Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to add my support for the continuation of the cashless debit card. As the member representing the constituents of the Goldfields cashless debit card trial sites, I call out the opponents on their baseless rhetoric. They say this card is racially discriminatory, yet more than 50 per cent of the trial participants in my area are non-Indigenous. They say it's stigmatising, yet the card is physically indistinguishable from a normal Visa debit card. It is accepted by far more retailers than the bright green BasicsCard. Labor scaremongers that this is all the beginning of a nationwide rollout to all working-age welfare participants and that age pensioners are the next target. Nothing could be further from the truth. Labor quotes extensively from submissions to the recent Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry, yet most of the contributors have no presence or experience in the Goldfields. Likewise, not one Labor MP or senator has engaged with the Goldfields trial nor asked me about the overwhelmingly positive outcomes this card is having on the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in my electorate.

I stand here proudly as one of the initiators and ongoing supporters of the cashless debit card in the Goldfields. It was conceived at the behest of respected community leaders, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and introduced after extensive consultation with the communities of Coolgardie, Leonora, Laverton, Menzies and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. These people, along with me, had long witnessed firsthand the severe social dysfunction and outright harm being experienced in these communities due to welfare dollars being misspent on drugs, alcohol and gambling. We've all seen marked improvement since the rollout of the card began in March 2018.

I was in the Goldfields only last week and I had multiple meetings with local government leaders, health and social service providers, education and employment training organisations, Indigenous leaders, police and cashless debit card trial participants. The universal call was for the continuation of the card. People were not asking, 'When will this end?' They were asking, 'When will we have certainty, instead of ongoing extensions of the trial?' They also asked, 'When and how can we bring the Ngaanyatjarra Lands and Tjuntjuntjara into this program?' They asked this because most social problems within the trial sites are due to people with large amounts of cash coming into their towns from areas not on the card.

The COVID-19 pause on card activations, and the increase in welfare payments, has seen increased public drunkenness, violence and disorder throughout the Goldfields. This social harm has been well documented in the local media. It was also presented at the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee hearings. Unfortunately, those opposite conveniently dismiss these lived experiences as anecdotal and ask, 'Where is the hard data?' The University of Adelaide evaluation is underway and it is unfortunately overdue. Its ultimate findings will now be out of date, with its data collection preceding the pandemic. But, as we've seen in the past, every evaluation has been roundly criticised by those who think they could do better. The University of Adelaide baseline evaluation of the Goldfields was criticised because the data was collected three months into the trial. I quote from some of its outcomes:

… a majority of respondents were of the opinion that early impacts were starting to be observed. These impacts primarily centred on alcohol and drug use and misuse, child welfare and well-being, spending and financial management …

It went on to conclude:

The introduction of the CDC was predominantly found to be having a positive effect on the prevalence and severity of crime, family violence and anti-social behaviour within the Goldfields.

I prefer to talk to real people about the impacts the card is having on their daily lives—people like disability support pensioner Nichole, who has been able to save money and move out of home and is now putting money away towards her wedding. Her mum, Sharon, was her carer until Nichole became fully independent. Sharon also works in the disability sector and is a firm supporter of the card. Another DSP recipient told me the card had helped him conquer his gambling addiction, something he could not have done on his own. Harry and Garry run the Leonora Supermarket and have expanded into selling whitegoods, to compete with payday lenders, who have long preyed upon residents living so distant from retail outlets. They say most cardholders pay directly with their Visa debit card, while others use the WA No Interest Loans Scheme.

Shari and Jo, who run the Laverton cashless debit card shopfront, are working with participants with poor computer literacy, helping them manage their direct debits. Don Cannon's family run the Laverton Supermarket and say they have seen families spending more money on food since the introduction of the card. Don commented on the transition of the card to payWave, having concerns about potential elder abuse, as he witnessed when cash was widespread in the community. The shires of Laverton and Leonora both repeated their concerns about the influx of nonparticipants into their towns. I drove past Leonora pubs that had queues outside at 11 o'clock in the morning, waiting for midday opening. But I leave the most disturbing feedback until last. The Leonora St John Ambulance service has recently been unable to attend emergencies in certain parts of the town due to alcohol and drug fuelled violence resulting in one of the volunteers receiving serious injuries.