"People took their own lives": Nat Barr fires up over Robodebt report
Sunrise host Natalie Barr has strongly condemned the Robodebt scheme as "unlawful" and accused it of victimising "500,000 people" in a passionate interview with Coalition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie.
During the heated exchange, Barr vehemently refuted any suggestion that the situation had simply gone awry.
“This was mathematically flawed," Barr said. "It was ruled unlawful. There were half a million victims. People took their own lives over this. Bridget, you must have some kind of view on what should happen?"
“It’s pretty obvious that people did the wrong thing here.”
Senator McKenzie acknowledged that politicians expected honest advice from public servants and admitted that something had clearly gone "wrong."
“This was a comprehensive royal commission, we had from former prime ministers, senior public servants, and indeed, the broader public on this particular issue, and I think the findings are going to be very fulsome and give us, I hope, ways to ensure that this cannot happen again,’’ McKenzie said.
Labor frontbencher Jason Clare add that he was thinking of the victims.
“Nat, there is a report in the papers today about a mother named Jennifer Miller and her son Reese committed suicide a few years ago,’’ said Mr Clare. “He was being chased for an $18,000 debt that he did not owe. I’m thinking about her and I’m thinking about families like that today.
“There were a number of people who committed suicide, others who try to take their own life, end up in hospital, they are still on medication today. They are the real-life human consequences of what happened here.”
Earlier on Friday, Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten warned that the "wave of misery" caused by the Robodebt royal commission might result in referrals to the national anti-corruption commission.
Senior ministers have already prepared to contest the report's findings, with the government approving taxpayer-funded legal assistance.
The bombshell report on the Robodebt scandal is anticipated to include scathing criticisms of key figures in the Morrison Government and senior public servants. Additionally, a secret "sealed section" will cover potential "criminal and civil prosecutions."
Royal commission officials have begun briefing departmental heads on adverse findings related to employees prior to the report's public release.
Robodebts were debts incurred between July 2015 and November 2019 under the Income Compliance Program. These debts were calculated using averaged income information from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and were later deemed unlawful.
In recent months, the Commonwealth has been informed of up to 16 "Notices of Potential Adverse Findings."
These findings encompass the conduct of individuals involved in the program's development and implementation. They also pertain to data matching between the Department of Human Services and the Australian Tax Office during the Robodebt process, as well as the circumstances surrounding the Ombudsman's reports on the scheme in 2017 and 2019.
The report will examine the prosecution briefs referred to the Commonwealth DPP by the Department of Human Services (DHS), as well as the arrangements of the in-house legal teams in DHS and the Department of Social Services (DSS).
Furthermore, it will scrutinise the data and flaws underlying the budget assumptions that formed the basis of the Robodebt Scheme, as well as the debt recovery methods employed by the Department of Human Services.
Image: Sunrise