MARK DREYFUS MP

The Morrison Government's Robodebt scheme is a cruel and cowardly extortion racket that intimidated innocent and vulnerable Australians into paying debts they did not owe.

I rise to pay tribute to a great Labor member and a great Australian Mike Kelly, the former member for Eden Monaro.

Litigation funding and class actions provide a vital path to justice for ordinary Australians trying to uphold their rights against wealthy defendants with vastly greater resources.

Since the beginning of this public health crisis, Labor's focus has been on saving lives and saving jobs.

The preceding speakers - I thank them all for the contributions they've made to this debate - have thoroughly set out the background facts of this matter.

That the sports rorts scandal reveals government corruption is beyond question.

But the response to this scandal by the Prime Minister reveals far more.

The assault on truth and accountability in Australian federal politics may sound a little dramatic, but as events over recent months, and the Government's response to criticisms have demonstrated, these attacks are becoming ever more common and pronounced.

The Morrison government needs to urgently respond to the significant concerns about the legislation that it has passed. These are significant concerns which have been expressed by Labor. They are concerns which have been expressed by the chair of the US house judiciary committee, Congressman Jerrold Nadler. They are concerns that have been expressed by industry, by digital rights groups, and by lawyers and technology experts.

The more we learn about this venomous scheme, the more we learn about how it is hurting people in my electorate and across our nation.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is declining to recommend the passage of the Identity-matching Services Bill 2019.

Instead, Labor and Liberal members of the committee are uniting to recommend that the Identity-matching Services Bill 2019 be completely redrafted and referred back to the intelligence and security committee for further inquiry when it is reintroduced.