Zaneta Mascarenhas
House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra
Statements by Members
What does the number 2,500 mean? It's the approximate number of robodebt victims from Swan—2,500 vulnerable people who suffered because of robodebt and because of a system overseen by the Member for Cook.
They are the real victims, not the member for Cook, who tried to portray himself yesterday as the victim of all of this. Guess what? It's not all about him. The Member for Cook is not the victim here.
The Member for Cook says it's not his fault. Let me tell the Member for Cook that he is the one that failed as minister. The Member for Cook is the one that ignored the concerns. The Member for Cook is the one that allowed robodebt to go ahead. It is the Member for Cook's fault—the royal commission said so.
Yet the Member for Cook will not take responsibility. Even his own party are telling him to own up to it. I tell
the Member for Cook to take responsibility for his actions. That's what leadership looks like, but that's a lesson that still has not been learnt.
Robodebt was wrong, and the 2,500 people in Swan know it. It was cruel, it was a tragedy, it should never have happened and it must not happen again.
