What #robodebt tells us about collusion between politicians and the media

How they work together to deceive us

You may ask yourself, "What is that beautiful house?"
You may ask yourself, "Where does that highway go to?"
And you may ask yourself, "Am I right, am I wrong?"
And you may say to yourself, "My God, what have I done?"

—Talking Heads, Once In A Lifetime

The tragedy and crime that was #Robodebt could not have happened without the collusion of the mainstream media, and it would not have been stopped without the existence of unpaid activists using social media.

Let that sink in for a moment.

The final report of the Royal Commission into the betrayal of what we now call #Robodebt deserves a lot of attention, and I will commission other pieces (if possible) to help cover it over the coming weeks.

But first I want to take a breath and recognise what a horror story this is.

The Report reveals a shocking indictment of our system of government and of how power works in our society. If taken seriously, we will see not only senior people prosecuted, but a complete overhaul of the way in which the public …