Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Government Services. What has the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme revealed about the true human cost of the former coalition government's unlawful scheme?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calwell for her question. The royal commission has revealed a terrible human cost to this monstrously illegal scheme. I know that when the Prime Minister announced the royal commission, with me and with my colleagues the Attorney-General and the Minister for Social Services, the current Leader of the Opposition called it 'just a witch-hunt'. I would perhaps ask the Leader of the Opposition to reconsider calling the royal commission a witch-hunt in light of the evidence of Jennifer Miller and Kath Madgwick.

Both women gave evidence to the royal commission—both women I have met, both women I respect. Both women lost sons. In the evidence to the royal commission, Kath talks about her son Jarrad, who was robodebted in May 2019. After receiving what turned out to be a false debt notice, he took his own life within hours. Kath describes Jarrad, and perhaps we can't bring him back, but we can listen to the mother's evidence:

He—he was a polite—had really good manners, but he—and he also—if he applied himself to something, he would do very well at it. He was very good at swimming and rugby. He was captain of the school when he was in primary school. … But the best thing about Jarrad, he was very unique in his way that he—our closeness. So we were very close … He just—he—he displayed his love for me quite openly.

After Jarrad's death, Kath wrote to various politicians, including the then Prime Minister, the member for Cook; and the then Minister for Government Services, the member for Fadden. She says she's never heard back from them: 'Not even a, "Sorry for your loss."' Jennifer Miller, another robodebt bereaved mother, in her evidence to the royal commission, talked about her son Rhys. Rhys was creative and he was artistic. Jenny said:

And I … hope that this now sends—sets up a precedent that you are working in public office, you are there to work for the people. So do your job, and do it properly, you know.

She also noted that throughout robodebt:

And it all became very sly and very—just everyone was lying and covering each other's backs, and it just really … was both heartbreaking but also vindicating seeing that we have been able to get the truth out there for Rhys.

This royal commission is not a witch-hunt, Leader of the Opposition. It's tearing down the walls of legal professional privilege and the inner workings of the former government. There has been courage and leadership and ethics on display in this royal commission; it just hasn't been from the ministers and the senior public servants. This is an examination of the worst abuse of Australian citizens, committed deliberately. There has been no legal argument advanced to defend it and no moral argument. Thank goodness we're having this robodebt royal commission.