E&OE TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECTS: Albanese Government ceasing engagement with external debt collection services; lessons learned from the Robodebt Royal Commission; Wesley Mission aged care closures; Liberal MP’s breaking ranks on the Voice vote
BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FOR THE NDIS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to this great announcement by the Albanese Government that we are getting rid of external debt collectors in our social welfare payments system. This morning I'm with Hang Vo, who is the president of ACOSS, and Hang will say some words after myself, with Felicity Sommerville, who went through the Robodebt experience and had to deal with the tough side of the previous Government's harsh unlawful policies, and Stephanie Tonkin, who is the CEO of Consumer Action Legal Centre. Today the Albanese Government is saying loud and clear that we are abolishing the use of debt collectors against Australians who have social welfare payment debts. We're going to bring this function in-house. We're going to make sure that Australians who have a debt, an overpayment perhaps to the social welfare system, that they are not treated as crooks, that they are not treated as people who are guilty until proven innocent. And one way we can do that and make sure the shameful illegal Robodebt scandal in which the previous Government committed unlawful acts against hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Australian citizens, is not repeated again. So right now, there's 10,800 welfare recipients who are on a debt plan through a third-party debt collector. We'll be transitioning them back in-house within Government. That’s $43 million worth of debts which are being collected by debt collectors, which will now be taken over by the Government to collect. This is all about saying to people who use the Australian safety net system of welfare that when an overpayment occurs, we want to make sure that all the issues are worked through, that the debt is actually lawfully raised against the person, that Government uses its power in a sparing, humane, people-first fashion and that if there is a debt, if there is an overpayment, that the process for recovering the money is done where people are treated with humanity, dignity and respect, not treated as criminals. I'm going to hand over now to the president of ACOSS Hang Vo and then we'll ask the other speakers here to make some brief comments. Then we're happy to take questions. Thank you.
HANG VO, ACOSS PRESIDENT: Thank you. It's wonderful to be here and I'd like to congratulate the Minister for making this announcement today and taking the important step to ensure better practices for debt recovery. ACOSS strongly welcomes the announcement to end the use of external debt connectors to ensure the protection of people on the lowest income in Australia. We welcome this to ensure that no one would ever experience Robodebt again. We look forward to working with the Government to ensure the protections of people with social security, that they are treated in a more humane and fairer way.
SHORTEN: Thanks Hang. I might ask Felicity to talk about some of her experiences and then Stephanie.
FELICITY SOMERVILLE, ROBODEBT VICTIM: Hi. So, when we took on this challenge with Gordon Legal to take on the Government, the only outcome I wanted was for Robodebt to never happen again to our future generations. And with this outcome today, learning this news, I feel so confident that nothing like Robodebt is going to happen to the Australian people again.
I am so proud to be a part of this journey and this outcome, and I am so thankful to Bill Shorten, to Gordon Legal and to everyone who stood up and said This is not right, this is not fair, this is not legal. Thank you to Catherine from the Royal Commission for making it very clear that this is not what Australia was going to stand for and I just feel so much pride to be an Australian right now and to be a part of this.
SHORTEN: Thanks Felicity. Stephanie?
STEPHANIE TONKIN, CONSUMER ACTION LEGAL CENTRE CEO: Well, you can see we’re actually welcoming this announcement, it’s fantastic. Consumer protections and the Australian consumer law should be applying to debt collection activity by government and in particular in relation to people experiencing vulnerability. So, it's a really welcome news.
SHORTEN: Thanks. That was Stephanie Tonkin, the CEO of Consumer Action Legal Centre. We're happy to take any questions that people have.
JOURNALIST: Minister, will these changes put the Robodebt debacle behind us once and for all?
SHORTEN: Well, I think we need to wait until the Royal Commission's findings, which are due on June the 30th. The evidence which wouldn't have been heard, the shocking evidence which wouldn't have been heard, but for the Royal Commission, I think reveals are a cataclysmic failure of leadership at the highest levels of Government. What Robodebt was, was it was the unlawful debt raising of billions of dollars of debts against hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Australians, and there was no basis in law for what occurred. For four and a half years, this illegal scheme has been causing great misery, including, we heard from Felicity, the second of our three speakers, who was one of the lead plaintiffs in the historic class action which really broke open the scandal of Robodebt. But getting rid of external debt collectors is one step, but I don't think it's the only step that we need to take in terms of lessons from Robodebt. But if we know where we're going and we know this is what we want to do, I'm just pleased that we're getting on and doing it.
JOURNALIST: Yep. Minister, just on aged care, quickly, I know it's not specifically your portfolio. We've seen Wesley Mission announced their three aged care homes in Sydney are going to close. Obviously, families are furious and disappointed. What can the federal government do and what should be looked at here in this situation?
SHORTEN: Well, as I understand, the Department of Health was only told yesterday that Wesley was planning these closures. For residents and for families, this sudden announcement would be incredibly distressing. The Federal Labor Government is applying the lessons of the Aged Care Royal Commission. We certainly want to make sure there's round the clock nursing care and aged care facilities. 80% of aged care facilities have moved to around the clock care. Another 9% are nearly there. 5% of facilities for special reasons have exemptions. So, the Department of Health and Aged Care is going to work with Wesley Mission. But I do think it's important that service providers at every point keep families and residents informed, given as much notice as possible. It's the only dignified, respectful way to go.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Shorten, just on the subject of the Voice, do you expect more Liberal MPs to break ranks and campaign for the Yes vote?
SHORTEN: This issue shouldn't be party political, and it's a shame that Mr. Dutton has contaminated the issue to the point with his politics of negativity. What I would like to see is conservative politicians who support the Voice, and there are plenty, feel empowered to speak up. Mr. Leeser, taking a step to the backbench has been actually pretty courageous. He's put his actions where his principles are. He's taken a significant pay cut. So, I think there are other Liberal politicians who want to see recognition in the Constitution and are deeply disquieted. I note the Tasmanian Premier, who's a Liberal, the senior most elected Liberal in Australia, forming a government, will campaign for the Voice. Ken Wyatt, who was Australia's first House of Reps Indigenous Affairs Minister with an Indigenous affairs background, has had to resign from the Liberal Party. Australia works best when the two mainstream parties are working together, and I would just encourage Liberal MPs to put their views of conscience first and join in a very positive campaign to put our nation's first people in the Constitution, the nation's birth certificate.