Damaging new information released by Labor today indicating thousands of wealthy families are accessing welfare explains why the Coalition has been forced the to conduct an urgent inquiry into its beleaguered Family Tax Benefit system. The information obtained through Senate Estimates (attached) indicates wealthy families have accessed payments intended only for low and middle-income earners, including: 18,383 families who earn in excess of $100,000 per annum who have received Family Tax Benefit payments worth up to $4,300 per child per year; 47 families who earn in excess of $500,000 per annum who have accessed the Family Tax Benefit payments; 15 families earning more than $1 million per annum who have accessed the Family Tax Benefit payments; and, 778 families who earn in excess of $100,000 per annum, including 3 millionaires, who have received a social security pension or allowance worth up to $11,400 per year in addition to the family benefits. After discovering the embarrassing information had been provided to the Senate Community Affairs Committee the Government sought to subsequently withdraw the answer with no replacement information offered. The startling figures are a damning indictment on the Howard Government who have relentlessly squeezed low and middle income families. Average families are being taxed more than ever before and being pushed deeper into debt while wealthy families have been laughing all the way to Centrelink. In the ultimate irony, it is Amanda Vanstone who peddled information during the Coalition's first term about the Wright family who supposedly drew welfare despite being millionaires. She was caught out when it was revealed the family was bogus - but now it appears they have appeared right under her nose. This latest revelation is the latest in a string of problems for the Howard Government's flawed family payments system. Incorrect payments have seen one in three families accumulate debts of more than $1 billion over the first two years of the new scheme. One thing can be certain in this latest bungle - if Labor had not sought this information the Howard Government would have allowed these apparent payments to the wealthy to continue unchecked. Source Wayne Swan Press Release 17 August 2003 ###