Robodebt wanted compliant public servants and a minister keen to mislead colleagues. There isn’t any purpose why it could not occur once more.
The suggestions of the robodebt royal fee, by commissioner Catherine Holmes AC SC present a considerable program of reform throughout the Australian Public Service (APS). However even when totally carried out, they’d do nothing to cease a repeat of what unfolded between late 2014 and 2019.
Robodebt was the results of bureaucrats desperate to be “responsive” to a brand new minister, one who noticed getting laws to make an unlawful scheme authorized as simply too rattling onerous. They labored with him to mislead cupboard and different companies. Based on the Holmes report, Scott Morrison, former head of the human and social companies departments Kathryn Campbell, her deputy secretary the late Malisa Golightly, and Human Providers SES officer Mark Withnell had been all social gathering to this deception. Different officers additionally both did not do their jobs correctly or deluded themselves concerning the legality of the scheme.
Learn extra about simply how typically “frank and fearless recommendation” is given by public servants.
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