RE: https://eigenmagic.net/@daedalus/117062328706156320
"Centrelink is pursuing $4.93bn in unpaid debts, with the oldest dating back more than 40 years, despite the government agreeing to implement a six-year statute of limitations on debt recovery."
I feel certain that some of those so-called debts were calculated incorrectly, just as in the unconscionably tragic Robodebt scandal.
If the government really needs to claw back excess payments, they should go after those who can well afford to pay. Have all of the companies that claimed excessive JobKeeper subsidies during Covid repaid all of that money? At least $4.6 billion went to businesses whose profits actually went up during the crucial lockdown months. I think Harvey Norman repaid $6m of the $22m it received (while posting record profits). What about the rest?
But that all happened a long time ago. Six years! Perhaps it would be better to forgive such old debts. Let's start by not attacking the most vulnerable.
