Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight the damage, hurt and distress the former Liberal government's failed and unlawful robodebt scheme has had on the people of the Central Coast. The Australian people know that the former Liberal government's failed robodebt scheme was a shameful chapter in our nation's public history. It has been labelled by esteemed Australian legal professionals as a massive failure in public administration. But how exactly did we end up here and what is robodebt?

Robodebt was conceived in early 2015 and was a program to collect debts off vulnerable Australians using averaged Australian Taxation Office income information. Averaging took place when there were discrepancies between the incomes of Australians reported to Services Australia and those reported to the ATO. Over the program's life span, it collected $1.8 billion in debts from almost half a million vulnerable Australians. We understand now that these debts were recovered unlawfully, as stated in the final report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, headed by Catherine Holmes. We also know now that the impact was dreadful—the impact this ill-devised program has had on the Australian people, especially the 2,738 people living in my electorate of Robinson. It has been made terribly clear in the final report how those in the former government wanted to betray Australians receiving welfare. They wanted to create a narrative about those on welfare support being drags on the budget and a burden to the taxpayer.

We know that during their lives some Australians will need the support of the government, whether it's temporary while they pursue study or look for work, or permanently because of age, disability or disadvantage. By continuing this robodebt program and ignoring the official advice provided to the former government, Australians on welfare were unlawfully targeted, harassed and exploited. And what a legacy it has left. Almost half a million Australians were affected by this program and continue to struggle with the damage that it caused.

The former Prime Minister and social services minister should be ashamed of the role that he played in this program. As the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme identified, the member for Cook failed in his role as minister to make the necessary inquiries and fulfil his obligations according to his ministerial responsibilities.

Similar criticisms have been levelled against other former ministers responsible for oversight of this scheme. The final report said that the former human services minister provided 'unsatisfactory' responses about the information she was aware of about the legality of the scheme, implying that her evidence to the royal commission was disappointing and unhelpful. Additionally, former human services ministers abused their power and sought to 'distract' the public from the developing news about problems affecting the robodebt scheme or arising from the robodebt scheme. The former minister also failed to establish a comprehensive review of the scheme following reports of the suicides of two young men in which their parents say robodebt played a contributing factor. The report also criticised the former government services minister, who they state did not act as quickly as he professes to have in relation to ending this scheme.

What all of this says is that the former Liberal government was inept and could not manage this failed and unlawful scheme from start to finish. What has the current Liberal leader, the opposition leader, had to say about the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme? He said:

… this is nothing more than a political witch hunt …

What an absolute slap in the face for the people on the Central Coast that this scheme affected. I challenge the opposition leader to say this statement directly to the faces of the 2,738 people in my electorate of Robertson who were impacted by this failed scheme. Does the opposition leader believe that these Central Coast residents are not entitled to the information as to who was responsible for this scheme or why people were unlawfully targeted and unlawfully harassed?

I say to people of the Central Coast: the Albanese government will never abandon you like the former Liberal government did and continue to do. I look forward to the Albanese government acting on the 57 recommendations in the final report.

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