Thread by @iMusing

ABC TV news channel has crossed love to Turnbull at the #RobodebtRC

Turnbull starts by talking about himself as prime minister and having a dig at “others” who sought to run the government out of the PMO.

we hear that Arthur Sinodinos and Drew Clarke - cabinet Secretary and COS - are very distinguished and experienced. No connection from this to why the unlawful program being investigated was allowed to continue so long on their watch.

Turnbull changed HIS ministerial standards after events surrounding Barnaby Joyce, he says. We are getting to cabinet “solidarity” and the Robert admissions of misleading journalists and thereby the public.

CANT RECALL. DRINK.

he can not recall the question of illegality being raised and the “normal course of action” would be to get advice from the AGs or Solicitor General. Turnbull says “the fact is you’ve gotta comply with the law”, which are not in fact the facts of this case at all.

like so many of these very senior extremely highly paid people, it would seem the first evidence of Turnbull knowingly knowing about the unfolding disaster #Robodebt was a media article. This was the Martin piece on averaging.

he does not have much independent recollection, Turnbull says. He “did not want to disturb his slumbers if he was slumbering somewhere” by asking Tudge about unlawful averaging and the reversal of onus. Such consideration.

DONT RECAL II. Turnbull hitting his faulty memory strides here. DONT RECALL III and DONT RECALL IV AND V follow swiftly.

his diary is not a post facto record of everything he did okay Mal.

early January 2017, for context. On the 18 Jan Turnbull whatsapped Tudge saying he has a couple of questions mate.

the Turnbull-Tudge messages were about statements Turnbull gave to the media on 17 Jan that he “hopes” he answered “correctly” [about a program running under Tudge as a minister in his cabinet etc etc]

the brief Turnbull had were speaking notes given to his office by relevant ministers, Turnbull says. “I didn’t read”…”, he says, and switches course to “context” which was [one of several] ministerial reshuffles.

letters by registered post so centrelink knew whether recipients had received the letters. Did you have confidence in Tudge? asks Holmes. He regarded Tudge as a technocrat, says Turnbull, and cites his own efforts to “get Tudge to do his job”.

surely the /26 averaging became apparent to you? DONT RECALL VI and recollection is limited (I’m counting it. 7). Tudge was the responsible minister and Turnbull accepted his claims. The texts are part of a wider communications ecosystem, he explains laboriously.

it MUST have become apparent to you that averaging was happening despite Tudge saying it was not. Was that unsettling? Turnbull does NOT RECALL being unsettled (8) and does not have an independent recollection of same (9).

sorry that was Comm Holmes again pressing Turnbull to concede he knew the averaging denials were false. Greggery then resumes but to no avail - two more variations on his absence of “independent recollection” (10 and 11) [and was that a faint Commishian snort?] follow.

Turnbull does not recall the letter from Tudge and/or Porter that he “would have read” at the time and he does not recall it (12 and 13). He does however certainly remember recommending the ministers talk to the data oversight body DTA which he himself established de novo (sic)

he has nothing against PWC, Turnbull chortles, and he sought to address the problem of outsourcing to consultants which is why he set up the inquiry into deskilling at the APS. No word on why none of this assisted with stopping an unlawful program.

no, no Turnbull does not [recall] the financial targets material (14 & 15? I am losing count) from PWC and whether it was “shovelled into” the PMO. Not everything is, you see. The ponderous explanatory tone is textbook Turnbull.

Commissioner Holmes has Qs about these brilliant digital transformation in ovations that Turnbull was heroically establishing at the exact time his government was using digital tech to harass and impoverish the lowest income people and households.

oh wait sorry he established the DTO and DTA ~de novo~ as Comms minister under Abbott and gave it more power when he became Prime Minister. It needed leadership with good interpersonal skills to get involved in departmental matters.

As Turnbull embarks on a blame shifting effort about DTO or DTA or leadership or cultural matters or whatever, Commissioner Holmes shuts him down “I probably don’t need that level of detail Mr Turnbull” lol

Turnbull “DID NOT TURN HIS MIND TO THE LEGALITY” of #Robodebt and “cabinet was told it was lawful” DRINK DRINK DRINKETTY DRINK MY MATES.

he did not turn his mind to legality, to lawfulness, Turnbull repeats. His concern was accuracy and fairness, the EXACT phrase he used to browbeat SBS over an employee tweet and the ABC over its own investigation into the past chair, board and boss.

lmao Turnbull explaining to Greggery that the unlawful method would have required legislative authority. He knows, Malcolm.

defensive crossed arms, then literal finger pointing. Turnbull is telling us how new policy proposal NPP process is supposed to work. It is “pretty clear what it says” Turnbull claims, without explaining why the process did not halt for want of lawfulness in this case.

apparently the #Robodebt NPP was all signed off as constitutional and goes to finance. This is for expenditures, tho. Comm Holmes asks if this process applies where the proposal is “assumed” to be about “recovering” money.

Turnbull asserts there are #Robodebt materials redacted and Commissioner Holmes says she can assure him that #Robodebt materials have not been redacted. Greggery corrects the record for a couple of exhibits. We wrap with two more don’t recalls from Turnbull and he is excused.

magnificent Mal clocked 18 variations of not recalling and at least 4 instances of not turning his mind in 50 minutes for a minimum of 22 ignorance-feigning denials or 1 every 2.3 minutes.

these obfuscating appearances are what political journalists would have us believe are “consequences” for wealthy white tories like Robert, Turnbull, Morrison, Payne, Porter, Tudge and their senior staff.

#WorldToday covering the Turnbull appearance at #RobodebtRC - tick.
ABC journos repeating Turnbull’s own exoneration narrative verbatim - tick.