Kimberley Kitching (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Government Accountability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question as to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Birmingham. As early as January 2017, when Mr Morrison was the Treasurer, the government was aware that up to 86 per cent of robodebts were incorrect and needed to be reassessed. When did Mr Morrison first become aware that almost nine out of 10 robodebts were wrong?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the Senate to Senator Ruston's answers on these questions.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Kitching, a supplementary question?

Senator O'Neill interjecting—

Senator O'Neill, Senator Kitching is on her feet.

Kimberley Kitching (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Government Accountability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nathan, who was called by a robodebt debt collector three times a day, said his mental health plummeted. He said:

Sometimes they'd call and I'd tell them, like, 'I can't deal with this any more. I've been thinking about taking my life,' and things like that. It didn't change anything.

Why did Mr Morrison continue to pursue vulnerable Australians like Nathan when he knew his robodebt scheme was flawed and potentially invalid?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. As Senator Ruston has made clear time and time again, the government is always willing to respond in confidence in relation to individual cases to ensure that they are treated appropriately and assessed and handled appropriately. When senators come in here with these sorts of questions, it's difficult to respond to the personal circumstances without the full details. However, in relation to all of these matters, the government has worked through them. It has worked through the different issues in relation to the debts that were raised and has provided—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Watt, on a point of order?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's on relevance. The question wasn't about Nathan's circumstances; the question was about why Mr Morrison continued to pursue the robodebt program, despite knowing of these problems.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I make the point again: ministers can be directly relevant by being directly relevant to an assertion contained in a question. While I allowed you to restate the question there, Senator Watt, I think it's a stretch to say Senator Birmingham wasn't being directly relevant by addressing the first part and then going on to address the second part directly in the answer he was just giving.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government has worked through these issues and in doing so has provided payments to address them that the Senate is well aware of.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Kitching, a final supplementary question?

Kimberley Kitching (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Government Accountability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Davidh from Seaford was issued a robodebt variously calculated at $3,800, $4,088, $1,370 and $1,500 before being reduced to zero. Davidh says:

I think I could have been one of the people who died because of this. They nearly cost me my life.

When the government was told in a department brief on 1 March 2017 that a third of robodebts had been reassessed and reduced to zero dollars, why did Mr Morrison insist on putting the lives of thousands of people like Davidh at risk?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, a number of these questions have been worked through—direct questions to Senator Ruston and questions through Senate estimates processes. Indeed, what I know has occurred over a period of time is the opposition tends to take one AAT finding, or one issue that might have been handed down, and conflate that as something that provided conclusive proof in relation to all matters of this program. This program obviously had issues that have been dealt with and have resulted in repayments appropriately being made, where necessary.