Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to see that the first part of my speech was so riveting that there are now lots of people in the gallery to listen to the second half. It is great. For those people who are in the gallery now, I am talking about the government's social security legislation to trial the use of debit cards. It follows a recommendation from Mr Forrest in relation to alcohol in Indigenous communities. What I have said is that, if the government is serious about this, there need to be additional support services and more services to the Ceduna district hospital, the Aboriginal community controlled health service and other services in the Ceduna area, as well as in the East Kimberley area. Without those services, this trial will fail.

So far the government has not provided any additional funding and there has been no response, as I understand it, to the requests by the South Australian and Western Australian governments for this support. I have spoken to people on the ground in the Ceduna area and have talked to a number of people up in the East Kimberley, and they support the idea of these additional services. If you are going to get people off the scourge of alcoholism, if you are going to reduce the addiction to gambling, you have to have those services on the ground to support it. Otherwise this trial will fail. We also support a Senate inquiry to allow the impacts of the trial to be thoroughly explored and to give the people who are affected a say. It is important that locals can have a say.

The government has, as I have said before, had a House of Representatives inquiry, and recommendations have been made to the government. Those recommendations—which deal with alcohol hurting people and harming communities in Indigenous areas of Australia—were bipartisan. But sadly, before those recommendations were delivered, the government decided that they would not proceed with the alcohol management plans and they did so without telling that bipartisan committee. The government last approved an alcohol management plan—these are plans which come from local communities—back on 26 May 2014 in relation to the Titjikala community. I am a member of the committee that made those recommendations. Recommendation 7 was that the backlog of alcohol management plans—plans which are driven by the people of these local communities to deal with the challenges of alcohol, domestic violence and substance abuse—be fast-tracked by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion from the Northern Territory, by January 2016. Unbeknownst to our committee, he made a decision. On 10 July 2015—after the report had been handed down—he answered a question on notice that we put to him, saying that they would not be proceeding with the alcohol management plans.

In opposition the coalition said they would support the alcohol management plans because they were community driven. That they have broken this commitment is consistent with their budget cuts of about $800 million to preventative health programs that help people to address the issues of alcoholism. In addition to that, the Abbott government—who now might like to call themselves the Turnbull government—have cut $165 million from Indigenous health programs, including preventative health programs aimed at such things as tackling smoking and encouraging the adoption of healthy lifestyles. They cut the funding, they have not proceeded with the AMPs and in the inquiry that they established they got no cooperation from the CLP Northern Territory government. We recommended they restore the banned drinker register. With the CLP government in the Northern Territory—the colleagues and comrades of the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and this government here—we recommended they restore the banned drinker register, which was working in the Northern Territory. We also recommended that they stop criminalising drunkenness and start treating it as a health issue. But the minister says no. He says that, if we are going to deal with issues of alcohol, we are going to come up with ideas like this and this alone, that we will cut funding and that you can rely on the Northern Territory government, who have a shameful record in this area.

I call on the government, if they are fair dinkum about this strategy, to provide the necessary resources and reverse the cuts. Get on the phone to Adam Giles, the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, restore the banned drinker register, work with local communities, provide the additional resourcing and make sure they can deal with issues properly—because we have real scepticism about this. We have real concern that they are not fair dinkum and that this is a symbol. We hope this works. We are expecting the government to provide the resourcing. I ask them to cooperate with local communities and the Western Australian and South Australian governments in relation to these matters.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Debit Card Trial) Bill 2015. The bill seeks to amend the existing social security legislation to enable the trial for up to 10,000 social security recipients of a Centrelink cashless debit card in up to three discrete communities. The purpose of the trial is to assess whether quarantining the majority of a recipient's welfare payments from spending on liquor, gambling and cash advances will be effective in reducing the social harm caused by welfare funded alcohol, gambling and drug abuse.

The objective of the policy is to: break the cycle of addiction to alcohol and drugs; minimise gambling problems, violence and antisocial behaviour; address the neglect of children and dependents; and stop long-term intergenerational welfare. The policy aims to promote responsible lifestyle choices through welfare payments being spent on providing clean, hygienic homes, nutritious meals and more stable family environments. This is the foundation for increasing attendance at school and successful placement in vocational training, with a view to increasing employment participation in the workforce. Money alone will not fix the problem of social disadvantage. Closing the gap requires motivation of individuals through support programs and mentoring.

