Controversies over politicians' entitlements and the Centrelink debt recovery system have taken their toll on the Turnbull government, new polling shows.
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A Reachtel poll, commissioned by activist group GetUp! and taken before Sussan Ley's resignation and in the midst of ongoing issues surrounding Centrelink's automated debt collection system, found increased support for the opposition, with Labor leading the Turnbull government, 54 points to 46.
While primary support for the Liberal party and Labor was deadlocked at 32 per cent, the opposition captured the majority of the "undecided" support 33.3 per cent to 19.4, with 58.5 per cent of those still making up their mind answering they would preference Labor higher.
The poll, which took in 2126 respondents, focused heavily on the Centrelink issue, which has seen close to 200,000 notices of potential overpayments issued since coming online in July, with many claiming to have been incorrectly found to have owed money.
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge returned from holidays late last week to announce the system would not be scrapped, or suspended, while issues with how debt notices were generated were investigated, drawing criticism from Labor.
Mr Tudge told ABC radio the system was "working" and asked recipients of letters to be patient, amid reports of long waiting times, call hang ups and difficulty with Centrelink's website.
Opposition human services spokeswoman Linda Burney has repeatedly called for the system to be suspended, while the Commonwealth Ombudsman completes its investigation into the system.
GetUp! campaigns director, Mark Connelly said one of the biggest issues with the debt recovery process was it placed the onus on the individual to prove their situation was as stated, rather than placing the burden of proof on the government agency.
"Centrelink staff used to check and correct these errors, before sending out threatening letters," he said.
"Now thanks to the Turnbull government's incompetence and heartlessness, everyday Australians are being forced to find years-old employment records, or get handed over to ruthless, private-sector debt collectors.
"…When these government ministers are living such a lavish life on the public purse, they can't possibly understand how a false $3,000 debt can send your whole world crashing down.
"But that's what's happening to thousands of Australians each week, from a man with autism, to a single mother at Christmas, to a school teacher taking time off to care for her sick father."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull moved to quell the damage from the latest politician entitlements scandal, accepting an unrepentant Sussan Ley's resignation, after an examination of her expenses led to public outcry, and announcing a monthly, searchable, reporting system and an independent body to oversee parliamentarian travel claims.
