Senator Lidia Thorpe will today table a letter signed by more than 100 legal experts and community organisations, raising alarm about the Albanese Government’s plan to allow police and ministers to cut off people’s welfare payments based solely on suspicion.
The letter warns that Schedule 5 of the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment Bill represents a dangerous departure from fundamental legal principles, undermining due process, the presumption of innocence, and the separation of powers.
Experts — including dozens of legal scholars and former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery — have urged the Government to withdraw Schedule 5 entirely or introduce it as separate legislation subject to full inquiry and public consultation.
Senator Thorpe will move an amendment to remove Schedule 5 from the bill when it returns to the Senate today.
Quotes attributable to Lidia Thorpe, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator:
"I’m tabling this letter because Labor tried to slip these powers through Parliament without any scrutiny, consultation or transparency.
"This letter, from more than 100 legal, human rights, and social services experts, warns that Schedule 5, as it is written, breaches fundamental legal principles and will cause serious harm.
"I want their voices on the record so the government can’t bury the truth about what this amendment actually does. It shows this isn’t just political opposition but that vast numbers of experts in the legal and human rights sectors, who Labor wanted shut out, are sounding the alarm.
"Tanya Plibersek's recent comments on Sky News about me, and the experts who oppose these powers, were outrageous.
"The experts are saying that Plibersek’s plan puts vulnerable people at risk. Aboriginal women, victims of domestic violence, children, and people with disability could all lose access to essential support.
"It was a new low for Plibersek to attack people standing up for human rights, legal protections, and the most vulnerable in our communities.
"Schedule 5 is a shocking attempt to quietly expand police power into the welfare system. It violates the presumption of innocence and hands the Minister the power to punish people on suspicion alone — not conviction, not evidence, just an allegation.
"When it comes to people who are potentially dangerous, pushing them to desperation will only increase risks to the community.
"Labor inserted Schedule 5 after the committee process had already finished, which meant it avoided any scrutiny from the Human Rights Committee or the Community Affairs Committee.
"If the government truly believed this measure was justified, they would introduce it openly as standalone legislation, not hide it inside a technical amendments bill and hope nobody noticed. Sneaking it in at the last minute tells you they know it won’t stand up to scrutiny.
"Punishing people before they stand trial is fundamentally wrong, and I’m calling on the Senate to stop this schedule in its tracks, or at the very least send it to inquiry so it can be properly scrutinised."