Division Description Changes — Motions — Pensions and Benefits — 8th Dec 2020

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senate vote 2020-12-08#11

Edited by mackay staff

on 2020-12-24 16:15:20

Title

  • Motions — Pensions and Benefits
  • Motions - Pensions and Benefits - Robodebt

Description

  • <p class="speaker">Helen Polley</p>
  • <p>I, and also on behalf of Senators McCarthy, Urquhart, Bilyk and O'Neill, move:</p>
  • <p class="italic">That the Senate&#8212;</p>
  • The majority voted against a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2020-12-08.142.2) introduced by Tasmanian Senator [Helen Polley](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/tasmania/helen_polley) (Labor), which means it failed.
  • ### Motion text
  • > *That the Senate—*
  • >
  • > *(a) notes that:*
  • >
  • >> *(i) robodebt was an unlawful scheme, which resulted in $721 million being stolen from 373,000 individuals and that the Federal Government has agreed to a settlement which will cost taxpayers up to $1.2 billion in total making it the biggest class action in Australian legal history,*
  • >>
  • >> *(ii) this cost does not account for the psychological impacts that this scheme has had on thousands of Australians who were already vulnerable,*
  • >>
  • >> *(iii) this scheme employed income averaging and reversed the onus of proof requiring people to disprove grossly overestimated debts relating to income periods older than seven years, and*
  • >>
  • >> *(iv) despite being warned of its illegality from its inception, it took more than three years for the Government to stop this unlawful scheme and that was only as a result of a High Court decision;*
  • >
  • > *(b) calls on the Government to acknowledge the failings of the robodebt scheme and the pain and anguish it unleashed on the Australian people; and*
  • >
  • > *(c) urges the Government to call a Royal Commission so those responsible can be held accountable for their actions, and stop the mistakes of robodebt from being repeated.*
  • <p class="italic">(a) notes that:</p>
  • <p class="italic">(i) robodebt was an unlawful scheme, which resulted in $721 million being stolen from 373,000 individuals and that the Federal Government has agreed to a settlement which will cost taxpayers up to $1.2 billion in total making it the biggest class action in Australian legal history,</p>
  • <p class="italic">(ii) this cost does not account for the psychological impacts that this scheme has had on thousands of Australians who were already vulnerable,</p>
  • <p class="italic">(iii) this scheme employed income averaging and reversed the onus of proof requiring people to disprove grossly overestimated debts relating to income periods older than seven years, and</p>
  • <p class="italic">(iv) despite being warned of its illegality from its inception, it took more than three years for the Government to stop this unlawful scheme and that was only as a result of a High Court decision;</p>
  • <p class="italic">(b) calls on the Government to acknowledge the failings of the robodebt scheme and the pain and anguish it unleashed on the Australian people; and</p>
  • <p class="italic">(c) urges the Government to call a Royal Commission so those responsible can be held accountable for their actions, and stop the mistakes of robodebt from being repeated.</p>
  • <p class="speaker">Scott Ryan</p>
  • <p>The question is that motion No. 928 be agreed to.</p>