Read on Twitter
My analysis today: #Robodebt is the story of a government pulling all stops to dodge public scrutiny – right to the bitter end.
From day one, it was spin, legal manoeuvres and vicious attacks on critics who dared to speak out. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/17/billion-dollar-robodebt-settlement-reveals-massive-scale-of-welfare-crackdown-disaster #auspol
From day one, it was spin, legal manoeuvres and vicious attacks on critics who dared to speak out. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/17/billion-dollar-robodebt-settlement-reveals-massive-scale-of-welfare-crackdown-disaster #auspol
I'm going to create a thread here pulling together some other events that I couldn't fit into the story
Here is Kathryn Campbell, then head of DHS, now DSS, blaming welfare recipients and the media (which means, mostly my colleague @knausc) for problems with the #robodebt program https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/08/centrelink-robo-debt-system-is-an-abuse-of-power-inquiry-hears
The Oz, in this story, plays down any problems with #robodebt as "Medicare scare-type tactics" being employed by Labor
Alan Tudge in January 2017, according to this AAP story: "Mr Tudge, however, said he wasn't aware of anyone who was completely convinced they don't owe money but have been given a debt notice." https://www.sbs.com.au/news/centrelink-system-is-working-tudge
Skipping forward a bit, here are Liberal senators telling community legal groups they are causing anxiety by using the "robodebt" term https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/04/calling-debt-recovery-scheme-robodebt-causes-anxiety-coalition-mp-claims
Also from the Senate inquiry, Liberal senator Hollie Hughes questioning Darren O'Donovan's credibility as a legal academic for using the #robodet moniker
You can read Darren's explanation for why he used the term here. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Centrelinkcompliance/Additional_Documents?docType=Tabled%20Documents
That this issue became the main fixation of the Liberal senators on the Senate committee tells you a fair bit, I think
Here is Stuart Robert describing the class action as a "political stunt", only two months before the govt conceding income averaging was unlawful https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-s-robo-debt-recovery-scheme-facing-class-action-20190917-p52s7v.html
This one is pretty unbelievable. Months after the government admitted the scheme was unlawful, Coalition senators wrote that robodebt victims may have just their head "buried in the sand" – that's why they received debts https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/06/coalition-senators-suggest-robodebt-victims-buried-their-heads-in-the-sand-to-deal-with-scheme
