Illustration:John Shakespeare
Politicians v public servants:who was responsible for robo-debt?
Maggie Surely this now shows that Scott Morrison was the worst MP,minister,treasurer and PM in the history of federation. My dream:Morrison finally resigns from parliament and the seat of Cook becomes a Labor seat for many years.
Coleridge Of course,the politicians involved should be held accountable for this moral debacle. But it is just as important now for the relevant senior public servants to also be held accountable and not shielded. They are at least as responsible as the politicians.
aussiebroonAnd Morrison claims to believe in “Christian values”. Clearly,honesty,compassion and consideration are not values he espouses.
Bazza Beeza Australia has been dangerously close to becoming a nation of sheep ruled over by a ruling class of wolves.
MegaKayAnother aspect to this whole rotten saga is how (arguably) the most vocally Christian PM we’ve ever had managed to justify this mean-spirited and tyrannical attack on the most vulnerable members of our society with the central message of the book he reveres.
mick Gosh,wouldn’t it have been nice if the Coalition could have gone after the $30 billion they overpaid to their corporate mates in JobKeeper? I guess it’s far easier to harass and intimidate defenceless individuals – most of whom wouldn’t vote Coalition anyway.
enough is enough For the last time. The public servants created this mess. Nothing to do with Coalition ministers.
Robo-rejection.Matt Golding
Does the Coalition believe ‘compassion is for losers’?
supernovaCoalition? Soul? Oxymoron.
nativebee Robo-debt was prosperity gospel writ large. Let’s never forget the damage inflicted on the most vulnerable by Morrison et al. We should all be ashamed.
David Jackson It seems to me from watching this terrible saga that the Liberals picked a large group of vulnerable people,unable to defend themselves and dependent on government services,and put a target on their back. They then got everything in their armoury and went after them. Suspending the concept of innocent until proven guilty,they fired letters to the group,demanded the money in a short time and then turned the debt collectors on those who would neither defend themselves nor pay. And it wasn’t just Morrison,it was a gaggle of MPs. Truly despicable.
SteveP Liberals only have compassion for the wealthy and business. There’s nothing for anyone else. It’s all about money,not heart.
Phil They know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
Gavin Gatenby In the world outlook of these guys,compassion is for losers.
Teddee We can only hope that the robo-debt atrocity will be the final nail in the coffin of the neoliberal nightmare that we’ve all had to live through for the last 40 years. It’s time to embed genuine care for others into every action of government.
Correct.Matt Golding
Is Centrelink a wilfully incompetent organisation?
LHI have dealt with Centrelink in various stages of my life. Studying,unemployment,sickness and disability. I have never encountered such a systematically disorganised and wilfully incompetent organisation.
JanRL Centrelink letters used to traumatise my European in-laws because their tone was usually threatening. We came to the conclusion the organisation operates from the premise that all pension and welfare recipients are frauds and cheats who need to be caught out. Utterly offensive.
Richard H It is time for a universal basic income and then we can do away with Centrelink and excessive forms and process-driven outcomes.
Trevor Thank you to the brave souls who gave evidence at the royal commission,to the commissioner and her staff,to the good people within the public service who continually tried to raise concerns. Those that devised this rotten process did so because they knew blaming and stigmatising vulnerable people in our society is easy to do and works politically.
Illustration:John Shakespeare
Were robo-debt victims used as ‘election fodder’?
Ryszard Linkiewicz,Caringbah SouthThe Coalition’s behaviour is emblematic of the sociopathic attitudes engendered by four decades of economic rationalism. The values of the ruling class permeate the whole nation and the robo-debt tragedy is merely a symptom of that.
Bob Monaghan,North RichmondWhy are we so shocked and angry when we read the report on robo-debt? When did the Coalition government ever show any concern for the disadvantaged and down trodden in our society? The four despicable past members,since named,are fairly typical of the past government. These people were election fodder to be used and abused for the government’s benefit. It makes me ashamed that this could happen in our once proud country.
Jeffr A very dark time for Australians. ScoMo’s enduring legacy.
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