Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. Nadia Sievewright was a young nursing student when Centrelink hit her with debts totalling $25,000. She was told by Centrelink that, if she wanted to contest them, she would need to pay lawyers to fight in court and that, if she lost, she might go to jail. Doctors suspect that the stress of interacting with Centrelink aggravated her autoimmune condition, causing her to be hospitalised on multiple occasions. Nadia even received calls from Centrelink when she was eight months pregnant. The government has conceded that the robodebt scheme developed by Mr Morrison was unlawful. Does the government now accept that it was also wrong to illegally hound vulnerable Australians like Nadia to the point of desperation?