The criteria to be used for selecting local trial sites include high dependence on welfare, high social harm indicators and a willingness by local community groups to participate. The year-long trial is proposed in response to a key recommendation from the Forrest review. A central recommendation of The Forrest review: creating parity report is the introduction of a cashless debit card that restricts the purchase of alcohol and gambling services for all welfare recipients called the healthy welfare card. Subject to the passage of this bill, the trial is due to be implemented from February 2016.

Let me put the broader issue of welfare into perspective. In 2015-16, the government will spend $154 billion on welfare, which is around 35 per cent of the total government expenditure. The current welfare payment system manages 40 different payments and 38 supplements. The Department of Human Services is responsible for delivering welfare payments through Centrelink to 7.3 million people annually. In Australia, we have a very generous welfare system to support those in our community who genuinely need support. However, we must implement policies to encourage greater workforce participation, individual independence and the spirit of endeavour and enterprise. We as a nation can do much better than having one-third of our population dependent on welfare.

The government has announced that the Ceduna region will be the first trial site. Ceduna is located on the mid-coast of South Australia, approximately 800 kilometres west of Adelaide. The town and its surrounding region has a population of 4,425 people. The regional towns to be included include Koonibba, Oak Valley, Yalata and Scotdesco. The region runs further west to the Western Australian border. Despite its relatively small population, which is the size of a typical metropolitan suburb, the region had in excess of 500 presentations to the hospital emergency department due to alcohol or drug related use in the 2013-14 year. Over the same period, Ceduna has had 4,667 presentations at its sobering-up facility. Hospitalisations due to assaults in the region are 68 times higher than the national average. Clearly, in these circumstances there is justification for the government to take preventive action.

Following extensive consultation with community leaders, a memorandum of understanding was signed agreeing to the trial. In addition, advanced discussions with leaders in the East Kimberley region in my home state of Western Australia are progressing. A letter to the government, dated 27 July 2015, stated:

We acknowledge that agreeing to the East Kimberley being a trial site for the restricted debit card may seem to some a rather drastic step. However, it is our view that continuing to deliver the same programs we have delivered for the past forty years will do nothing for our people and, besides wasting more time and money, will condemn our children and future generations to a life of poverty and despair. As leaders in the East Kimberley, we cannot accept this.

Under the terms of the trial, all working-age social security support recipients will compulsorily be part of the trial and will receive a mainstream debit card connected to the Visa, MasterCard, or EFTPOS platform. The trial is not discriminatory on ethnicity or race. Everyone of working age in receipt of an income support payment and residing within the trial boundaries will be required to participate in the trial. The debit card will be able to be used universally for the purchase of all goods and services, with the exception of alcohol and cash advances. Furthermore, as cash will not be able to be withdrawn, the debit card will prevent the purchase of illicit substances.

It should be noted that the trial is not compulsory for aged pensioners, veterans and workers. However, they may opt in if it assists them with budgeting and money management. Under the system, 80 per cent of a person's social security payment will be placed in the recipient's cashless debit card account, with the remaining 20 per cent cash deposited into the recipient's bank account to be available for discretionary spending. These parameters were set in consultation with the Ceduna community. As part of the trial, a local authority will have the power to adjust the parameters and settings of the card should an individual apply to that authority for a change and demonstrate that they are responsible by adhering to a set criteria of social norms.

Public and stakeholder consultation has been extensive and has included peak welfare advocacy organisations, such as the Australian Council of Social Service and carers and seniors groups. Industry groups have been involved with the process, including the financial service institutions issuing the debit cards, Clubs Australia, the liquor industry and local retailers. Locally, the Ceduna and East Kimberley communities have been consulted, including local governments and retailers. In addition, the views of a broad section of Indigenous leaders have been canvassed, including the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council. The state governments of New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia have also been consulted.

