Scaring the bejesus out of hundreds of thousands of sick and elderly Australians with illegal robodebt demands was not a problem, says the Morrison government in court.
Their legal argument is that this government has no duty of care to the vulnerable, and shaking them down for thousands of dollars wouldn't have put them under duress.
More than 600,000 debts have been issued under the robodebt scheme, which demanded people provide evidence to prove they did not underreport their income to Centrelink. Many were illegal. Many illegal debt demands were issued to aged and invalid pensioners, and people with mental health disorders or brain injuries.
Some committed suicide or died. Still the government pursued their spouses or parents for the fake debts, knowing it would be almost impossible for grieving families to provide evidence that income was not underreported.
The Coalition refuses to provide its legal advice about the scheme to a Senate inquiry, but documents filed in the federal court reveal the government has conceded that debts issued using tax office income summaries could “not be validly established” under the law. To be clear - government ministers knew they were committing illegal acts but hoped they would get away with it. No minister, policy advisor or public servant has been charged with any offences yet.
