The principal victim in an illegal Centrelink scheme has finally had a chance to be head, after years of suffering in silence.
55 year-old Sydney man Scott Morrison was filled with emotion as he told a sitting of Federal Parliament that he had been unfairly targeted by the Government, leading to stress and anxiety.
“I have been held responsible for something which, apart from being in charge of the relevant ministry at the time, I had nothing to do with. I was given no opportunity to see the evidence put against me, or afforded the assumption of innocence, apart from during a 46-day Royal Commission. And, other than being the head of the Government, I was utterly powerless – I had no way of getting my voice heard. It has been an incredibly stressful time,” he said.
Mr Morrison said throughout the Robodebt scandal he had felt alone and powerless, with only the world’s largest media organisation to speak on his behalf. “There were times when it was too overwhelming. Those days when you realise it’s just you, forty News Corp columnists, the Department of Human Services and the Federal Government, up against the might of Australia’s unemployed. I hope I never have to go through something like that again”.
