The Echidna: Facts found, but robodebt victims may never get their lives back

I am not an extremely vengeful Echidna on the whole, but for the perpetrators of robodebt, I could make an exception.

Robodebt, the scheme whereby the Coalition government stole from the poor, had its next-to-final judgement handed down by exceptionally good egg royal commissioner Catherine Holmes. She wrote: "Robodebt was a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal, and it made many people feel like criminals. In essence, people were traumatised on the off-chance they might owe money. It was a costly failure of public administration, in both human and economic terms."

But it's not just the public parts of the report which matter. Holmes has also sent an additional - sealed - chapter of the report to the Governor-General: "It recommends the referral of individuals for civil action or criminal prosecution."

She's sent the best bits to heads of various Commonwealth agencies: the Australian Public Service Commissioner, the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, the president of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory and the Australian Federal Police. Various people keep telling us "nothing to see here" but we will see. We will very much see.

So a special thanks to Colleen Taylor, one of the low-ranking public servants (APS4) who told her masters that robodebt was very wrong - they ignored her. They accused her of being overly sympathetic to those on welfare. But it's always the people about six levels down from the top who know the most (just ask American journalist Michael Lewis, whose podcast Six Levels Down is brilliant).

Taylor wrote to her boss Kathryn Campbell, then the most senior person in the Department of Social Services, to explain what was wrong. Campbell kept defending robodebt - and now she is on leave from her $900,000-a-year job in Defence. Meanwhile, Taylor felt she must retire, as did other public servants who could no longer tolerate the harshness towards those on welfare. Retired, resigned, some broken from trying to change from within. Honestly, bosses are ridiculous. Imagine if someone had actually listened to the workers instead of to the politicians.

Of Campbell, Holmes wrote: "Ms Campbell had been responsible for a department that had established, implemented and maintained an unlawful program."

Scott Morrison, too, came in for a belting in the report: "Mr Morrison allowed cabinet to be misled because he did not make that obvious inquiry."

Other public servants too. Other politicians.

And let me also apologise to Australians on behalf of my journalistic colleagues who swallowed the whole "the poor are dole bludgers and cheats" approach hook, line and sinker and who backed this program which led to many, many thousands of people harmed, still harmed. Some of those victims of robodebt took their own lives. Never believe a politician, especially ones from the conservative side who, as the report makes clear, knew what was happening and did nothing to stop it.

But let's acknowledge the people who did brilliant work - all the activists who kept going, who would not back down despite harassment and bullying. They called this punitive program for what it was, #notmydebt. Lyndsey Jackson, who lives two hours outside of Adelaide, one of the key organisers of the campaign, says part of her motivation was recognising that those in regional areas had no idea they were being done over by robodebt.

"There is a reality that people are still hurt from this," she says. And it's unlikely they can ever be really compensated for the time, stress and effort, the hours wasted, the continual energy. The report may be released, says Jackson, "but you don't get your old life back".

Asher Wolf, yet another #notmydebt activist, then of Melbourne and now in Wangaratta, says: "Nothing changes without activism and that takes a community. We can't change things by ourselves."

She mentions Jackson, Deanna Amato and Madeleine Masterton as well as K, who wants no publicity or attention.

As La Trobe University's Darren O'Donovan, Australia's foremost academic expert on robodebt says, the most formidable political weapon was the "unpaid, unthanked volunteers who built the campaign on the suffering of each other".

The name of that weapon? Robodebt.

All these activists made sure we all knew what was going on. They would not be distracted. Campbell even bemoaned the focus on robodebt.

"Where are those cricketers when you need them doing something naughty?" Campbell told the Institute for Public Administration Australia in late 2018.

O'Donovan thanks Holmes for sealing the section of the report which may lead to charges. He says by keeping it confidential, we have a chance for those responsible to feel the personal consequences for doing the wrong thing.

What of us? The royal commissioner Catherine Holmes has found the facts, it is up to Australians to find the meaning for eternity.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Has the public service become too politicised? How can we reestablish trust in the public service? Is there a way to make bosses listen to junior staff? Have you ever been involved in a campaign, big or small? What happened? Were you affected by robodebt? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

- Education Minister Jason Clare warns universities could lose their accreditation to teach education courses if they fail to equip future teachers with skills they need. The caution comes following the release of a report on how to improve the education of the next teaching generation, which was agreed to by state and territory ministers.

- The governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Philip Lowe will make a speech at the Economic Society of Australia national conference in Brisbane on Wednesday. Will he talk about the likelihood of more interest rate rises? Or will he talk about the review into the RBA?

- And the Wallabies lost. Again. A horror first Test result under reborn coach Eddie Jones, falling 43-12 to South Africa to continue their 60-year drought in Pretoria.

THEY SAID IT: "A public servant must have a profile characterised by the following: self-sacrifice, trustworthiness, risk-taking, versatility, adaptability, creativity, transparency and accountability." - John-Mary Kauzya and Elizabeth Niland

YOU SAID IT: Garry asked: Is it the government's responsibility to legislate against fake news? How do you assume what you're reading is contrived or factual?

Stephanie wrote: "I've always worked on the principle that if you believe nothing you hear and only half that you see, you are probably still on the top side. Ironically, I spent 33 years of my life selling cars but prided myself on my honesty and being trustworthy - under-promise and over-deliver. In the end, it was the never-ending stream of corporate BS from the manufacturers which necessitated a change of direction. Personally, I believe that the social media platforms should want to police the authenticity of their content, not the government, but the sad fact is that fake news sells!"

Peter writes: "Do the research" has become a slogan of the crackpot fringe.

Sue urges the Echidna to keep the flag flying and says: "I don't think it is the government's responsibility to legislate against fake news. Education is a much better option but it is a long-term one. It won't be completely effective and will need to be comprehensive, being undertaken in schools and in society generally, particularly through social media. I like the fact-checking idea, and I think that government could take a positive role in this, particularly in the areas where they want to legislate. This would be much more effective, particularly if they were able to call out the naysayers so that people or organisations knocking Australia and Australians were clearly identified. It might be helpful if other organisations took on this fact-checking role in their areas of expertise as well, and if there were a couple of public sites where individuals who have done the research can report their own fact-checking. After all, we ordinary everyday people can't be experts at everything but we can probably contribute some useful information."

And Terry says: "The Fake News title is Fake news. Why not call it what it is? Lies, fabrications designed to deliberately mislead and confuse. The twisted minds that put this stuff out there do it for a purpose, to confuse and or gain an advantage. It should be named and shamed."