<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/13/i-am-a-robodebt-whistleblower-i-know-what-its-like-to-be-punished-for-speaking-out-and-why-protection-is-urgent>
"I blew the whistle on robodebt. I experienced firsthand the absence of support
for whistleblowers. That is why I am firm in my belief that we need
whistleblower reform, now, including the establishment of a Whistleblower
Protection Authority.
For most of my career, I have worked for Services Australia. I was on the
frontline of the implementation of what became known as robodebt. As I
explained in my testimony to the robodebt royal commission, involvement in
robodebt was a deeply traumatic experience.
I tried, from the very beginning, when I was part of an initial robodebt pilot,
to blow the whistle on the scheme. I immediately saw robodebt for what the
royal commission eventually concluded it to be: unlawful and deeply unethical.
I thought it should be stopped, to never proceed beyond the pilot.
But when I, and others, raised concerns, we were met with a clear, stark
message: resign, transfer or comply. The message was as blunt as that: shut up
or leave.
Our concerns were ignored. Instead, we received threatening communications.
Performance targets, threats of underperformance notices and code of conduct
breaches were used to suppress dissent. Daily emails reminded us that if we
spoke to anyone outside our team about our work, we could face termination.
There was no safe, independent mechanism for staff to report concerns without
fear of reprisal. If such a body had existed, I believe many more staff would
have spoken out, and robodebt may have been stopped before it began. Think
about what that might have prevented – the trauma avoided, the beautiful lives
not lost as a result, the billions in taxpayer dollars not wasted.
If whistleblowers were protected and empowered, not punished, maybe we could
have avoided robodebt altogether.
At its core, robodebt was a breakdown of integrity. A logical response in such
situations is to go outside that system and report – somewhere, some way,
somehow. While the integrity of all government systems rely on public
confidence, there are a range of reasons the integrity of those systems can be
compromised. Whistleblowing is a vital safety valve when those systems fail."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
