Hi Paul,

Great to see you are still here!

I would like to see elaborated the number of people who are said to have committed suicide over money. Only the very sick or insane take their lives. Suicide is not an idea that comes readily to most people. When it is easily possible to show that you are not a crook, it is totally unbelievable that normal people would kill themselves over a mere 'please explain' request. Even the ABC said that some people "died" following Robodebt. Nothing about suicide.

And, $750,000 was recovered from almost 400,000 people who were apparently rorting the system or might have made a mistake in their reporting to Centrelink. Well worth the effort, as well as giving the politically and ideological inspired something to whinge about, and a few drama queens the opportunity to play the victim card.

Indeed, ttbn ... I'm sure you'd be thrilled to bits to be extorted by the government.

Perhaps they'll do it again when the next win government. Although, I suspect the new echelon of Conservative pollies would balk at such a low act.

I was thinking it was unbelievable arrogance from SR to assume he knows more about my political leanings than I do, but then realised it was entirely believable (given its SR) ignorance rather than arrogance.

SR, it seems, has fallen for the line that the current Liberal/National parties are parties of small government. Now its true that they make this claim and its true that their opponents make this claim of them, so its hardly surprising that those who prefer the easy path of believing the rhetoric against checking the data have fallen for it. SR falls for most things like this.

But checking the data shows that the current major conservative parties are no more the party of small government than their opponents. Consequently anyone who believes in small government doesn't find a home in the Liberals.

This will go over SR's head because for many this is a binary issue. For some, they see two parties and you have to pick one and then defend it to the end - ALP uber alles. It is beyond their level of understanding to reject both major parties while hoping that circumstances will see a revival of a truly small government supporting right-wing party.

As to the public service, I am no more scathing of them than is due. But the problems aren't with the public servants themselves but with the system they are required to navigate. Located in Canberra, far removed from the public they are supposed to service, their feedback mechanisms dissolve.

SR finds it unlikely that the public service would implement this scheme except only under the enforced control of people he hates. I find it unlikely that the politicians would have sanctioned the scheme had they been told it would result in thousands receiving demand letters for debts Centrelink couldn't substantiate.

It was a failure all around. But failure all around is the default position for big government.

Paul admonished me with "mhaze, This royal commission is not charged with determining the legality". Given that I'd said nothing about the legality of the scheme it seems a strange assertion. But I guess, if you've got nothing useful to say, saying something fatuous is inevitable.

Paul also whines "I'm sure at the end of the night your vote is smack bang in the middle of the Tory pile, along with all the other One Nation votes in your electorate".

1. I've never voted for Pauline. Her economics are far to socialist - more to Paul's liking I'd opine.
2. Not all One Nation votes go back to the Libs. Paul understands preferential voting the same way my budgie understands General Relativity.

I've written previously here that its important that disaffected Liberal supporters don't allow their preference to eventually go back to the Libs. Paul won't understand that.

I'm surprised you suggest SR thinks mhaze. I thought you realised that he consults the Labor Hymn book, then quotes it word & verse in every post.

I'm also surprised you believe we can avoid our votes for the house going through to one of the majors, we can't. It is good that we can keep any of the majors & greens out of our senate vote, but with the house one of them will get it no matter what we do, unless we go with Diver.