Extract from ABC News
The federal government will on Thursday unveil details of a royal commission into the failed Robodebt scheme, fulfilling an election promise.
Key points:
- PM Anthony Albanese and three ministers will announce the details of a royal commission into Robodebt on Thursday morning
- It is expected to look into issues including who was responsible for the scheme, the cost to taxpayers and the harm caused to victims
- The Coalition has long said there is no need for a royal commission, arguing the matter was dealt with via the $1.8 billion settlement
The announcement will be made in Sydney on Thursday morning by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and three of his ministers.
The royal commission is expected to examine who was responsible for the scheme, what advice informed its design, how complaints were handled, what problems were known about its legality, the total cost to taxpayers and the harm caused to victims.
In opposition, Labor estimated the inquiry would cost about $30 million.
Robodebt was an automated Centrelink debt recovery program rolled out by the former Coalition government, which ran between July 2015 and November 2019.
It used data-matching algorithms in an attempt to identify the overpayment of social security benefits, but it wrongly accused many people of owing the government money.
Last year, the Federal Court approved a $1.8 billion settlement between victims and the federal government.
The court was told the Commonwealth had raised $1.73 billion in debts against more than 400,000 people.
In total, $751 million was wrongly recovered from 381,000 people.
In approving the settlement, Justice Bernard Murphy delivered a scathing assessment of the scheme.
He said the program had "resulted in a huge waste of public money" and added the class action had "exposed a shameful chapter in the administration of the Commonwealth social security system".
"One thing … that stands out … is the financial hardship, anxiety and distress, including suicidal ideation and in some cases suicide, that people or their loved ones say was suffered as a result of the Robodebt system, and that many say they felt shame and hurt at being wrongly branded 'welfare cheats'," he said.
Labor and the Greens have repeatedly declared a royal commission is necessary. In opposition, Anthony Albanese said robodebt was a "human tragedy".
"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. It caused untold misery," Mr Albanese said during the election campaign in May.
The Coalition has long said there is no need for a royal commission, arguing the matter had been dealt with by the settlement.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison was the social services minister when the program was set up, but he has rejected suggestions he was to blame for problems with it.
Last month, the Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, told Parliament the royal commission would most likely start in the last quarter of this year, and hopefully be concluded by the middle of 2023.
"If we don't learn from the mistakes which the previous government has never owned up to, then we can make them again," he said.
"It's the very least that we owe to the nearly half a million of our fellow Australians who were illegally attacked by their own government."
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