Robert and his shifty band of the Robodebt rogues

David Lovejoy

Hearings at the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme will end this week, and its report is due at the end of June.

Judging from her reaction to the testimony of some of the witnesses, there is little doubt that Commissioner Catherine Holmes will find much about the scheme and its authors to criticise.

However, the end of June is some time away, and there’s no reason not to make some immediate unofficial findings.

For example, there has been an epidemic of forgetfulness among many of the senior public servants questioned by the Commission. This is the Alan Bond Defence, made famous by that corporate criminal when brought to book: ‘I can’t recall’.

People who are paid salaries of a quarter of a million dollars or more for their organisational abilities find they cannot remember crucial dates and meetings. Moreover, they suffer from selective blindness as well: ‘I didn’t see that email’.

Another common response to the Commission has been the Nuremberg Defence, first employed by Nazi war criminals: ‘I was just following orders.’ Public servants using this dodgy defence could at least argue that those among them who did question Robodebt were swiftly sidelined or sacked.

Amazingly, a resort to the Nuremberg Defence was made by the minister in charge of the scheme, Stuart Robert himself, who, in a sane universe rather than the pitiless inferno created by the Coalition, would have been the one giving the orders. Instead, he claimed that he was the victim of cabinet rules, which forced him to tell lies about Robodebt against his better judgment.

Indeed, Robert was the star turn of the hearings, and an example of the Peter Principle in action: ambitious people will rise until their incompetence is no longer in doubt.

This close friend of Scott Morrison (‘Brother Stuwie’ in their cultish terminology) is more than just incompetent, he is what oldschool journos call a ‘grub’, that is, a politician who uses his position to enrich himself.

From his first conflict of interest over an unofficial trip to China that saw him sacked from Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet, to one of his own companies receiving millions of dollars in government contracts (his father unknowingly listed as a director), to his charging taxpayers

$2,000 a month for home internet, Robert has debauched every parliamentary standard. He is also a prolific liar, if not quite in the Morrison league. He lied about slush funding local government candidates in Queensland, he lied off the top of his head and invented a cyber attack when the MyGov website went down after thousands of people tried to log on during the covid epidemic, he has dodged and weaved around his blind trust and his links with strange business partners, including a money launderer, a convicted rapist and a lobbyist, to rank them in ascending order of turpitude.

Commissioner Holmes caught Robert’s lie about ministerial responsibility. His duty to cabinet, he insisted, meant he had to defend things he might not agree with. But he knew Robodebt was illegal when he enthusiastically boosted it to the media and invented spurious statistics to justify the scheme. This is not holding an opinion that differed from his colleagues and keeping quiet about it, this is lying about a factual matter.

Determining truth

Commissioner Holmes will also have to make a judgment of truthfulness between Robert and Renee Leon, a former human services secretary.

When Robodebt was discovered to be unlawful, Ms Leon advised the minister that the department should apologise to customers, admit the error and inform the public of steps to correct it. She said that Robert replied, ‘We absolutely will not be doing that. We will double down.’ Robert denies this and asserts he made strenuous efforts to clarify the legal issue.

Stuart Robert was one of the last ministers to appear at the hearings, and arguably the one who made the worst job of defending the indefensible. But the others warrant similar revulsion: Morrison himself, Malcolm Turnbull, Christian Porter and Alan Tudge – particularly Tudge, whose office appears to have been behind the leak of the personal files of Robodebt victims to the Murdoch hyenas.

It was all about saving the government money, with the bonus of punishing the poor and unemployed, who the Coalition believes could be rich and working if they so chose.

As to whether any lessons have been learned from this appalling episode: well, last week Peter Dutton swore that in office he would repeal Labor’s legislation reducing the tax breaks for people who hold superannuation funds in excess of three million dollars. No Robodebt severity for them.

Whatever the findings of the June report may be, owing to a lack of applicable law they are unlikely to include any actual sanctions of the perpetrators of this vicious scheme, which forced numerous vulnerable people to suffer a terrible wrong, and which cost some of them their very lives.

Feros

Catherine

Built On Care And Respect But That Ethos Is Long Gone

Cusack

Feros Care began as a beloved local Byron Ccharity with a simple mission to provide affordable, dignified aged care. But changes to welfare funding has seen Feros ‘professionalise’ and transform into a collection of charitable enterprises with revenues of $107 million, a flashy head office in Coolangatta, a Brisbane based Chair and a bevy of ‘key management personnel’ costing $2.17 million.

Feros keeps expanding. Their new CEO styles herself a ‘disrupter’. She says she was attracted to work for Feros because they are ‘edgy and ambitious… and like me believe the status quo is never good enough’.

Sun Tzu attack

A few months ago this unrecognisable, ‘edgy’ Feros decided to redevelop the two hectare prime real estate that had been acquired and developed by the citizens of Byron for their old folk.

Feros’ $2 million management disrupters knew this would be tricky. The 40 elderly people blissfully living there were perfectly happy with their status quo.

SIt was as if they wargamed their attack, following Sun Tzu’s proverbial advice that enemies are best ‘lured into an ambush and slain’.

And my goodness, they pulled it off brilliantly.

Secret preparations

The security around their secret preparations was at a level Vladimir Putin can only dream of. No signalling your attack by blundering in with a column of half fuelled tanks. This was precision planning by Feros, the residents never saw them coming.

It launched at 6.58pm when a Feros executive based in Coolangatta pressed send on an four sentence email giving notice of an ‘important meeting’ next day.

As Feros know, many residents like the two aged over 100 don’t even have email. Everyone was preparing for bed with no idea their whole world was already upended.

The cone of silence had held!

Not your home

The bombshell dropped at 11am the next morning by the CEO who likes to ‘disrupt for a purpose’. She announced the Board’s decision to close the facility for redevelopment; everyone has to leave; and Feros can legally evict all of you with two weeks notice. But we are going to allow time to properly relocate you.

The Coolangatta executive who had sent the meeting notice had been foreshadowed to address residents. But the pandemonium triggered saw him carefully recede back into the shadows. He must have been grateful the shock and distress made everybody forget him and his speech.

Slinking away

He wasn’t the only vanishing act. The Board who approved this secret plan have been conspicuously absent. Even those who live in Byron failed to attend and witness the horrendous impacts upon residents of their decisions.

Feros’ predatory actions have outraged residents’ families and risks the wrath of an entire community.

Byron Bay citizens are stunned by this news because Feros is supposed to be their treasured charity and this appalling behaviour has come as a total surprise.

This is a region traumatised and fed up with disasters, mistreatment and the housing crisis. We are fed up with swaggering Goliaths crushing the peace and wellbeing of our neighbours. I hope and believe we have got the residents backs. This surprise attack on elderly resident’s is not something we can or should tolerate.