Tom Studans
@maximumwelfare
Welfare advocate, live coverage #RobodebtRC, 3x Primetime Emmy winner. 2Pac alive in Latvia. Campaign/comms support/teach you guitar etc hire my ass
This is not an opinion. The High Court of Australia confirmed this legal failure in landmark rulings in 2011 (Poniatowska) and 2013 (Keating). Nevertheless, the 15,000 wrongful convictions were never reviewed or overturned. They were simply forgotten.
This from a surgeon volunteering in Gaza theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
More than 100 aid agencies say 'mass starvation' is spreading across Gaza bbc.in/3TTQMa0
Welfare reform is urgently needed. The unfair attacks on those who are unable to fight financially or emotionally must end now. Great article @chrisrudge. Thank you for uncovering the previous & continuing atrocities! welfare.substack.com/p/the-unexamin…
PM Anthony Albanese confirms reports in the Herald/Age that Australia has paid the US another $800 million for AUKUS despite the Pentagon review underway.
PM Anthony Albanese confirms reports in the Herald/Age that Australia has paid the US another $800 million for AUKUS despite the Pentagon review underway.
“My article reveals that an estimated 15,000 social security recipients were wrongfully convicted of criminal offences between 1991 and 2011 in a scandal I have called ‘the omissions affair’. unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/article/convic…
Loser 👎
PM Anthony Albanese gently chides One Nation after its Senators yesterday turned their back during the Welcome to Country. “Having a bit of respect is appropriate in my view”, he tells @abcnews
Oh, THIS is what Wong meant when she said yesterday that “we are prepared to take further action” regarding Israel
love that Penny Wong is moving a censure motion against Mehreen Faruqi for holding a poster about Gaza during the opening of Parliament those kinds of rituals and procedures are really important in times like these
PM Anthony Albanese confirms reports in the Herald/Age that Australia has paid the US another $800 million for AUKUS despite the Pentagon review underway.
Israel was given “a legal order”, not a suggestion, by the International Court of Justice. Australia has a legal obligation to immediately compel Israel to obey the court — to ensure Israel ends it unlawful occupation and genocide. 👉 The first step: Sanctions and an arms…
Israel (facing multiple proceedings for atrocities in Gaza) "wasn't given a suggestion by the ICJ. It was given a legal order." States now calling for ceasefire HAVE MULTIPLE OBLIGATIONS to ensure Israel ends it unlawful occupation and genocide NOW. SANCTIONS+ARMS EMBARGO NOW.
Very excited to read this. This is a hugely important saga that Chris rightly argues deserves the same attention as #robodebt.
More than 15,000 Australians were wrongfully convicted for social security offences between 1991 and 2011. My research, out today in the @UNSWLawJournal, reveals how this happened – and why it's the forgotten precursor to Robodebt. 🧵 #auslaw #auspol #welfarelaw
Imagine having any respect for Penny Wong on any level
Truly pathetic from @SenatorWong seeking to stop Senator Faruqi from "representing the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament." Real 1990s Adelaide Uni student politics shit. Time to grow up (and maybe sanction Israel for committing genocide)
The ALP in the Senate right now showing that they are more angry about people protesting genocide than the actual carrying out of genocide
📖 Read my full statement here: welfare.substack.com/p/the-unexamin… Read the open-access research article here: unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/article/convic… @SydneyLawSchool @SydneyHealthLaw @Sydney_Uni #WelfareLaw #PublicPolicy #SocialJustice
The #Robodebt Royal Commission revealed a broken welfare system. My research shows the dysfunction runs deeper and older than we knew. With scandals like income apportionment now under review, the federal government must ensure no more lives are defined by welfare injustice.
This historic injustice demands attention. I'm calling for: ▫️ A Govt-led review to find those affected ▫️ A simple process to quash convictions ▫️ A compensation scheme ▫️ An Australian Criminal Cases Review Commission
This is Australia's UK Post Office Horizon scandal, but without the response. In the UK, the Horizon scandal led to mass exonerations. In Australia? Systemic inaction. We've put an impossible burden on individuals to challenge convictions they don't even know are unsound.
The human cost is likely to have been devastating. The cohort was predominantly vulnerable women on parenting payments. My research estimates over 750 people were likely imprisoned based on these wrongful convictions, with thousands more facing stigma and barriers to work.
I've called it 'the omissions affair'. For two decades, people were prosecuted for 'failing to report' their income. The problem? Prosecutors systematically failed to prove a legal duty to report existed. 15,000 people were convicted for offences 'unknown to law'.
More than 15,000 Australians were wrongfully convicted for social security offences between 1991 and 2011. My research, out today in the @UNSWLawJournal, reveals how this happened – and why it's the forgotten precursor to Robodebt. 🧵 #auslaw #auspol #welfarelaw