Will Anthony Albanese’s government be up for reform to address issues found in Robodebt royal commission

The Albanese Government’s royal commission into its predecessor’s robodebt scheme, has now completed its public hearings and is preparing its report due in June.  

It was appointed to discover who was responsible for the robodebt scheme, the advice that developed it, its implementation, costs and harm to those targeted.

There is much already to learn from the commission’s open public hearings – one of the virtues of such inquiries.

Whatever the political motivations were in appointing this royal commission it was suggested that it would inevitably identify senior public servants, the quality of advice they offered and possibly bring the public service into disrepute.

Indeed, it has, and more.

It has highlighted serious flaws in how a major national policy was developed, processed through cabinet and then implemented despite issues concerning its legality, efficacy, and effectiveness having not been properly addressed.  

We heard from witnesses how competitive life is between departments and between departmental secretaries with some seemingly undermining others.

The hearings showed the consequences of the loss of permanent tenure for departmental secretaries and senior managers now mostly on contract.

Also, on display were some of the worse aspects of bureaucratic buck-passing, while failing to report their concerns having moved to a different part of the public service and thus it was “not their responsibility” – more colloquially known as NMP – not my problem.

Indeed, the royal commission uncovered a culture where staff were discouraged from informing senior management and even ministers in face-to-face meetings of the scheme’s problems.

Such obeisance to the hierarchy and those in authority has its place, but it meant that those who knew could not communicate freely to those who didn’t.  

Missing in action were the central agencies like that great interfering, know-it-all, Prime Minister’s Department supposedly in charge of ‘whole of government’ co-ordination or the Finance Department, the guardian of the public purse.