Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has defended new legislation which would allow welfare payments to be cancelled for people accused of serious crimes, describing criticism of the move as "unbelievable".
The amendment, quietly added to the government's social security bill, would empower the Home Affairs Minister to suspend welfare payments for individuals accused of a "serious violent or sexual offence," or those who "might prejudice the security of Australia or a foreign country," if an arrest warrant has been issued.
The proposal has drawn strong backlash from legal and welfare advocates, as well as Independent's Lidia Thorpe and Andrew Wilkie, who argue it undermines natural justice and hands police excessive powers.
Speaking on Sky News on Thursday, Ms Plibersek said the minister already has the authority to cancel welfare payments for people suspected of terrorist offences or whose passports or visas have been revoked.
"What I am proposing is that the Home Affairs Minister, after a request from the federal police or state police, determines whether that person, whether there's strong evidence against them, there's a warrant for their arrest, they're a continuing threat to the community," she said.
"After considering any dependents, making sure that we look after the dependents, that person can have their social security benefit cancelled the same way they would if they were waiting on remand to be tried for a serious crime."
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Ms Plibersek then took aim at critics of the policy.
"Unbelievably, we have people in the Senate and in the Australian community who are saying, 'oh no, they should continue to get their JobSeeker or DSP or pension, whatever'," she said.
"Senator Thorpe is one example... We've got people in the community who are saying that people who are on the run for crimes like rape and murder and child abuse should continue to receive those payments to maintain them while they're on the run. It's madness."
It is understood there are concerns sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman - accused of killing two Victorian police officers and still on the run - may be accessing welfare payments.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Senator Thorpe criticised Labor's amendment to the compensation bill, which offers up to $600 to about three million people affected by the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery scheme, arguing it gives police unnecessary and excessive powers.
"People are innocent [until] proven guilty," Senator Thorpe said. "We look at the assault on Aboriginal women who are victims of family violence, and the cops rock up. And then Aboriginal women become the perpetrators."
The 2024 Senate Inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children found frequent misidentification of women as perpetrators puts First Nations women at risk. It revealed victims of domestic and family violence - including women later murdered - are often wrongly accused of serious offences by police.
Senator Thorpe said the "assault" of an Aboriginal woman by police highlighted why law enforcement did not need more legislative powers.
"Police don't need powers to stop people's Centrelink payments," she said. "It's an overreach, and... it breaches human rights."
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Mr Wilkie echoed Senator Thorpe's concerns, describing the amendment as "punitive" and "wrong".
"So the whole notion of taking income support of anyone in the community simply because they are accused of something is a fundamental breach of natural justice," he said.
"It is wrong. It's also punitive, because the person who has the income support stopped is, in all likelihood, providing financial support for someone else, for the wife and the kids, for the family."
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), chair, Karly Warner, said the proposal represents an "unprecedented attack on fairness and due process which will shake public confidence in our legal system".
"The proposed amendments will inevitably have a greater impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who are grossly overrepresented at every stage of the criminal process," Ms Warner said.
"Cutting off people's Centrelink payments will not only impact those individuals, but put their children and families - too many of whom already live below the poverty line - at risk of homelessness and child removals."
Bundjalung woman and Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women's Legal Centre CEO, Christine Robinson, said the organisation is concerned the amendments were introduced without sufficient scrutiny.
"As a service that works with Aboriginal women who are often misidentified as perpetrators, we see the many possible unintended consequences of this proposed amendment," she said.
The original bill was introduced following a High Court ruling and is designed to compensate those affected by unlawful income apportionment, where entitlements were miscalculated through income averaging.
It was examined by both the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and a Senate committee, which tabled their reports last month. It is understood neither the Coalition nor the Greens were informed of the last-minute changes.
