Analysis

The big lie that propped up robo-debt

Perhaps the worst aspect of the whole affair has been the reluctance of anyone to take responsibility for the failed program.

Tom BurtonGovernment editor

Dec 15, 2022 – 12.13pm

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It was former Brisbane Centrelink compliance worker Colleen Taylor who, in refreshingly plain speaking, this week crystallised the moral atrocity that has been laid bare at the robo-debt royal commission.

“We should not be the ones stealing from our customers,” Taylor told the then-leaders of the federal Department of Human Service (DHS) in a vain effort to warn them how the robo-debt scheme was working in practice.

Tom Burton has held senior editorial and publishing roles with The Mandarin, The Sydney Morning Herald and as Canberra bureau chief for The Australian Financial Review. He has won three Walkley awards.