Former top bureaucrat Renee Leon says she was forced to step in and stop the illegal Robodebt scheme because ministers refused.
abc.net.au/news/robodebt-scheme-royal-commission-stuart-robert-legal-advice/102014796Ex-human services minister Stuart Robert vowed to "double down" on the Robodebt policy after being told it was illegal, a former senior bureaucrat says.
"In 30 years as a public servant, I had never discovered that I had been administering a program of scale that was unlawful," Professor Leon said. In a second conversation with Mr Robert, Professor Leon recalled saying: "The best course is to apologise to our customers, to admit the error, and to inform customers and staff of the steps we will take to correct the error."When asked counsel assisting Justin Greggery KC what the happened to Robodebt, Professor Leon said: "I ended up having to stop the program in advance of a decision from the government to do so.
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