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The Guardian - AU

National

Luke Henriques-Gomes Social affairs and inequality editor

The Australian government had multiple chances to press ‘stop’ on robodebt – but didn’t

DSS DHS RoboDebt Scott Morrison Centrelink Carine Holmes AC SC

Australians queue outside a Centrelink office — The royal commission this week heard claims officials at the DHS and DSS may have misled cabinet or manipulated the truth when outlining robodebt. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

However cynical the politics and however flawed the legal calculations that saw the Coalition government press “start” on robodebt in 2015, it may be the failure to press “stop” that is most damning.

Some of the most difficult moments explored by a royal commission investigating the scandal have been focused on the years after the apparent bureaucratic omnishambles of 2015.

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