Senator DAVEY (New South Wales—The Nationals Whip in the Senate) (16:39): This robodebt system, let us not forget, is a child of Labor. In June 2011, a joint press release from Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten said: Beginning on July 1 this year, Centrelink and the ATO will automatically match data on a daily basis as a way of cross-checking former welfare recipients who have a debt with the Commonwealth. This is Labor's robodebt scheme. But let me also remind the chamber that once upon a time Labor and the coalition were on a unity ticket, because where there is debt to the Commonwealth that is debt to taxpayers, and we were on a unity ticket in acknowledging the responsibility of people to repay their debts. The government make absolutely no apology for recovering overpayments in our welfare system. It is the government's legal obligation to pursue the recovery of debt, and we are not ashamed of that. We will continue to ensure that fairness is core to that, and we will also ensure that we get the money that is owed to Australian taxpayers. For over 30 years both sides of this chamber have shared that unity ticket. The coalition acknowledge that we must look at methods that will give Services Australia the best chance of recovering money that rightfully belongs to the Australian public. Yes, that also includes refining the income compliance program, as was announced by the Minister for Government Services last week. I want to address a lot of the misinformation that we've been hearing. Firstly, the announcement of the Minister for Government Services is not a backtrack. The income compliance program has undergone numerous iterations and refinements since its inception by the Labor government in 2011. We continue to respond to community feedback as we strengthen and improve our debt recovery method to ensure it is robust, and on this occasion we are requiring additional information to identify potential overpayments. No longer will averaging income information from the ATO be sufficient to raise a debt notice, as it once was. The department, once a discrepancy is raised, will review the available information and, should a debt be confirmed, then raise the issue with the recipient. This new approach has already started, as all current debts that have been raised to date using income averaging are being reassessed. Services Australia will contact affected customers after a process that may vary in time depending on the complexity of the individual case. May I also remind people that our departmental staff are trained to help people experiencing hardship and complex challenges. They are trained to support people and deal sensitively with vulnerable people. With regard to reviewing debt notices, the department cannot commence a review without the customer taking some action. The government encourages people who receive a debt notice to engage with the department promptly should they need a review. Once a review is initiated, our trained staff work with customers throughout the process to obtain necessary information and fulfil their obligations. As I have alluded to, this whole process started in 2010 when the current member for McMahon said: It is important that the Government explores different means of debt recovery to ensure that those who have received more money than they are entitled to repay their debt. To their credit, Labor did explore new measures, and that is how we got the robodebt system that Senator Gallagher wants us to discuss here today. The robodebt system was incorporated, as I said, on 29 June 2011. They said: Beginning on July 1 this year, Centrelink and the ATO will automatically match data on a daily basis as a way of cross-checking former welfare recipients who have a debt with the Commonwealth. That is robodebt. I remind you that, when he created robodebt in 2011, the member for Maribyrnong said: The automation of this process will free up resources and result in more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt on behalf of taxpayers. The Labor government of the time saw the need back then to protect the integrity of the welfare system. The member for Sydney and then Minister for Human Services made this abundantly clear, stating, 'The government has a responsibility to taxpayers to recover that money'— Senator McAllister: I think you read that bit already. Senator DAVEY: Now you've made me lose my place. Labor have also said in the past that they want to make sure that people who are receiving welfare to which they're not entitled do not get a leave pass. It seems now Labor have turned their back on income compliance and are advising people to sit on their hands. It is a real shame to see Labor lose the determination to ensure that we recover this money that belongs to the Australian public. Let me make it clear: this government wants social welfare recipients to get what they are entitled to, and we don't want to revoke welfare, but, where they are paid more than they are entitled to, it is only fair that we recover that money. The lie we hear opposite is that we want to stigmatise people, but that is so far from the truth. What we want and expect is that welfare recipients receive only the correct amount they are entitled to—no more and definitely no less. I know how important these entitlements are in regional Australia. For example, the farm household allowance is critical to the coalition government's support for those affected by drought, and for such a program to work the community must have trust in its administration. To ensure that we can continue to support those communities and the people in need, we need to make sure that we can recover overpayments so that we continue to have the funds available to run these programs. It's not just ensuring the success of our welfare system that we need to worry about. This is also talking about the success of all government expenditure that we concern ourselves with. Over $180 billion, or about a third of total annual government expenditure, is spent on our social safety net. Currently, we have social welfare debts totalling $5.3 billion. The more we recover, the more we can spend on the government's program to support our communities through drought, to support our recovery efforts after bushfire and to support our infrastructure programs going forward, and the more we can spend on rural health and mental health services in my regions. That is why it is imperative that the government ensure that money that belongs to the public is returned to the public and used for the public benefit. That is why we are not ashamed of recovering debt.