Some welfare lobby groups have argued that the card will breach the rights of welfare recipients to spend welfare payments as they choose. However, the community has a justified expectation that governments will take responsible measures to minimise social harm, violence and child neglect. Overall, there has been little public opposition to the trial. The debit cards are less proscriptive than the current BasicsCard, as they do not set expenditure limits on prescribed categories and they are more universally accepted by retailers and service providers as part of the wider Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS banking platforms. There have been suggestions that attempts have been made at circumventing the system through bartering and through other schemes. However, it does not make impulsive access to alcohol and gaming easy, so it is reasonable to predict that the Centrelink cashless debit card will significantly increase compliance with social norms. In a small number of instances, additional compliance arrangements will have to be made for general stores in remote communities which are permitted to sell alcohol and general goods.

The rationale behind targeting social security support recipients of working age is that the trial is based on the premise that welfare support is only intended to be temporary, to assist people who are unemployed whilst they transition between jobs. Welfare is not intended to be a long-term or generational option. Increasing workforce participation is a key objective of the coalition government and essential to our nation-building agenda. The budget allocates $331 million to increasing employment participation and providing the skilled workforce needed to build the economy, including $212 million earmarked for the Youth Transition to Work program. To assist job seekers transition into the workplace, 6,000 places have been provided in the National Work Experience Program, as has $106 million to provide intensive support trials for job seekers of all ages from disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, $1.2 billion has been allocated in the national wage subsidy pool to counteract long-term unemployment.

I have personally visited remote communities in Western Australia and witnessed firsthand the living conditions of our most disadvantaged citizens, who, despite receiving welfare support, are living in squalid living conditions and a state of neglect due to addiction, mental illness and an inability to satisfactorily manage their own financial affairs. On an outback trip with the former member for Durack, Mr Barry Haase, we came across an individual who loaned money to desperate locals on very non-commercial terms, holding their ATM cards as security until their next welfare payment was due. The same individual operated a gambling operation at the back of the local race course where the locals betted very heavily and invariably ended up losing their money and being unable to meet their basic living needs. A short time later the media reported that the individual concerned had been investigated by the authorities and charged with various offences. In this scenario, quarantining the majority of an individual's welfare payment and restricting cash advances would protect the vulnerable in our community from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals.

On a trip to northern Western Australia, I witnessed individuals camped on the outskirts of town, sleeping rough with no form of shelter. The local chamber of commerce had expressed concerns about these individuals roaming around town in an intoxicated manner and antisocially harassing customers and tourists in the hospitality precinct. Given that these individuals were in receipt of social security payments, it was evident that addiction issues had prevented them from adequately providing for their basic needs. Our social security system provides adequate support for individuals to meet their most basic needs; however, there are certain individuals who need assistance with making these choices. The Centrelink cashless debit card will assist welfare recipients in meeting their basic needs by quarantining a major component of their social security payment to meet essential living expenses, with a small amount reserved for discretionary non-essential purchases.

Unfortunately, it is the case in our society that serious alcohol, drug and gambling problems across Australia not only affect the individuals concerned but also cause significant social harm to others in the form of domestic violence, the neglect of children, homelessness, destitution and a range of law and order problems.

This trial represents a policy initiative aimed at addressing these issues. At the conclusion of the trial an independent evaluation will occur to measure the effectiveness of reducing social harm by analysing the relevant key indicators, including hospitalisation statistics and law and order rates. I commend the bill to the House.

Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Debit Card Trial) Bill 2015 is an important bill. I think both sides of this parliament will be pleased when we see it pass. It is important that it does pass. It implements some of the most significant changes to welfare delivery in a number of important communities. Principally, this initiative is designed to address alcohol abuse, which causes immense harm across our nation but, in particular, in certain communities. This bill is directed at a remedy designed to affect Indigenous communities in particular. And while urgent action is needed to tackle the alcohol problem we also know that breaking the cycle of alcohol abuse and dysfunction is a complex task.

Labor believes that quarantining income can be a useful tool to support vulnerable people where it is targeted at people who need it most. This bill will amend the social security law to enable a trial phase of a new, cashless welfare arrangement in response to the 'healthy welfare card' recommendations from Mr Andrew Forrest's review of Indigenous jobs and training. The trial will be conducted in up to three locations, involving up to 10,000 people. One of those locations is Kununurra, in the east Kimberley, and another is Ceduna, on the South Australian west coast. Locations have been selected on the basis of high levels of welfare dependence, where gambling, alcohol and/or drug abuse are causing unacceptable levels of harm within the community and where there is a strong level of community support.

