TRANSCRIPT
The debt collection scheme known now as Robodebt, was introduced in 2016 by the former coalition government and was deemed by the Royal Commission's report as 'cruel', 'crude' and 'illegal'.
The scheme issued more than 400,000 false debt notices for welfare recipients after using an automated assessment system before being scrapped in 2020.
Today, [[Nov 13]] N-D-I-S Minister Bill Shorten, whose portfolio covers 26 of the recommendations, told Parliament that the Albanese government has responded and, in principle, agrees to all 56 of the recommendations outlined in the Robodebt Royal Commission.
Bill Shorten says the government have already started to implement suggested measures.
"It was costly in both human and economic terms. So today the Albanese government says never again. We have already ceased use of debt collection agency for debt recovery and services Australia. We have stopped the reverse onus of proof. We have stopped treating people who use our social security safety net as second class cheats. And last week we announced 3,000 new jobs and the front-line of Services Australia to help people process their claims and calls."
The federal government is pledging to provide $21.1 million dollars in new funding over the next four years in order to support the implementation of the recommendations.
Over $750 million dollars was wrongfully collected throughout the implementation of the scheme, leaving its mark in what some politicians have called one of the poorest chapters in Australian public policy history.
Greens leader Adam Bandt says the best way to avoid repeating a scandal like Robodebt is to lift Australians out of poverty.
"It was a tragic chapter in Australian history, especially for people who are just struggling to make ends meet. Who were hounded when they had done nothing wrong. It is good to say action being taken. But let's do more than just stop Robodebt need to lift people out of poverty. We're in this terrible situation in this wealthy country called Australia whereby only people hounded for debts that they never had, but they're forced to live below the poverty line. The best way to ensure we never see a repeat of this scandal ever again. And to ensure that people are being pushed to a breaking point is to lift people above the poverty line."
Among the recommendations was the call for Services Australia to avoid language that stigmatises or shames welfare recipients.
In an unpublished chapter of the report, royal commissioner Catherine Holmes recommended key figures face criminal prosecution over their alleged involvement in the scheme.
No names have been published.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus says the report found clear intention and deliberate action in the Liberal Party's scheme.
"The Liberal Party's Robodebt scheme was not an innocent mistake. This was a deliberate, calculated scheme. The royal commission found that Robodebt was a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal, and it made many people feel like criminals. ... The royal commission also found that unfairness, probable illegality and cruelty became apparent at the beginning of 2017, and instead of abandoning it, the path taken by the former government was clearly outlined in the report 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."
Repeated calls have been made for the coalition to sincerely apologise to the victims of the Robodebt scheme.
However, Bill Shorten says so far the 'deafening' lack of an apology casts doubt on Australia's commitment to preventing future scandals.
"You cannot have justice for Australians the promise that never again will occur when the potential alternative government doesn't own the problem. You cannot have justice for the victims unless there's a guarantee that it won't be repeated again and the lessons have been learnt. However, the Leader of the Opposition so far has given no sign of fully owning the disaster which was Robodebt. We all know the difference between a standard politician's apology - if you're offended I'm sorry - and a real one. It's time member for Dickson, time for a real apology today in the parliament, right here, right now. Copy your courageous backbenchers, own the sins of the Coalition and stop air brushing history."
