Human Services Minister Michael Keenan has called for greater penalties to be handed down for aggressive and violent behaviour after a man was filmed berating staff at a Centrelink office on Monday.
The video, that went viral on social media, showed a racist rant aimed at Centrelink staff inside a Salisbury office in Adelaide's north.
"Quick, run away over there people, because the racist person is freaking out," the man yelled, before threatening to "smash" people inside the office.
"I didn't vote for multiculturalism, did I," he added as he continued to berate staff.
Following the incident, Mr Keenan said more needed to be done to deter and penalise aggressive customers.
“Like most Australians I was disgusted to see a video of somebody abusing my staff and women and children in one of our service centres in Adelaide,” Mr Keenan said in a statement.
“Unfortunately this is one of thousands of incidents of customer aggression that we get around the country on any given year.
“I’ve asked my department to urgently give me options for what we might be able to further do to penalise people who are involved in this sort of behaviour."
Minister for Human Services Michael Keenan during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, March 1, 2018. Source: AAP
Mr Keenan said human services workers across the country should not have to fear they might be abused or assaulted at work.
Current penalties for aggressive behaviour include banning customers from face-to-face contact with staff and limiting their communication by phone or email.
Police have spoken to the man in the video and have not ruled out further action, according to the statement.
