House debates
Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Questions without Notice
Pensions and Benefits
2:46 pm
Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Labor's decision to scrap the cashless debit card will unleash an avalanche of drugs and alcohol into the most vulnerable communities. Mr Trust, executive chair of the Wunan Foundation, in the East Kimberley, says he fears the extra cash on the streets would lead to a spike in alcohol related harm. He says, 'I think it could be chaos.' Will the government take full responsibility for any spike in domestic violence or child neglect in Indigenous communities as a consequence of abolishing the cashless debit card?
Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Can I say upfront that this commitment was an election policy and it was an election policy that we took extremely seriously and did an enormous amount of consultation about, including with Mr Trust, who is in, of course, Western Australia. The cashless debit card diminishes people's self-worth. It is discriminatory and it's arbitrary. It is also very important to understand—
Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
If you want to hear this, then be quiet. It is also a piece of policy that has been reviewed and reviewed and reviewed. It was a piece of technology that was used by a private organisation for profit. That is the truth of it, and the other part of it is that mandatory income management across the board has been a failure. You seem to all forget that part of this legislation—
Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The minister will resume her seat. The member for Forrest will withdraw that comment.
Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I withdraw.
Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The other point is this, and this is very, very important: this measure is voluntary. If people want to stay on the cashless debit card or income management, that is their decision. We have made sure that within this piece of legislation there is a voluntary component.
Honourable members inte rjecting—
To the member for wherever you're from: there is also within this legislation a component where people will be placed on income management if there is a court order against them, including for child abuse and including for domestic violence. So get to know what the legislation is about before you start asking those sorts of questions. We do not believe in mandatory income management. It is voluntary, and there will be situations where there will be people placed on income management because of the particular circumstances they find themselves in. That is this legislation. We have listened to the voices, we have consulted and we will be going forward on this.