Hat’s off to Mark Dreyfus for booting the Coalition’s crony-filled AAT

Mark Woodacre writes: I retired as a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in 2017 after spending greater than 10 years deciding appeals in opposition to social safety and little one assist selections in response to the legislation and the deserves of every case (“Labor goals to have new AAT up and working by October”). In these days advantage was additionally the idea of choice for membership of the tribunal. 

Earlier than my retirement, I seen that new appointments appeared to be primarily based extra on political affiliation than advantage. I additionally put aside a collection of robodebt selections, since they had been clearly not primarily based on the legislation, and the truth that the federal government ignored the tribunal’s suggestions that the money owed had been unlawful additional strengthened my view that the federal government had deserted requirements of integrity in favour of cronyism and theft from essentially the most deprived locally. 

Mark Dreyfus is correct to abolish the AAT and begin once more, with the emphasis as soon as once more on advantage in collection of members and within the attraction selections.

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John Adams writes: The stacking of the AAT is appalling cronyism by the previous authorities which is being addressed, however not for revenge as advised by the bleating of Julian Leeser. Listening to him helps to know how corrupt that Coalition authorities was and marvel at its makes an attempt to keep up the excessive floor on this debate. Contemptible.

Chris Lewis writes: Hats off to Mark Dreyfus for stepping up and restructuring the AAT, a vital physique that had been shamelessly stripped of its independence and worth by the earlier authorities. This tragedy for democracy needed to be reversed.

Don Matthews writes: So now we have the Liberals stacking to advance Liberal management of decision-making. However Labor however stacks to advance Labor beliefs and take management of decision-making. That is unjust. Solely Liberals have pure hearts and are thus the one ones who ought to rule. Labor will destroy authorities whether it is allowed to stack. 

Roy Ramage writes: No, this isn’t Labor taking revenge. The appointment of “mates” by the Liberals as they cruised via their time in workplace was merely not acceptable. With one or two notable exceptions the unqualified grifters merely weakened the organisation.

Any enterprise or physique that doesn’t select its employees through the now well-established strategy of interview and a background appropriate for the job isn’t going to be in enterprise very lengthy. Likewise a authorities physique. Labor is appropriate to restructure the AAT in a similar way because it has executed correcting issues akin to robodebt and the opposite travesties knocked up by the Liberals.

Erik Kulakauskas writes: Scrapping the AAT is a welcome transfer and present members don’t have anything to complain about as they’ll reapply and if they’re ok they are going to be reappointed. I do object to compensation (seemingly $10 million) being paid to these not reappointed. To my thoughts compensation implies they had been worthy members. The federal government ought to move retrospective laws (John Howard did) to disclaim any compensation.

Whereas they’re at it, the federal government — which has been woeful in cleansing out the highest echelons of the politicised public service — ought to rid us of extremely paid and ineffective garbage, notably those that merely didn’t do their jobs. The robodebt scheme is a basic instance. Defence could be a very good begin and I’m sure there’s an abundance of tribunals and statutory authorities in the identical place because the AAT. The Nationwide Occasion has some very well-qualified candidates for the boot. In reality, all events do. Clear them out and begin once more.

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