed at a broader audience and it was unlikely Canberra will see Mr Shorten formulating a narrow message directly aimed at cuts to the bureaucracy.
While cuts to the public service are seen negatively in Canberra, they can quite often be seen as a positive move across the rest of Australia.
The figures from Human Services were taken over several months at numerous shopfronts starting in August last year.
The numbers for Centrelink shopfronts show the average wait time at Liverpool at 40 minutes and 20 seconds followed by Fairfield (which was also an extension site for Medicare) at 30 minutes and Blacktown at almost 26 minutes.
In terms of one-stop shops (Centrelink and Medicare), the average waits were Broadmeadows (36:31), Werribee (29:08), Cannington (27:34), Campbelltopwn (22:81) and Bendigo (18:12).
The one-hour and 15 minute average wait times were recorded on one day at Liverpool after a long weekend earlier this year.
Read more: www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/bill-shortens-team-use-centrelink-wait-times-to-criticise-abbotts-ps-cuts-20140521-zrjkv.html#ixzz32JYfRWFJ
Scottish-born Labor firebrand Doug Cameron has wielded Centrelink wait times to show how bad customer service can get even before the Abbott government's slashing of 16,500 public service jobs and increased efficiency dividend.
The opposition spokesman for Human Services has received answers to questions on notice showing customers waited an average of one hour and 15 minutes in the most extreme example.
"They'd have to send in teams with survival kits," Mr Cameron said.
"The KPI (performance benchmark) is 15 minutes."
It comes as one Labor frontbencher, the opposition's public service spokesman Gary Gray, said he expected Bill Shorten's message will be more about how Abbott's cuts to the bureaucracy degrade frontline services.
This message was aimed at a broader audience and it was unlikely Canberra will see Mr Shorten formulating a narrow message directly aimed at cuts to the bureaucracy.
While cuts to the public service are seen negatively in Canberra, they can quite often be seen as a positive move across the rest of Australia.
The figures from Human Services were taken over several months at numerous shopfronts starting in August last year.
The numbers for Centrelink shopfronts show the average wait time at Liverpool at 40 minutes and 20 seconds followed by Fairfield (which was also an extension site for Medicare) at 30 minutes and Blacktown at almost 26 minutes.
In terms of one-stop shops (Centrelink and Medicare), the average waits were Broadmeadows (36:31), Werribee (29:08), Cannington (27:34), Campbelltopwn (22:81) and Bendigo (18:12).
The one-hour and 15 minute average wait times were recorded on one day at Liverpool after a long weekend earlier this year.
Read more: www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/bill-shortens-team-use-centrelink-wait-times-to-criticise-abbotts-ps-cuts-20140521-zrjkv.html#ixzz32JYfRWFJ