Commissioner Catherine Holmes writes persuasively in the report on the royal commission into robodebt about how things got to this point and what needs to happen next. We should focus on the 57 recommendations made in that report.
It’s validating to read a public official such as Holmes come to the same conclusions that those of us who experienced the system already knew.
We were targeted and made examples of for accepting support payments. The savings were never worth the cost. It was part of a larger problem that both major parties have been complicit in.
Rather than addressing the needs of their constituents, they’ve vilified us, created impossible-to-navigate systems, assigned blame without proof and pushed a narrative that we’re at fault. The guilt we felt as recipients should be felt by those who created robodebt and those who work to keep things exactly as they are right now.
In the preface to the report, Holmes states that the evidence “was that fraud in the welfare system was minuscule, but that is not the impression one would get from what ministers responsible for social security payments have said over the years. Anti-welfare rhetoric is easy populism, useful for campaign purposes.”
“Useful for campaign purposes” is a good summation of the role of the unemployed, insecure-employed, noncitizens, elderly, people with disabilities and many others in relation to their role in Australian society. The struggles of vulnerable people are juicy political fodder and we can expect to be treated as such.
Is the royal commission a resolution for those of us affected? Partially.
Holmes writes that a compensation or redress scheme would be both impractical and too expensive considering the sheer numbers of people affected.
She rightfully says that a better use of resources and governmental focus would be to raise the rate to a level of security where the most vulnerable can feel some modicum of empowerment. Something that was evidently lacking in the robodebt fiasco.
On Friday, the day the report was released, I watched the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and Bill Shorten hold a press conference where they patted themselves on the back and called out members of the previous government for their roles in robodebt. I found that incredibly disingenuous.
Shorten did not start the campaign to end robodebt. For that we owe thanks to whisteblowers such as Colleen Taylor, and activists like Asher Wolf and the Not My Debt campaign. When asked about compensation at that press conference, he brought up the civil action. The refunds and interest we received were in no way compensation or redress and it’s telling that he frames it as such.
The current government has not committed to raising the jobseeker rate despite boasting about a budget surplus. They may have called for the royal commission but that’s not enough. They also have to act on the recommendations they’ve been given.
The first recommendation in the report is “design policies and processes with emphasis on the people they are meant to serve”. This is described as stopping the use of stigmatising language, facilitating easy and efficient engagement and explaining processes in clear terms.
That could be implemented now and it’s a great place to start. It’s detailed in the report how debt notices were issued with contact listed as online only. Customer service representatives were trained to refer recipients to their online service. But online, there was no useful information to be found and no way to reasonably raise an objection to the debt. Anyone who has used services over the last decade will tell you it is almost impossible to speak to a customer service representative in person or over the phone. Sometimes, you’ll be made to wait hours only to be told to log on to online services.
The next four recommendations discuss the concept of vulnerability. I was on a hardship payment and seeing a counsellor, who was subsidised via a low-income healthcare card, when I received a debt. At least two people are known to have taken their lives after receiving a debt, although that number is likely far higher. This should never have happened.
There are recommendations in the report for better engagement with advocates, legal services and human services employees. Those should have already been in place.
There’s a section pertaining to the use of debt collectors. For years I was hounded despite my raising objections and creating reviews of the debt. Eventually they started calling the home phone of my parents. It was beyond harassment and it was government endorsed. Not only that, they raised interest on the debts for engaging those outside debt recovery services.
The final section before the closing observations is listed broadly as “improving the Australian public service”. It’s basically an overhaul of the welfare system – broad structural change and retraining. This is incredibly important and can’t be overlooked.
The closing observation recommends that section 34 of the Commonwealth FoI Act should be repealed.
“The Commonwealth Cabinet Handbook should be amended so that the description of a document as a Cabinet document is no longer itself justification for maintaining the confidentiality of the document.”
I am not satisfied by possible future prosecutions of politicians and civil servants. I want to see the recommendations acted upon and I want to see true welfare reform in this country. For that to happen, we need the support of the Australian people. Hopefully robodebt will be the wake-up call that we need to do better for our most vulnerable.
• Nathan Kearney is a horticulturist and independent musician who wants to see welfare reform in Australia
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978.
