Life on the West Island - Worst ever?

Recent inquiries and reports are beginning to make clear that the recently-departed Coalition government performed very badly – in fact, it is well in contention for being labelled our worst-ever government. And with further developments in the pipeline, it is likely that there is even worse to come. So what do we know so far?

Let’s start with the Robodebt Royal Commission, which has already heard much disturbing evidence. A string of expert witnesses, including lawyers and senior public servants, testified that the (then) government was strongly advised from 2014 onwards that the design of a scheme to use algorithms to split taxation data into fortnightly blocks, then create alleged welfare debts, was unlawful and dangerous. Added to that was that the provision that the burden of proof would fall on recipients to establish that these fraudulent debts were not valid. Despite an overwhelming volume of evidence, the then minister (Scott Morrison) went ahead with the scheme, proudly proclaiming that it would save taxpayers billions of dollars. It took more than five years involving the ruining of many lives, public outcry and a massive class action in the courts before the government reluctantly abandoned the scheme and almost $2 billion was paid in compensation to the claimants. By then, many had been forced into bankruptcy and others had tragically committed suicide.

Economics writer Michael Pascoe reported that after just a few days of hearings, the Royal Commission has already uncovered an extraordinary degree of malfeasance and multiple failures of basic principles and ethics. And it’s early days. Yet to come will be examination of the personal tragedies, the distress of vulnerable people hounded by the illegal, bloody-minded machine that was the Australian government. People hounded to death. Most of the relevant former ministers still sit in Parliament, roll-called by Bill Shorten in question time. They are still on the public purse, still pretending they were not responsible. The thickness of their hide is astounding.

Then came the release under Freedom of Information of the Gaetjens Report into the sports rorts affair. Pascoe noted that Mr Gaetjens – Scott Morrison’s appointment – went much easier than the Auditor-General on the Prime Minister’s office and the then sports minister, Bridget McKenzie, finding she could pretty much do whatever she (or the PMO) wanted with the grants. (Senator McKenzie is now the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate.) There is more spade work to be done on the former government’s raiding of taxpayers’ funds for political ends – perhaps scalpel work by the proposed National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) – but we should be grateful for Senator McKenzie’s sports rorting as it triggered the examination and exposure of vastly bigger grants corruption – billions of dollars’ worth.

In another move, this week, federal Treasury started consultations on a beneficial ownership register – an early step in trying to bring the West Island up to international speed in fighting tax evasion, money laundering and the investing of corrupt and criminal funds here. At present, international criminals and corrupt officials have little difficulty in buying and hiding their ownership of West Island assets.

This follows the failure to act by the previous government, as reported by the Australian Financial Review last year: The Morrison government has walked away from plans to unmask nominee directors, a move experts claim will entrench Australia as a safe haven for laundered money and the proceeds of corruption. Australia committed to introducing a so-called ‘beneficial ownership register’ in 2016 and again in 2018 with expectations the reform would be delivered as part of an overhaul of the companies registration database.

But the relevant minister at the time, Senator Jane Hume, now shadow minister for finance, declined to act. The relevant minister in the current federal government is Andrew Leigh, who joined with Treasury in announcing the creation of a beneficial ownership register as a first step towards curbing this form of tax evasion.

Also in the realm of foreign affairs, Pascoe claims that the former PM presided over “diplomatic disasters” in dealing with China. He says that Mr Morrison achieved a worse relationship with Australia’s major trading partner than any other country had with China.

On another front, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is investigating the probable undermining of the Cabinet process by Scott Morrison and his alleged National Security Committee leaks. It is reported that the former PM leaked highly sensitive information to two authors preparing a book about his government. Morrison has already suffered embarrassment after revealing to the same writers that he had secretly appointed himself to five portfolios, without telling the relevant ministers or his cabinet colleagues.

This comes on top of almost a decade of inaction of climate change and an almost total lack of energy policies, plus revelations that under the coalition the immigration visa system was widely rorted to allow exploitation of trafficked sex workers and of undocumented underpaid manual workers. As well it has been revealed that in the lead-up to the last election, the Morrison government suppressed official figures showing that inflation was rising rapidly.

Michael Pascoe summarised the horrors still to come in dealing with the disasters left by arguably the West Island’s worst ever government: There is the wreckage of a failed energy policy and the scandal of our broken visa system, enabling human trafficking and worker exploitation. The energy mess was built up on Angus Taylor’s watch. He is now shadow treasurer. The visa problem festered on Peter Dutton’s watch as the relevant minister. He is now Opposition Leader. More inquiries, more investigations to come. And the NACC is yet to get started…