Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I present the fifth interim report of the Community Affairs References Committee on Centrelink's compliance program, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee. I move:

That the Senate adopt the recommendation contained in the report, proposing an order for the production of documents.

Yes, this is the fifth interim report on Centrelink's compliance program—in particular, the impact of the federal government's automated debt collection processes upon current and past income support recipients, the program otherwise known as robodebt. We are not giving up seeking justice for people impacted by this devastating program.

I do want to start my speech in tabling this report tonight by acknowledging the important work of my predecessor as chair and Australian Greens community affairs spokesperson, Senator Rachel Siewert. There is a lot of Rachel's blood sweat and tears in this report! Rachel's passion for people was reflected in her tireless work to bring their voices into this place. It's because of that work, and that of others—the rest of the committee—that the Senate Community Affairs References Committee has refused to simply accept the government's delays and denials of the impact of robodebt, even as the Public Service has been forbidden from uttering the term 'robodebt' in Senate estimates.

At the forefront of the committee's mind has been the individuals and their families who have been affected. The committee remains committed to holding the government to account and resolving unanswered questions on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have been affected by this scheme. Our report puts it very clearly, saying that more than 18 months after the government's announcement that debts under the scheme would be refunded, as of 28 October this year 9,200 individuals continue to wait for a refund. Moreover, eligible applicants of the class action will need to wait another 10 months before receiving their share of the settlement sum. It also noted that the settlement does not provide compensation for the psychological and financial hardship incurred by affected individuals.

More broadly, questions remain concerning what the Australian government knew about the legality of the debt recovery system. Despite persistent questions from the committee, the government has refused to provide key documents central to this inquiry. The quote from Justice Murphy in the report summarises the situation:

The proceeding has exposed a shameful chapter in the administration of the Commonwealth social security system and a massive failure of public administration. It should have been obvious to the senior public servants charged with overseeing the Robodebt system and to the responsible Minister at different points that many social security recipients do not earn a stable or constant income, and any employment they obtain may be casual, part-time, session, or intermittent and may not continue throughout the year … It should have been plain that in such circumstances the automated Robodebt system may indicate an overpayment of social security benefits when that was not in fact the case.

It is not good enough that we are still having to pursue the government over this. Too many people have suffered to simply accept the pathetic answers the Australian government has given to date. It was a step forward in June to have the Federal Court's decision to recognise that the Liberal government unlawfully raised $1.7 billion in debts against 443,000 people, but people shouldn't have to fight their own government for justice. We deserve a government that's on the side of people, not billionaires and big corporations. As my predecessor, Senator Siewert, said, 'Robodebt cost lives; it has ruined many, many more and has been the cause of immeasurable pain and anguish.' We still don't know what the government knew and when, and they are still desperate to cover it up. The government think they can get away with only refunding victims served notices after 2015.

The interim report that I am tabling this evening contains two recommendations regarding the settlement that was reached this year—firstly, that Services Australia distribute the settlement sum in accordance with the Implementation Plan for the Settlement Distribution Scheme as a matter of priority and, secondly, that following the finalisation of the implementation plan Services Australia publicly release the following data: the number of class action group members in each category; the total value of debts of the group members, broken down by category; and the average share of the settlement sum that eligible group members received.

Of course, the release of data brings me to the other fundamental issue that this report covers, and that is the issue of the government ducking and weaving and hiding information that the community, particularly those affected by robodebt, deserve to have. In our report, we say that the committee views that the government's knowledge regarding the legal basis of robodebt is a crucial element of this inquiry and the repeated refusal by the relevant ministers to provide information has limited the committee's ability to appropriately assess the operation of the income compliance program. In not releasing its legal advice about robodebt, either publicly or in camera, the government is trying to hide its cruelty to innocent people, and it's hoping that, if it refuses to share this information for long enough, we'll all forget and they won't be held to account. But we will not forget and we will not give up attempting to uncover what really went on. This program has cost the Australian government hundreds of millions of dollars and has had a devastating impact upon hundreds of thousands of individuals. The Australian public deserves answers as to how this could occur.

The committee reiterates its strong rejection of the public interest immunity claims made throughout this inquiry in relation to the executive minute and its legal advice and costs regarding the income compliance program. As part of this interim report, the committee recommends that the Senate adopt the following resolutions: 'that the we note that the Senate Community Affairs References Committee has rejected the Minister for Government Services' explanation regarding public interest immunity claims on several occasions' and 'that there be laid on the table by the Minister for Government Services, by no later than 1 pm tomorrow, revised responses relating to legal advice and the income compliance program, which have been subject to rejected claims of public interest immunity during our inquiry into the program'. We also want to see laid on the table a copy of the executive minute to the Minister for Social Services, as referenced in the Commonwealth Ombudsman's April 2017 report.

If we can't get those documents tomorrow, we need a letter confirming that the above responses relating to legal advice and the executive minute will be provided in camera to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee by no later than two o'clock tomorrow. If the minister again fails to table these documents, this motion will require the minister to attend the Senate at the conclusion of question time to provide an explanation of the minister's failure to table the documents. The hiding of information that this government has been doing during this robodebt debacle is deplorable. Australians deserve better than a government and a minister and a prime minister who think that they can just spin their way past accountability and who refuse to be honest with the Australian people. That's why the Greens have been calling for a royal commission into the robodebt affair—to get to the bottom of this. Australians deserve answers, and we deserve accountability to make sure that this does not happen again.

Fundamentally, though, the best way to make sure that such outrages don't happen again in the coming years is to get rid of the Morrison government. Australians are sick and tired of the lack of accountability. They're sick and tired of the smirks and grins from this Prime Minister because it's always somebody else's fault. It's not his fault. It's always hidden away; it's never out in the open. He doesn't hold a hose. If you're sick and tired of Scott Morrison, we're going to have to vote for change. If you're sick and tired of a government that, basically, is on the side of the billionaires and the big corporations rather than ordinary people, we are going to have to vote for change. If we want an end to this lack of accountability and an end to corruption and if we want a federal ICAC with teeth to get to the bottom of corruption that's going to take genuine action on corruption, we're going to have to vote for change. Fundamentally, as has been shown by this debacle over robodebt—this appalling ruination of people's lives—if you want a government that cares about people rather than attacking them, we're going to have to get rid of the Morrison government and vote for change.