When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially announced a royal commission into the former government’s robodebt debt recovery program, there were mixed reactions from some who had been subjected to the unlawful scheme.
Phoebe is a trans woman from Western Australia and says she’s glad the government is willing to investigate the scheme and the previous government’s involvement. But she’s sceptical of what will come out of it.
“I’ve already been burnt by a class action that didn’t seek justice for us” she tells Crikey in a message. “It could just be an exercise in putting the matter to bed without actually reforming things.”
Last year a Federal Court judge awarded $1.8 billion to those who were wrongly pursued by the robodebt scheme. The government agreed to pay the compensation and return wrongly raised debts — but it did not admit liability.
More than $1.7 billion had been recovered from 433,000 people between 2015 and 2019 in a scheme that Justice Bernard Murphy labelled a “shameful chapter in the administration” of Australian welfare history.
The royal commission will report back in April 2023 about how the scheme was designed and implemented, who was responsible for it, and when concerns were raised.
A disability support pension recipient affected by the scheme, who asked to remain anonymous, echoes Phoebe’s cynicism. She doubts the royal commission will go beyond a robodebt post-mortem and create safeguards against similar treatment of vulnerable Australians in future.
“I’d like to hope but I just don’t expect justice, consequences or meaningful change is going to come out of this,” she says.
While Phoebe received her robodebt under the Liberal government, she points out that Labor implemented a digital matching process while in government and has resumed debt collection activities: “It’s clear this isn’t a move to ‘lay off the poors’ at all.”
Unemployment think tank the Antipoverty Centre welcomed the royal commission as a way to record and understand the experiences of those hurt by the scheme. But spokeswoman and welfare recipient Kristin O’Connell says, the retrospective shouldn’t distract from the “human tragedy” of the government’s welfare obligation system.
“People hurt by robodebt deserve a chance to be heard, to find out how this happened. But we can’t eat a royal commission,” she says. “The royal commission is an easy win for them, but they need to stop these harmful policies now, not just look at what happened in the past.”
why is Labor more comfortable beating up poor people for pennies, than preventing corporations and billionaires from dodging taxes?
Corporations and billionaires bite back. We have a nervous, gauche government that’s reluctant to speak up or change the course of business as usual.
… And miss their turn at the trough?
They plan for more than one turn at the trough. Business as usual far into the future, Klew.
Maybe a bit harsh? Around 40% of voters voted in support of a corrupt, dysfunctional, sexist, racist, do nothing Government. The ALP has been in Government for only 100 days and must tread lightly. A RC may just hold those (politicians) responsible to account.
What will it take for those who continue to vote Labor despite the continued, assured, constant disappointment and betrayal to see that they are being treated as mugs?
The evidence is clear, long term and irrefutable – what excuse remains?
It can not longer even be because of the lack of alternatives, between real independents, Greens, teals and just the bloke down the pub that is pretty cluey.
This same question applies to National voters – how many rural people have seen their towns gutted by teh closure of banks, post offices, newspapers and businesses due to globalisation?
Are they happy about fracking or coal mining depleting and then polluting their local groundwater and the Great Artesian Basin?
The water theft by cotton farmers and PittSt smarties such as Ausrtralian Water Holdings?
If I extorted $1,000 from someone, I’d be charged with a criminal offence and jailed. When are the people responsible for the ‘illegal’ (= criminal) Robodebt extortion racket going to be charged and jailed?
How about starting at the top, with the responsible Ministers who approved the design and implementation of the scheme.
Robodebt was illegal. Charges must be laid against those responsible for breaking the Law.