Robodebt inquiry to probe department role
Duncan Murray |
Senior public servants involved with the failed robodebt scheme will appear before a royal commission on Thursday.
It comes after former Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the inquiry he wasn’t privy to discussions between departments that flagged the scheme as unlawful.
Karen Harfield from Services Australia (formerly the Department of Social Services) and Ben Lumley from the Department of Human Services will both appear as witnesses at the Brisbane-based commission.
On Wednesday, Mr Morrison blamed departmental staff for omitting legal concerns from a policy proposal he presented to cabinet despite having signed an earlier briefing document in which concerns were raised.
“Had that advice come forward I sincerely believe we would not be sitting here today,” he told the commission.
Robodebt involved using individuals’ annual tax information provided by the ATO to determine average fortnightly earnings and automatically establish welfare debts, an approach ruled unlawful by the Federal Court in 2019.
The scheme wrongly recovered more than $750 million from 381,000 people and led to several people taking their lives while being pursued for false debts.
Commissioner Catherine Holmes SC questioned why Mr Morrison had not inquired further as to how the legislative issues had been resolved after they disappeared.
“That is how the cabinet process works,” he replied.
“I was satisfied that the department had done their job.”
AAP
