Refunding of $721m worth of robodebts to begin in July as national cabinet agrees to meet fortnightly during Covid-19 crisis and then monthly. Follow updates live
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8.15am BST
For more on the $721 million in robodebt repayments, my colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes, who has written extensively on the subject, has filed this report:
Related: Robodebt: government to repay 470,000 unlawful Centrelink debts worth $721m
7.34am BST
Opposition government services spokesman Bill Shorten has slammed Stuart Robert not just over the robodebt scheme, but also his decision to announce the $721m error at a Friday afternoon press conference on the Gold Coast.
He is also calling on Robert to apologise to “the Australians they ripped off”.
The Morrison government has for months been denying its pet scheme is illegal but today that house of make believe has been torn down.
When he put the emergency brakes on the scheme he said it was only “a refinement” affecting a “small cohort”.
