A letter asking for a payment of $1.8 billion to cover the compensation costs of Robodebt victims has accidentally been sent to former PM Scott Morrison. Despite the ‘administration’ error, he will still need to pay the bill.
In a statement today, a spokesperson from the Government refused to apologise to Morrison, saying the debt notices were automatically generated based on a complex mathematical algorithm that was out of their hands. “This has got nothing to do with us. The machine works out where to send these letters, and once they’re sent we can’t retract them. Payment will be required within 60 days, or further fines will apply”.
To avoid the payment, the onus will be on Morrison to prove that he is not responsible for the bill, which experts say will not be possible.
