Zaneta Mascarenhas MP

Member for Swan

MEDIA RELEASE

WA’S VICTIMS OF ROBODEBT

3 AUGUST 2023

• 40,793 of the victims of Robodebt are from WA.
• The largest catchment is the City of Stirling with 3456
• Victims stretched across the entire state from Albany, to Leonora, to Broome
• ‘Golden Triangle” in Perth’s Western Suburbs have a combined 300 victims of Robodebt

The Federal Member for Swan Zaneta Mascarenhas has called out the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison for portraying himself as a victim of the Robodebt scandal, and said the illegal scheme impacted 40,800 people in Western Australia. The number includes approximately 2,500 from the electorate of Swan.

Speaking in the House of Representatives today, Ms Mascarenhas said the real victims of the unlawful program overseen by Mr Morrison thousands of people from WA and many of them were her local constituents.

“The Member for Cook (Scott Morrison) attempted to portray himself as the victim.

“The fact is that Scott Morrison is the person that allowed Robodebt to go ahead.

“Robodebt was wrong. And almost forty-one thousand people in WA know it,” Ms Mascarenhas said.

Ms Mascarenhas was speaking today on behalf of her constituents and the people of Western Australia.

“40,800 of those victims are from Western Australia. I want their voices heard and today I am doing that by speaking up for them,” she said.

Ms Mascarenhas called on the former Prime Minister to take responsibility for the pain he inflicted on the thousands of people affected by the unlawful scheme.

“Mr Morrison needs to own his actions instead of blaming everyone else and playing the victim.

“He ignored the concerns of public servants about the legality of the scheme and went ahead to unlawfully pursue debts of nearly $1.8 billion against vulnerable Australians.

“The Royal Commission identified who the real victims were, and it was not Mr Morrison,” said Ms Mascarenhas.

Media Contact

Melissa Robinson

0403 953 162 | (02) 6277 4860 (Canberra) | [email protected]

 *For the complete figures please contact Melissa Robinson 0403 953 162

*The numbers for Swan reflect figures that show the number of people affected by Robodebt by Local Government Area (LGA). Swan encompasses wholly the LGA’s of City of South Perth, City of Belmont, Town of Victoria Park and parts of the City of Canning and the City of Kalamunda.