Robodebt Royal Commission findings ‘absurd’, says Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison has attacked the Robodebt Royal Commission’s findings against him and accused Labor of using the report to conduct a political lynching.

Scott Morrison in question time on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Scott Morrison has attacked the Robodebt Royal Commission for making “untenable” and “absurd” findings against him while accusing Labor of using the report into the unlawful welfare debt recovery scheme to conduct a political lynching.

The former Liberal prime minister on Monday repeated his “deep regret” for the impact it had caused families and individuals but took aim at the commission for making false and unfounded findings, accusing it of ignoring crucial evidence.

The member for Cook, addressing parliament for the first since the RC handed down it report three weeks ago, rejected the adverse findings made against him in the published document including claims he misled Cabinet, pressured officials and provided untrue evidence to the commission.

He accused the commission failing to comprehend the processes of executive government and disregarding critical evidence, while citing Labor of its alleged hypocrisy for having gone to both the 2016 and 2019 elections with the automated debt recovery scheme as part of their platform.

“The latest attacks on my character by the Government in relation to this report is just a further attempt by the Government, following my departure from office, to discredit me and my service to our country during one of the most difficult periods our country has gone through since the second world war,” Mr Morrison said.

“This campaign of political lynching, has once again included the weaponisation of a quasi-legal process to launder the Government’s political vindictiveness. They need to move on.”

The final report of the RC into the automated welfare debt recovery program found it was a cruel and illegal scheme conducted with “venality, incompetence and cowardice.

In a sealed section of the report, it recommended several un-named individuals be referred for criminal and or civil prosecution.

Kathryn Campbell has resigned from her $900,000 per year defence department job over the royal commission’s findings.

Former head of the Department of Human Services, which oversaw the unlawful scheme, Kathryn Campbell, has since resigned from a $900,000 a year defence department job, having been suspended without pay following the RC’s findings.

Mr Morrison once again expressed regret for the scheme, which led to several suicides, but rejected the RC’s findings against him.

“The recent report of the Holmes Royal Commission highlights the many unintended consequences of the Robodebt scheme and the regrettable impact that the operations of the scheme had on individuals and their families,” Mr Morrison told the house

“I once again acknowledge and express my deep regret for the impacts of these unintended consequences on these individuals and their families.

“I do, however, completely reject the Commission’s adverse findings regarding my own role as Minister Social Services, between December 2014 and September 2015 as disproportionate, wrong, unsubstantiated and contradicted by clear evidence presented to the Commission.”

“Media reporting and commentary following the release of the Commission’s report, especially by Government Ministers, has falsely and disproportionately assigned an overwhelming responsibility for the conduct and operations of the Robodebt scheme to my role as Minister Social Services,” Mr Morrison told the house.

“This was simply not the case. In this context I particularly note that the Commission made no adverse findings in relation to my subsequent roles as Treasurer and Prime Minister, during the operational phases of the scheme, when the issues and unintended consequences arose.”

Mr Morrison said that at no time prior to 2020 was he advised by the department that the scheme was unlawful or required legislation and rejected suggestions by the commission that he should have formed his own view contrary to the advice of the department.

These were facts, he said, that were ignored by the commission.

“The Commission’s suggestion that it is reasonable that I would have or should have formed a contrary view at that time is also not credible or reasonable,” Mr Morrison said.

“Such views were not being expressed by senior and experienced officials, in fact they were advising the opposite.

“For the Government to now condemn me for holding a view that they shared and sustained for more than three years after I left the portfolio, is rank hypocrisy.

“Similarly, concerns were also not expressed at the time by social services advocates, such as ACOSS.

“The Commission‘s finding unfairly and retroactively applies a consensus of the understanding of the lawful status of the scheme that simply was not present or communicated at the time.

“This is clearly an unreasonable, untenable and false basis to make the serious allegation of allowing Cabinet to be misled.

“In relation to the Commission’s findings regarding untrue evidence, I also reject this as unsubstantiated, speculative and wrong.

“Finally, the Commission’s allegation, that pressure was applied to Department officials that prevented their giving frank advice, is wrong, unsubstantiated and absurd.”

Catherine Holmes AC SC, Royal Commissioner, during the Robodebt hearings.

Mr Morrison suggested a critical piece of evidence, relating to the absence of any legal concerns being raised by the department, was ignored by the commission in making its findings.

“In a submission to Cabinet in May 2020 the Department advised Cabinet that at no time prior to the provision of the Solicitor General’s advice to Ministers had the Department advised any Ministers responsible for the scheme that the scheme was unlawful,” Mr Morrison said.

“Also at no time did the Department advise me as Minister of the existence of the formal internal legal advice prepared prior to my arrival in the portfolio, regarding the scheme.

“I only became aware of the existence of this advice during the discovery phase of preparing my submissions to the Commission in 2022.

“During the sworn evidence to the Commission the former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Social Services informed the Commission that the existence and content of this information had been withheld from me as Minister.

“The uncontested fact that senior Department executives withheld key information regarding the legality of the scheme from their Ministers is inexcusable.”

Mr Morrison accused Labor of weaponizing the RC report.

“I say to the Government, instead of trying to distract attention from their own failings by relentlessly pursuing these transparently partisan campaigns against me, they get on with the job they promised to do and are failing to do,” he said.

“At the last election Labor claimed they could do a better job. So far, the evidence is to the contrary.

“Australians are now paying more for everything and earning less. The exact opposite of what Labor promised.”