In a move that has stunned civil liberties advocates and welfare recipients alike, the Albanese government has introduced a last-minute amendment to the social security bill that would allow the Home Affairs Minister to cancel Centrelink payments based on police or ASIO recommendations - even before a person is convicted of a crime.

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The rationale? According to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, "the government shouldn't be paying people to hide from police". The amendment targets individuals with outstanding warrants for serious violent or sexual offences, or those deemed a threat to national security. But the implications stretch far beyond the accused.

Family Tax Benefits, Parental Leave Pay, and other household supports are also on the chopping block, meaning entire families could lose income based on suspicion alone.

This is not just a technical tweak - it's a seismic shift in how Australia treats the presumption of innocence. It hands police and intelligence agencies a backdoor into welfare law, allowing them to trigger financial punishment without judicial oversight.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe called it "a shocking attempt to quietly expand police power into the welfare, tax and workplace relations systems," warning that it's harsher than penalties faced by convicted individuals.

So why has Labor - historically the party of social justice - pushed this through?

The timing is telling. The amendment was bundled into a broader bill offering compensation to millions affected by the unlawful robodebt scheme. That scandal, which saw........

© Canberra Times