Just last week I was in Kununurra and able to listen to the arguments of the Wunan Organisation, led by Mr Ian Trust, arguing very strongly for the cashless credit card in order—

Mr Tudge interjecting—

Sorry, the cashless debit card—thank you, Member for Aston, and congratulations, too, on the great work that you have done to bring to realisation this very difficult measure. In the early days of its design many of us did not think it would actually see the light of day. But through your efforts, your focus and your dedication you have been able to give life to this idea that we hope will bring a better life to Indigenous communities across Australia, especially those in which this trial will be conducted. The Australian government has deployed a prodigious level of additional support to provide those communities with certainty and guidance and to also provide the Commonwealth with the understanding that it needs to better deploy this measure if, indeed, it can be made to work, as we sincerely hope it will.

Income management is one tool to help vulnerable people stabilise their lives. But it must be done in conjunction with a range of support services. It requires a range of responses and supports, provided in close consultation with communities, including the provision of adequate services.

Labor supports community-driven initiatives to tackle alcohol and drug abuse and the harm that they cause. While Labor will not seek to oppose this bill—and, personally, I hope it passes unencumbered—where there is clear community support Labor is concerned that the proposed trial lacks some details and is yet to be thoroughly worked through. It is not possible to see from this legislation exactly how it would operate in practice. We cannot see exactly what additional supports and services would be provided to truly address the problems of alcohol and drug abuse. For example, a comprehensive approach to alcohol and drugs is needed and the debit card is potentially one productive element, but there has been no response yet from the government to the recommendations of the report on harmful use of alcohol in communities.

There has been no rollout yet of the alcohol management plans and there have been cuts to alcohol and other drugs programs. One element without the others will not work and the costs of this trial will be money misspent if we do not focus this trial as best as we possibly can.

I want to spend some time talking today about the communities of the east Kimberley. Aboriginal leaders and organisations in the east Kimberley have been frustrated by the pervasive social challenges faced by its large Aboriginal population. Alcohol, gambling and drugs divert income into destructive behaviours. East Kimberley has very high levels of long-term welfare dependency and resulting social dysfunction, including chronic substance abuse. This is largely funded by income support payments, paid by the Australian government. Chronic alcohol and drug abuse have caused a range of very poor social outcomes in the region.

In 2012-13 there were 100 reported incidents of family violence per 1,000 people in the Kimberley, compared with the next highest incidence of 43 per 1,000 in the south-eastern region. That is according to Western Australia's Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Strategy to 2022 and its Achievement Report 2013, of the Department for Child Protection and Family Support.

East Kimberley Aboriginal children are being taken from their families and put into care at a very high rate. According to the WA Department for Child Protection, 100 per cent of children in foster care in the east Kimberley are Aboriginals and six per cent of all Aboriginal children in the east Kimberley are in care. Many young people and children in Kununurra spend all night on the streets rather than go home where parents and other adults are drinking and where children do not feel safe. These children then sleep rough. They sleep all day and they do not attend school. Operation SHARP—safely home, with a responsible person—was a joint agency initiative, led by the WA Department for Child Protection in Kununurra, in June 2012. Over a one-week period contact was made with 125 children who were spending their nights on the street, according to the Department for Child Protection in its response, in February 2013.

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is becoming increasingly common in Aboriginal families and communities throughout the region. The rate of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Aboriginal children in the Kimberley is significantly higher than in non-Aboriginal children. The Kimberley has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. The third highest cause of preventable death to Aboriginal people in the Kimberley, between 1997 and 2007, was suicide, followed closely by alcohol related disease.

Western Australia has an Aboriginal suicide rate of nearly 36 per 100,000 Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. This rate is 70 per 100,000 people. In July this year ABC Lateline reported that the hospitalisation rate for assaults in Kununurra is nearly 70 times higher than the national average rate.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 2.30 pm the debate is interrupted in accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier.