![Callers to Centrelink got an engaged signal 42 million times in just 10 months, a Senate committee was told on Thursday.](/web/20170602055008im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/z/q/y/o/1/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gwiskh.png/1496380740294.jpg)
Smartphones blamed as Centrelink sends out 42 million engaged signals
Engaged signals soar to 42 million in just 10 months and smart phone apps to blame, says department.
Engaged signals soar to 42 million in just 10 months and smart phone apps to blame, says department.
The most divisive figure in the Turnbull government holds his seat by a razor thin margin - and progressives smell blood.
The Turnbull government should lobby the United States to reconsider its exit from the Paris climate agreement, Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has said ahead of a key bilateral meeting of the two allies.
The Treasurer has begun preparing the ground for weak or negative economic growth in the March quarter.
Pauline Hanson has told the Turnbull government to build the billion-dollar Galilee Basin coal line itself, announcing she would oppose a "foreign multi-national" from owning the crucial infrastructure.
The federal government expects United States President Donald Trump to walk away from the Paris climate agreement, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his senior ministers insist Australia will not follow suit – despite pressure from the Coalition backbench.
McDonald's is considering whether it will need to restructure its operations to avoid getting hit by Diverted Profits Tax.
Albanese has asked just six of the 511 questions Labor has put to the Coalition in almost a year.
All is fair in love, war, and Malcolm Roberts' interrogation of chief scientist Alan Finkel.
The Immigration Minister has come to the aid of the ASIO head.
The Turnbull government has been accused of misleading parents about the impact of its Gonski 2.0 school funding changes.
The threat of the big five banks to pass on the federal government's bank levy to consumers will cost customers less than $10 a year in superannuation, a new report has found, as the Coalition's battle with the banks continues into its third week.
It's one of the most controversial measures in the budget. So how will welfare drug tests actually work?
Former Blair spin doctor says British politics has abandoned the middle ground.
Public servants should face the sack if they if they refuse to work in Darwin, former minister says.
ANU modelling finds Coalition's Medicare levy plan hurts hip pockets more than Labor's alternative.
The stoush between actor Paul Hogan and the Commissioner of Taxation, Chris Jordan, has escalated.
Bird-sized drones will hover over a battlefield feeding vital intelligence to Australian soldiers.
Several Labor MPs from party's left oppose federal government's proposed changes to citizenship.
The budget's housing solution is a toxic wasteland that will be uninhabitable for years.
Centrelink users who need an urgent cash advance may soon find it easier to get one – up to a point.
Media bosses urge Senate to support scrapping of "outdated and increasingly irrelevant" restrictions on media ownership.
Alex Gallacher apologises for asking whether Julie Bishop spent taxpayers' money on decorations.
AFP commissioner says he hopes to see James Comey during an upcoming visit to the US.
Australia is on the verge of making history. But there are some contentious and confusing elements. Here's what it all means.
Islamic State issues a chilling call to its followers to use online classified websites to lure unsuspecting people to their deaths.
Liberal MP Tim Wilson has blamed his colleagues' unwillingness to act on same-sex marriage for the "national silliness" that has erupted over tennis legend Margaret Court's boycott of Qantas.
Australia's domestic spy chief has been forced to expand on comments he made rejecting a link between refugees and terrorism, after days of intense pressure.
Paul Hogan has threatened to "extract revenge" from the Tax Office, after its commissioner Chris Jordan implied the actor had paid tens of millions of dollars to avoid going to court over tax evasion.
Crocodile Dundee star and his long-term collaborator appear to have settled their long-running dispute with the tax office, a parliamentary committee has heard.
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