Blaming the recipients of social welfare for the illegality of...

Blaming the recipients of social welfare for the illegality of Robodebt which the government was repeatedly warned about but chose to persist hoping "that no one would notice" is the antithesis of sagacity. Your empathy for vulnerable members of society although inconsequential, is poignant.

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/robodebt-class-action-settlement-061309346.html

" ... after a Federal Court Judge deemed the debt recovery plan a “massive failure”.

Federal Court Justice Bernard Murphy approved an overall settlement of $1.2 billion between the Federal Government and robodebt victims on Friday.

The robodebt scheme saw Centrelink recipients issued debt notices based on a flawed income averaging metric. The scheme wrapped up in 2019 after it was blasted as punitive, illegal and poorly designed.

Murphy said the scheme had caused financial hardship, anxiety and distress to Australia’s most vulnerable and the following legal claims had also triggered a “huge waste” of public money.

The proceeding has exposed a shameful chapter in the administration of the Commonwealth social security system and a massive failure of public administration," Murphy said.

"One thing … that stands out … is the financial hardship, anxiety and distress, including suicidal ideation and in some cases suicide, that people or their loved ones say was suffered as a result of the Robodebt system, and that many say they felt shame and hurt at being wrongly branded 'welfare cheats'.”

Under the settlement with class action litigators Gordon Legal, victims will have $400 million in unlawful debts wiped, be repaid $720 million in ‘debts’ already paid and receive $112 million in compensation.

The Government will also pay Gordon Legal $8.4 million in legal costs. ..."