Mr PASIN (Barker) (15:51): I'm very pleased that this matter of public importance has been raised by those opposite, principally because I think it marks the end of the mourning period for the member for Maribyrnong. He's now come out of that mourning period. To those opposite, can I tell you that he's going to run you off the cliff again? He did it twice with two Mediscares. Now he's got to try roboscare. You know why he's trying this on? Because your current leader, the Leader of the Opposition, is travelling so badly the member for Maribyrnong is starting to look good again. He's up. He is auditioning. But I've got some bad news for him, because I've seen the performance of the member for Corio this week. He has been on audition every day, coming to the dispatch box and speaking eruditely. He is ready. The knives have been sharpened, albeit a butter knife in his case, of course. Let's talk about the welfare system in this country, which is the gold standard in terms of social safety nets around the globe, with $184 billion in welfare for those who need the support it provides. Did you know that the average working Australian works a full month and contributes their tax income to the social safety net in this country? It's something for which we should all be incredibly proud. But coming with that is a need for integrity. It's about making sure the right payments are made at the right time to the right people. Today it's estimated that there are 900,000 Australians who have social welfare debts totalling $5 billion. Indeed, $2 billion has been recovered appropriately since 1 July 2015. Is it that those opposite think we should walk away from those overpayments? Is that what you're suggesting? Is that the alternative government's proposal for fiscal management?—'Sorry, we made an error. It's measured in the billions. Let's not worry about it. Let's treat it as a rounding error.' That's not what you do. What you do is work through these things, and, to be honest— Dr Freelander: It will be difficult for you, but go on! Mr PASIN: the member for Sydney knew this. She knew this when she said: if people fail to come to an arrangement to settle their debts, the Government has a responsibility to taxpayers— For those opposite, I'll repeat it: a responsibility to taxpayers to recover that money. … … … The automation of this process will free up resources and result in more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt on behalf of taxpayers. Dr Freelander: Wrong again, Tony! The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Under section 94, the member for Macarthur will excuse himself from the House. The member for Macarthur then left the chamber. Mr PASIN: The member for Sydney, who sits opposite, thought this was a very good idea. For those opposite to get up and say that this government was rotten, mean and nasty to come up with this horrible system: trollop. You know it's trollop. That's why I say this is a roboscare. This is the kind of behaviour that the people of Australia have seen through. That's why those opposite are sitting over there. Newsflash: they're sitting over there because the people of Australia don't trust them. They don't trust them because they come in here and act in a way that seeks to mislead. It's duplicitous. The Australian people get it; they see through all this. They want people on welfare to receive the right payment at the right time. That's why they go to work and pay their taxes. But they want people who have overpaid to repay it. Those opposite, like the member for Maribyrnong, say, 'Oh, debt notices!' They say, 'It's a debt notice; it's immoral, it's horrible!' Well, no, it's not. It's a request for information. It has identified a discrepancy and it says: 'Heads up! We see there is some inconsistent information here. Will you contact us and work with us?' That's exactly what the Ombudsman has found, on not one occasion but two. The reviews into this by the Ombudsman have identified that it's entirely reasonable and appropriate. But those opposite don't want to talk about reasonableness and appropriateness. They sent out a call via their social media: 'Have you received one of these nasty notices? If so, we're going to flash you across the front pages of all the media outlets, because we're not interested in helping you; we're interested in taking political advantage of you. We're interested in taking advantage of your circumstances.' What a disgrace! You should be ashamed of yourselves! That's why you're on the other side, because the people of Australia have worked you out! (Time expired)