Mad Cow Disease part 4 - unblocking the beef chain Artwork

The Westminster Tradition

Unpacking lessons for the public service, starting with the Robodebt Royal Commission.
In 2019, after three years, Robodebt was found to be unlawful. The Royal Commission process found it was also immoral and wildly inaccurate.

Ultimately the Australian Government was forced to pay $1.8bn back to more than 470,000 Australians.

In this podcast we dive deep into public policy failures like Robodebt and the British Post Office scandal - how they start, why they're hard to stop, and the public service lessons we shouldn't forget.

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The Westminster Tradition

Mad Cow Disease part 4 - unblocking the beef chain

March 31, 2026 • The Westminster Tradition • Season 4 • Episode 6

0:00 | 42:46

In our last episode on Mad Cow Disease, we take our final lessons from the public servicing of this massive health, agricultural and economic crisis. With the benefit of hindsight, we weigh the significant market interventions and public perception against actual transmission data.

In this episode:

What decision making looks like under radical uncertainty, where its government's job to keep things running.
The massive supply chain repercussions of the beef ban, and how much expertise policymakers actually need when making interventions.
Whether the public has a realistic understanding of what governments can achieve in a crisis and whether governments can still have an honest conversation about trade offs for the public good.
Why sensing the public mood is not “political”, but a critical source of information about whether policy is working or failing.
Whether more information and transparency actually build confidence in a democratised media environment, including social media and large language models.
Where actual transmission ended up, and how it compares with other risk calculations and personal mitigations.
What all of this means for modern public servants operating in systems where uncertainty is the norm, not the exception.

Insiders, Chris Bowen - Energy Minister (22/3/2026)https://iview.abc.net.au/show/insiders?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared

The Rest Is History podcast - Revolution In Iran | Fall of the Shah (Part 1) https://therestishistory.com/episodes/fall-of-the-shah-part-1

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Talebhttps://www.penguin.com.au/books/fooled-by-randomness-9780141031484

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Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.

'Til next time!