The robo-debt royal commission has shone an important light on this dark chapter in Australian history.
ASIC has used a host of automated systems,including one that assessed breaches by financial institutions similar to those that led to the banking royal commission.
A former Centrelink social worker told the royal commission her concerns about the way debts were being calculated and the distress it was causing customers were dismissed by senior executives.
If we are honest,welfare and dole recipients are treated as outsiders and therefore,in the eyes of our political leaders,don’t really count.
The former prime minister told the royal commission he did not doubt the welfare recovery scheme’s legality,although he had expressed concerns about its fairness.
The former minister said he wasn’t permitted to tell the truth about the unlawfulness of robo-debt,a week after urging Scott Morrison to shut the program down.
A culture of reward and punishment could have led senior officers to stay quiet about the unlawful robo-debt scheme,a royal commission has been told.
“He didn’t let me know how much pressure he was starting to feel from the debts,” Jennifer Miller told the robo-debt royal commission.
Former Coalition social services minister Christian Porter says he became increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity from bureaucrats.
The “cameos” of welfare recipients compiled for News Corp were to counter what Tudge labelled an “orchestrated campaign” against the welfare crackdown.
Rachelle Miller told the royal commission there was firm pressure from the then human services minister to “shut this story down” after negative coverage.