Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Well, not enough, that's for sure. Robodebt didn't come out of the blue. The previous Liberal-National government spent years gutting the Australian Public Service and putting public servants into a challenging position by eroding the capability and capacity of the Public Service. And when the scheme's unfairness, probable illegality and cruelty became apparent at the beginning of 2017, the royal commission found that, instead of abandoning it, the path taken by the former government was 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. To this day, people who served as senior cabinet ministers in the former government, including the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Attorney-General, continue to deny this history. We've heard nothing of substance from the Leader of the Opposition on this matter. He should at least acknowledge this shameful part of the coalition's history and give a sincere apology to every single victim.