FEDERAL Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, visited Bendigo last week to thank Services Australia employees for their work during the pandemic and recent natural disasters.<\/p>\n
\u201cServices Australia is an important employer in Bendigo, it delivers 230-plus jobs, and a lot of the people who work here have been here for more than 10 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good employer and it provides opportunities for local residents to have meaningful work and help deliver something back for the country and the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Services Australia is central office for many Federal Government services including pandemic payments, youth allowance, pensions, and childcare.<\/p>\n
Mr Shorten said during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent floods in Queensland and New South Wales there was plenty of support coming from the Bendigo centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople in Bendigo have been helping their fellow Australians in trouble,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cServices Australia is a fundamental part of the Australian Government, it\u2019s important we make sure that not all jobs in government are in Canberra.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe smart centre, the payment support and the office is a big part of Labor\u2019s commitment to regional jobs in Australia and also having a generous well-funded safety net for people who are vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n
While visiting, Mr Shorten met local workers, including Susan Barber and Trish Driscoll, who assisted with COVID-19 payments and flood support respectively.<\/p>\n
Ms Barber said she started with Services Australia in March 2020 and processed thousands of payments within the first few months of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a privilege to be able try make things a bit easier over a pretty rough period for a lot of Australians,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an honour to be able to help people\u2026 [working here is] the best thing I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said most of her causal-working team of 30 has stayed on at Services Victoria, and she herself as moved into health services.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of us were able to secure jobs and managed to stay on,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not going anywhere because it\u2019s a great place to work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FEDERAL Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, visited Bendigo last week to thank Services Australia employees for their work during the pandemic and recent natural disasters. \u201cServices Australia is an important employer in Bendigo, it delivers 230-plus jobs, and a lot of the people who work here have been here for more than 10 years,\u201d […]<\/p>\n