Related Articles
Labor would launch a royal commission into the Robodebt scheme if it won government to find out who was responsible for implementing the discredited program.
The automated matching of tax and Centrelink data to raise debts against welfare recipients, for money the coalition government claimed to have overpaid, was ruled unlawful in 2019.
A $1.2 billion settlement between Robodebt victims and the federal government was reached in 2020.
But the Morrison government has never detailed who was accountable for the four-year scheme, and which ministers knew about its problems.
Scott Morrison was social services minister when the scheme was conceived, but has denied personal responsibility for the disaster.
Labor has long called for a royal commission into Robodebt, which Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese described as “a human tragedy, wrought by this government”.
“Against all evidence, and all the outcry, the government insisted on using algorithms instead of people to pursue debt recovery against Australians who in many cases had no debt to pay,” he said on Saturday.
“It caused untold misery. Only an Albanese Labor government will find out the truth.”
The royal commission would be tasked with establishing who was responsible for the scheme, what advice was used in its implementation, and complaints handling processes.
It would also look at the cost to taxpayers of the Robodebt debacle, and the harm caused by those targeted.
“We still do not know how this reckless scheme was unleashed,” Labor’s government services spokesman Bill Shorten said.
“We do not know whether poor legal advice was given or whether legal advice was simply never sought. We do not know if public servants were inappropriately heavied and politicised. And without knowing the true origins we do not know what safeguards could be put in place to prevent a repeat.”
Australian Associated Press
