Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

No, that is not true. The Smoky Bay and Districts Community Club, for example, has excluded itself. The Thevenard Hotel has and the Penong Hotel has. In the case of Kununurra, the Pumphouse Restaurant has, the Drysdale River Station has and El Questro has. I understand why El Questro has because their clientele is a very different group. They are whitefellas and they have money—so they do not accept the card. I think there are real issues here about the application of the card.

I think there are obviously benefits to some. I accept that and I think it is important that we see how this works over the longer period. I am looking forward to seeing the independent evaluation when it is undertaken and knowing who the independent evaluators are. It is extremely important that we understand this cannot be done in isolation. It must be done in terms of liquor, in terms of supply measures which need to be done and are not being done in the case of the Kimberley but which are being done in some measure at Ceduna. There is a lot more debate to be had about this and a lot more consultation that needs to take place to get what community members want, as opposed to what so-called community leaders think.

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