Analysis: When the Robodebt Royal Commission is over, we also have to have a serious talk about the culture of the public service, writes latingle. abc730 auspol
But what happened with Robodebt was that, after several decades of being characterised in the political maelstrom as bludgers, the bludger presumption was programmed into the very fabric of the systems used to provide income support.
And then it turned out that the whole thing was unlawful. And the government knew this for quite a long time. But did not immediately shut it down.At the royal commission, we've heard ministers who oversaw the portfolio during this period say they weren't responsible for what their department officials did.
Former Department of Human Services secretary Renee Leon told the Robodebt Royal Commission Stuart Robert dismissed advice as an opinion. So a cabinet minister ignored legal advice that a multi-billion dollar scheme he was administering was unlawful. And justified lying repeatedly to the Australian public about it on the basis of cabinet solidarity. And of administering a scheme over which he had grave personal misgivings to boot.The most depressing thing about this, of course, is that we have got to the stage of not being all that surprised by any of it.
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