The logical conclusion of a philosophy which views anyone on welfare as a bludger and anyone poor as fair game was on horrifying display as Robodebt Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes AC SC revealed her 1,039 page report to the Australian public on Friday.
After ten months’ work, this is not a document that pulls its punches, minces its words, or avoids naming names. It comes with a trigger warning and discusses suicide.
The Commissioner expresses her incredulity that computer-based income averaging could ever have become the basis of an official government debt recovery scheme, and describes as ‘truly amazing’ the lengths that the Morrison Government went to in attempting to hide the scheme’s lack of legal foundation.
As it turns out, the incompetence of the people involved was a perfect match for their cruelty and stupidity, which was why the whole sordid mess unravelled so spectacularly, but not before destroying the lives of a large number of innocent Australians.
At the core of the disaster was the politicisation of the public service, which began in a major way under John Howard and has since become much worse. This culture contributed to the failure of checks and balances which would, once upon a time, have stopped an idea as bad as Robodebt from ever getting out of the gate. Services Australia are singled out for special attention, but are just one of a number of government agencies who appear to be in need of major reform.
People first?
The number one recommendation of the Royal Commission’s report is that governments ‘design policies and processes with emphasis on the people they are meant to serve.’
Perhaps if all prospective politicians could have these words tattooed somewhere sensitive, they might sink in.
There are 56 further recommendations, most of which are equally sensible, which is probably why Peter Dutton and others of a Liberal/National Party persuasion have been reluctant to endorse them, so far, although Mr Dutton has apologised for Robodebt on behalf of the former government.
The point of the scheme was supposed to be to crack down on welfare cheats, although as Commissioner Holmes points out, the evidence was that ‘fraud in the welfare system was miniscule’.
Robodebt was sold on the basis that that it would generate $4.7 billion in savings from 2014 to 2022. Actually $406 million was saved. The costs of the scheme have so far amounted to over one billion dollars, including compensation to victims.
The political point of the scheme, of course, was to publicly bash poor people, in order to distract us all from the extremely wealthy companies and individuals who continue to rip off Australia to an alarming degree. Commissioner Holmes directly calls out populist politicians who have advanced their careers by attacking the most vulnerable in society, saying they ‘need to abandon for good (in every sense) the narrative of taxpayer versus welfare recipient.’
Human cost
More than 443,000 Australians were targeted by Robodebt. The total cost in human lives is hard to quantify, but there are numerous harrowing stories in Commission Holmes’ report, including suicides.
After debt collectors were sent after one man, pursuing a non-existent Robodebt, the young man took his own life. His mother told the Royal Commission she ‘found debt letters hanging on the fridge along with a drawing of a person shooting a gun in their mouth, with dollar signs coming out of the back of their head.’
Another witness told Commissioner Holmes, ‘I feel utterly betrayed by the government for this… [We] were treated like criminals and cheats, when all the while it was the department’s scheme that was illegal.’
One part of the Royal Commission’s report remains secret, pending further investigation and potential prosecution of individuals for their criminal behaviour. Former ministers Christian Porter and Alan Tudge have already claimed to be in the clear. Stuart Robert has also said he’s not in the frame to appear in court for his actions relating to Robodebt. If this is true, the mind boggles, but that’s Australian politics, just ask Gladys Berejiklian.
Peter Dutton will be hoping very hard that the voters of Fadden, on the Gold Coast, are able to forget the name of their former local member, along with the crimes of his government, when they vote in a by-election to replace Stuart Robert on Saturday.
Meanwhile the ex-Smirker-in-Chief (and Robert’s mate), Scott Morrison, has publicly rejected the findings of the Robodebt Royal Commission, but not said whether he’s been referred for further civil or criminal actions.
You can read Commissioner Catherine Holmes’ complete report here.
If this story has brought up any issues for you, Lifeline is available 24/7 on 131 114.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
Long ago, he did work experience in Parliament House with Mungo MacCallum.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
