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The Latest Breaking News from RoboDebt

Robodebt bureaucrat given role before evidence revealed

Penny Wong has defended the appointment of a bureaucrat who oversaw the rollout of the disastrous robodebt scheme.

AAP

Stuart Robert: One of public life’s weirdest characters and the mystery of what made him tick

Stuart Robert had his feet planted in the middle of two horrible obscenities perpetrated in Australian politics.

The New Daily

When both their sons took their own lives after receiving Robodebt demands, Kath and Jenny came together to seek change

Jenny Miller and Kath Madgwick became household names for those following the fallout from the automated Robodebt scheme. For the first time they talk about the bond they share after both their sons died and their plans to change the stigma around suicide.

ABC News

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Why robodebt's use of 'income averaging' lacked basic common sense

The practice of “income averaging” to calculate debts in the robodebt scheme was completely flawed. This is what I confirmed in my new report conducted for the robodebt royal commission published last Friday, the final day of the commission’s public hearings.

The Conversation

Morning Mail: Latham eyes NSW kingmaker role, new secret ministries discovery, gas shortage fear

One Nation candidate could push for lifting of nuclear ban after NSW election; FOI reveals Morrison ally was appointed to home affairs role

The Guardian - AU

Robodebt: five years of lies, mistakes and failures that caused a $1.8bn scandal

The royal commission ended on Friday, having heard shocking testimony from officials and politicians, and heart-rending accounts of the impact of the botched scheme

The Guardian - AU

'Amateurish, rushed and disastrous': royal commission exposes robodebt as ethically indefensible policy targeting vulnerable people

The robodebt royal commission hearings came to an end on Friday. Over the past four months, they have delivered a telling portrait of unaccountable government power.

The Conversation

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Documents which could have prompted end of Robodebt not shared with investigators, inquiry hears

Ex Ombudsman staffer tells the inquiry that had their investigators been shown documents flagging Robodebt's illegality, they would have called for the scheme to end.

ABC News

AHRC targets robodebt, Covid policies and indefinite detention in push for federal human rights act

New report says a Human Rights Act could have prevented ‘abandonment’ of Australians overseas in Covid pandemic

The Guardian - AU

I’m still angry at the architects of robodebt, and furious that they have faced no consequences

I’m grateful to all those who spoke out, but it should never have happened and we have no guarantee it won’t happen again

The Guardian - AU

Senior public servant faces third robodebt grilling

The former secretary of the departments responsible for running the robodebt scheme will return to the royal commission for a third round of questioning.

AAP

Former PM Turnbull questioned ‘fairness’ of robodebt

Malcolm Turnbull says he was not concerned about the legality of robodebt but rather the "accuracy and fairness" of debts being calculated.

The New Daily

Robert accused of ‘misleading Australian public’ over robodebt

Bill Shorten has accused Morrison govt minister Stuart Robert of misleading the Australian public after his evidence to the robodebt inquiry.

The New Daily

Afternoon Update: Coalition minister admits making false statements about robodebt; Romanian PM’s AI adviser; and the best dishwashing liquid

Stuart Robert has told the royal commission he had ‘no choice’ but to give false statements to ABC

The Guardian - AU

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ABC News

Man issued with Robodebt bill of $11,000 tells royal commission he was made to 'feel like a welfare cheat'

A photographer who had a heart attack after being issued with an erroneous Robodebt bill says he was made to feel like a criminal.

ABC News

Former human services minister Stuart Robert vowed to 'double down' after being told Robodebt was illegal, royal commission told

Former top bureaucrat Renee Leon says she was forced to step in and stop the illegal Robodebt scheme because ministers refused.

The Guardian - AU

Afternoon Update: tax hike on $3m super balances; robodebt inquiry ‘double down’ claim; and a Test cricket classic

Balances of more than $3m will be taxed at 30%, up from current concessional rate of 15%

The Guardian - AU

Robodebt inquiry: evidence contradicts witness’s claim he didn’t know unlawful method was being used

Former Department of Human Services official tells inquiry he can’t explain emails and other documents he saw referring to use of income averaging

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The Guardian - AU

Public servants may have ‘colluded’ to launch robodebt despite knowing it was unlawful, inquiry hears

Former deputy secretary Serena Wilson denies ‘reconstructing events’ in her evidence to the royal commission to protect her own interests

The Guardian - AU

Government lawyer did not turn his mind to ‘significant consequences’ of continuing robodebt, inquiry told

Royal commission hears Paul Menzies-McVey was awaiting ‘definitive advice’ from the solicitor general on robodebt’s legality

The Guardian - AU

‘Platitudes and false words’: mother of robodebt victim who took own life tells inquiry of government stonewalling

‘It all became very sly. Everyone was lying and covering each other’s backs,’ royal commission hears

ABC News

Government lawyers were told Robodebt's income-averaging method couldn't be used to calculate welfare debts, royal commission hears

The inquiry hears from a mother whose son took his own life after being targeted with dozens of phone calls, text messages from Centrelink and debt collectors chasing an alleged Robodebt.

The Conversation

Alan Tudge quits parliament, prompting byelection test for Peter Dutton

Former Coalition minister Alan Tudge has announced he will quit parliament, creating a byelection in the Melbourne seat of Aston.

The New Daily

Robodebt inquiry is laying bare the horrific human cost of cheap and heartless politics

The Robodebt hearings have shown the former government hoodwinked voters to boost its popularity by humiliating people struggling to get by.

The Guardian - AU

Christian Porter tells inquiry ‘someone’ in department assured him robodebt was legal but ‘I can’t recall who’

Former social services minister and attorney general also says he accepts some responsibility for the scandal

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