Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Curtin for bringing this important matter. The income compliance programs, collectively known as robodebt, was one of most shameful chapters in the history of the previous government. Starting in 2015 the former Liberal-National government deliberately targeted the most vulnerable in our community. They raised debts against them—debts that never existed—and then they pursued those debts, pursued vulnerable Australians, despite advice that there was no legal nor logical basis for them. Think of the power imbalance: the government upon whom you depend for your income to survive is pursuing you for a debt, and you are required to prove the debt doesn't exist, even though it might go back many years and you may not have records anymore, but the government has no onus on it to prove the debt actually existed in the first place. For Australians already doing it tough, already on the margins, this additional stress—the marginalisation that goes with being labelled a 'welfare cheat'—we know pushed some of them over the edge. The impact of this shameful period on the lives of individual Australians—over 434,000 Australians had debts raised against them that have since been refunded or zeroed—and the stress cannot be undone, and robodebt was only ceased as a result of a class action.

Commissioner Holmes has said the disastrous effects of robodebt became apparent in September 2016, and the beginning of 2017 was the point at which robodebt's unfairness, probable illegality and cruelty became apparent. Instead the path was taken to double-down, to go on the attack in the media against those who complained and to maintain the falsehood that in fact the system had not changed at all. It took a class action that meant vulnerable Australians who had been targeted had to take the government to court in order for it to be ceased. Justice Murphy, the judge presiding over the case, approved the largest class action settlement in Australian history, and he described the robodebt scheme as 'a shameful chapter and massive failure in public administration'.

The Albanese Labor government established the royal commission into robodebt as part of our election commitments. The evidence from the royal commission was shocking: the evidence both from those affected and from the various Liberal ministers responsible for robodebt and the senior public servants who enabled it. Commissioner Catherine Holmes handed down the final report in July 2023, and it has since been tabled and is publicly available. It was important that there be an independent process, separate from the politics of this place, in order to examine what really happened; who knew what, and when; and to hear from the Australians who'd been targeted, vilified and pursued without cause by their own government. The report is the summary of 46 days of public hearings and over a hundred witnesses.

Despite efforts to dismiss the royal commission as a witch hunt, by the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton—himself a part of the former coalition cabinet that ticked off the major decisions that enabled robodebt—the evidence is harrowing. It was important that this evidence see the light of day and not remain hidden away to protect those who oversaw it. Australians deserve justice. They deserve to know that their government is there to protect them, not to use them unlawfully to try and balance their budget or score political points through anti-welfare populism.

The royal commission report contains 57 recommendations. The way forward on these is currently being considered by the minister. Such shameful and illegal schemes must never happen again. Australians deserve better.

Commissioner Holmes has had choice words about this scheme and the ministers who enabled it. She says:

It is remarkable how little interest there seems to have been in ensuring the scheme's legality … Truly dismaying was the revelation of dishonesty and collusion to prevent the scheme's lack of legal foundation coming to light.

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Robodebt was a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal, and it made many people feel like criminals. In essence, people were traumatised on the off-chance they might owe money. It was a costly failure of public administration, in both human and economic terms.

This is the administration of the former Liberal-National government: cruel, unfair, illegal, deliberately traumatising Australians—a failure of public administration; a costly failure. These words should hang forever over those involved.

This government is committed to reform of the Public Service but also to ensuring that appalling schemes such as robodebt never occur again.

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