Morrison was the social services minister who brought the proposal for the debt recovery scheme to cabinet ahead of its implementation in 2015.
The commission found Morrison, as a minister, received contradictory advice regarding the method of debt assessment.The report found he “took the proposal to cabinet, knowing that it involved income averaging and that his own department had indicated that it would require legislative change, but on the basis of the contrary indication in the NPP checklist, proceeded without enquiring as to how the change had come about”.
He went on to defend the actions of the former government in relation to the robodebt scheme, despite it being created and continued over four-and-a-half years during the Coalition’s tenure.
“When the problems were brought to the attention of the government at the time, the program was stopped,” he said.
“I’m sorry to those people adversely affected, I truly am.”
National’s Leader David Littleproud told Today that Morrison has not stepped down “because he has a contract with the people of Cook”.
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“He won the election fair and square,” Littleproud said.
“Democracy a sacred institution and the people of Cook have made their decision.”
Littleproud further said that the report had not indicated the implicated ministers should resign.
The royal commission final report into the robot scandal was handed down on Friday, lashing the scheme as a “crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal” perpetuated through “venality, incompetence and cowardice”.
The program, which ran from 2016 to 2019, raised more than half a million inaccurate Centrelink debts through a method of ‘income averaging’, which has since been ruled unlawful.
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