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The Latest Breaking News from Serena Wilson

The ‘dole-bludger’ myth can die now — the real cheats were highly paid public servants

The royal commission made clear what we already knew: the only dangers to the welfare system are public servants and policy makers.

Crikey

Seven public servants criticised in robodebt report as agencies consider response

Royal commissioner Catherine Holmes found that bureaucrats misled cabinet and ombudsman

The Guardian - AU

What does ‘Waltzing Matilda’ tell us about robodebt and modern Australia?

We like to think our allegiance lies with the ghost of the penniless swagman in our unofficial national anthem, but the truth is otherwise.

Crikey

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Robodebt: five years of lies, mistakes and failures that caused a $1.8bn scandal

The royal commission ended on Friday, having heard shocking testimony from officials and politicians, and heart-rending accounts of the impact of the botched scheme

The Guardian - AU

Michael Pascoe: Coalition had more bullets for the ‘undeserving’ poor

Ms Wilson has made a supplementary statement that is as damning of the Coalition and its facilitators as anything the commission has heard.

The New Daily

‘Saddest part of my career’: Centrelink employee describes pain of implementing robodebt

Jeannie-Marie Blake says watching the royal commission into the scheme has been ‘triggering’ after giving evidence with striking frankness

The Guardian - AU

Behavioural science methods proposed to claw back debt

Methods using behavioural science of welfare recipients was touted as a way to claw back debt during the early stages of the robodebt scheme.

AAP

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Public servants may have ‘colluded’ to launch robodebt despite knowing it was unlawful, inquiry hears

Former deputy secretary Serena Wilson denies ‘reconstructing events’ in her evidence to the royal commission to protect her own interests

The Guardian - AU

Coalition government lacked 'empathy' for welfare recipients, focused on cost savings, Serena Wilson tells Robodebt royal commission

A former department head described the office of then-social services minister Scott Morrison as having "limited interest in advice" between 2014 and 2018.

ABC News

Senior official denies ‘manipulating the truth’ to ombudsman over legality of robodebt scheme

DSS witness faces scrutiny at royal commission over involvement in robodebt plans and evidence given to watchdog’s 2017 investigation

The Guardian - AU

Draft Robodebt proposal to Scott Morrison was a 'watering down' of legal advice

Emails between Department of Human Services and Department of Social Services officials showed the language around the Robodebt scheme had been softened.

The Canberra Times

The Robodebt royal commission has wrapped up for now. Here are some of the key takeaways

The Robodebt royal commission hears startling evidence with senior bureaucrats admitting they didn't follow legal advice, were too busy to raise concerns or didn't think it was their responsibility. Here's how the two weeks of hearings wrapped up.

ABC News

Conspiracy or stuff up? Robodebt royal commission probes how far up the chain of command blame falls

The first two weeks of hearings into the unlawful welfare scheme sought to answer a central question: how could this happen?

The Guardian - AU

Senior bureaucrat Serena Wilson admits in Robodebt inquiry to breaching public servants' code of conduct

The inquiry hears Ms Wilson received advice in 2015 showing the illegal income-averaging proposal that became Robodebt was unlawful but it still reached then-social services minister Scott Morrison.

ABC News

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The Guardian - AU

Robodebt royal commission: official says she failed to tell Scott Morrison scheme could be unlawful

Serena Wilson says she lacked the ‘courage’ to speak up after being made aware of legal advice

AAP

Public servant 'ashamed' about robodebt

An ex-deputy department secretary says she should have done more to stop the robodebt scheme from running as long as it did but she "lacked courage".

People

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