Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister in relation to Indigenous affairs. As a member who represents a large number of Aboriginal people, the welfare and wellbeing of the people in my electorate are very important. We have seen a lot of successful programs, and there are some wonderful things happening in the electorate of Parkes.

I might just touch briefly on the Clontarf Foundation, which is ongoing and is set to increase in numbers over the next few months. The Clontarf Foundation is doing great work in Bourke, Brewarrina, Moree, Coonamble and now Dubbo in my electorate. They have had great achievements, like the two young men from Coonamble who are now working in construction with Leighton Contractors in Sydney and who previously, without the assistance of Clontarf, would not have had the opportunity to obtain full-time employment and, indeed, a career. They have great pride in their achievements, and their community has great pride in their achievements as well. Also, young Nathan Johnson, who was school captain of Brewarrina last year, is now doing a fine arts degree at the University of Newcastle, largely because of the mentoring and assistance from Clontarf.

We still have a lot of issues that affect not only the Aboriginal people in my electorate but also most people who are suffering from living on low incomes and on welfare in remote areas. We are seeing an escalation in the use of methamphetamine, in the form of ice, and the misuse of morphine patches that are being processed into what is locally known as 'hillbilly heroin' and the effects that they are having. There are also a lot of issues around alcohol and the domestic violence which comes with that. This is not an issue just for the Aboriginal people in my electorate; it afflicts a large number of my communities, of which Aboriginal people are residents. One of those issues is around cash in society, and the fact that when the welfare payments come through this money is, in some cases, squandered on drugs and alcohol, and we end up with children and women mainly bearing the consequences of that.

I have a couple of questions for the parliamentary secretary. I am just wondering where the parliamentary secretary is up to with the possible implementation of a Healthy Welfare Card, and what the government is trying to achieve with that. We are aware of the BasicsCard, but the parliamentary secretary might explain what the differences may be between a BasicsCard and the proposed cashless debit card. What will determine the success of a cashless debit card? I am particularly interested to know what discussions and community involvement might be happening at the moment around this process. Finally, how much is our government investing in Indigenous affairs, as well? If the Parliamentary Secretary could answer those questions, I am sure that the constituents in my electorate would be very interested to know.

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