Shocking story

While on my walk for the past couple of mornings I have been totally engrossed listening to a 10 part series on BBC Sounds about the Post Office trial in the UK. We hadn't heard much about this story until we heard a reference to it while listening to the BBC's 'Any Questions' a couple of days ago. We take an interest in UK politics and we find that listening to 'Any Questions' is not a bad way of keeping us a bit in touch from 'down under'.

I think it is a gobsmackingly dreadful story. I feel so sorry for the Sub Postmasters and their families.

We have had a not dissimilar scandal here in Australia.  It is known as 'Robodebt'. It's a complex story but basically it boiled down to the Federal Government using an automated system to calculate any over-payments of welfare payments. Debt notices were automatically generated and sent to people. It became clear that people were receiving wildly wrong debt notices but the Government insisted the system was right. Some notices were sent to dead people. Finally, in November 2020, the Government reached a $1.2bn settlement as a result of a class action taken against it. However, no amount of compensation could ever address the harm done to people. There were some suicides. Vulnerable welfare recipients suffered a range of mental health problems as a result of the fear and anxiety they experienced. So much of this could have been avoided if the Government had been prepared to question its computerised systems. To those who have followed the Post Office trial in the UK this will sound very familiar.