AUWU demands justice for #robodebt victims
A Royal Commission must be called – refunds alone are not enough
The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union welcomed the government’s capitulation on debts raised via the illegal robodebt program. This decision offers relief to hundreds of thousands of people wrongfully targeted by the scheme. But the planned refund does not go far enough.
The AUWU demands:
a Royal Commission into robodebt, including a full investigation of associated deaths, which are potentially in the thousands;
that the Royal Commission include an investigation the extent of illegal debts raised back to the 1980s, when income averaging was first used;
compensation for victims;
that Centrelink cease issuing class action opt-out letters in relation to the legal case brought by Gordon Legal; and
a commitment from the prime minister not to introduce automated debt recovery in the future.
Since 2017 the government has known this cruel scheme had no legal basis. Justice will not be served until the full extent of harm caused by the program is uncovered and reparations made.
The true cost of the robodebt program is much higher than the sums Services Australia have bled from the most vulnerable in our community. Robodebt caused significant trauma and disruption, negatively affecting health, financial security and stability for many of its victims.
AUWU NSW Division Coordinator Thomas Studans condemned the government:
“Too many lives have been destroyed. Too many people are dead now; they can't be brought back.
“Everyone who was involved in this scheme should be begging for forgiveness.
“It's the single most disastrous failure of social security administration in Australian history by such a huge margin – it's incredible.”
Media contact: 0404 089 575 / jeremy.poxon at auwu.org.au
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