Centrelink – as everyone in Australia knows – shat the bed last month, leaving the government (and particularly Christian Porter) wrapped in a giant omelette.

Even outlets that traditionally take a hard line against ‘dole bludgers’ – like A Current Affair – recognised the stupendous scale of the cockup.

What was less well publicised is the extent to which hubristic faith in data matching and technology has become a substitute for good governance in both the public and private sector.