High-profile former Liberal media adviser Rachelle Miller has told the robo-debt royal commission of how she planned to run stories about dole bludgers and welfare integrity with more sympathetic “right-wing” outlets – including the News Corp tabloids and 2GB radio station, a stablemate of this masthead – to combat the “crisis in left-wing media”.
Miller said the Department of Human Services’ former chief legal officer Annette Musolino cleared the use of specific details relating to welfare recipients who spoke out in the media. She said while Tudge was concerned about the publicity, then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s office was pleased as the program was well received by voters in marginal seats, including western Sydney.In November 2020, Miller told the ABC’sTudge was stood down from the front bench in December 2021 after Miller publicly alleged he was emotionally abusive and on one occasion physically abusive while the pair were travelling together for work.
Last year, the Commonwealth reached a deal with Miller, represented by Gordon Legal, to pay her $650,000 for loss of earning capacity, medical expenses and costs, but did not admit liability for her claims of disability discrimination, sex discrimination and an unsafe workplace.