Porter to face robodebt inquiry after Tudge questioned over department’s response to suicides

Former social services minister due to appear at high-profile royal commission on Thursday

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Christian Porter will face questions about his role in the failed robodebt scheme at a royal commission on Thursday, after Alan Tudge deflected responsibility on to Porter and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Porter, who was social services minister at the initial height of the robodebt scandal in 2017, was responsible for the department that held conflicting internal legal advice about the program, including a damning opinion from 2014 that it was unlawful.

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