Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I came into this place on 1 July, so speaking on this is new to me, but, certainly, the cashless debit card, the BasicsCard and working in and with Aboriginal communities in remote and regional areas are definitely not. Mine is a career spanning some 25, almost 30, years, let alone being born in a place where the card actually exists and having immediate family still living in those places.

It's disappointing that the government misled the Australian public with promises during the election campaign and now, embarrassingly, has to admit that it was a grab for votes. This is a promise they should break. The amendments we have now seen allow Cape York, the CDC trials and those people in the NT who have voluntarily transitioned from the BasicsCard onto the CDC to remain on the cashless debit card. This is just an admission that they have messed up this ill-conceived election commitment. The amendments put forward by the government confirm that even they admit that abolishing the cashless debit card will have serious consequences for vulnerable communities. We see that in the provision of $50 million for additional drug and alcohol support services, because they themselves recognise the serious harm that is likely to result from the removal of this critical program.

The Albanese government's decision to abolish the cashless debit card will give the green light to more alcohol, drug abuse and violence in some of our most vulnerable communities, for the most vulnerable people within those communities. Addicts will now have more cash to access grog, ganja, crack and gambling, and families will have less chance to protect themselves because they will no longer have the card to be able to do that.

Let me give you an example of how this works. These women, these grandmothers who are looking after their children's children because they can't or won't, see family walking down the street. With the cashless debit card and the BasicsCard, they don't have to cross the street when they see family walking down the street. What they can say to their family is: 'I'm sorry, I can't give you cash to go and buy grog and ganja and to gamble, because the card doesn't allow me to give you any more cash than the cash I have in my pocket.' That's about protecting their interests. That's about protecting the interests of their children. That's about protecting the interests of their grandchildren. That's about protecting the interests of other people who are not Indigenous but who also live in the towns and communities.

This is not a race issue; this is actually about people who are problem drinkers and who often find themselves incarcerated and at risk of death in custody because they have been drunk or drugged or they just find themselves on the street because their families will not let them live in their house because of the dysfunction that addiction brings. This is the reality.

The CDC is an advanced technology that enables recipients to access their welfare payments using a universal banking platform. The BasicsCard is a limited delivery mechanism.

I heard people way back before 2016, and even when the card came in, say to me, 'I don't like being on the card, but you know what? It gives me protection from my family members. I've got money to feed the kids. I've got money to clothe them. It makes life a whole less hectic.'

Only a few weeks ago when I went to Ceduna—I'll tell you what my consultation looks like. I actually had to go at the last minute. Sure, we visited those organisations that usually provide the services. But then Julian Leeser and I went for a walk down the street. We went into the gaming room. We went into the bar. We met people on the street in places on the edge of the town, because they were too frightened to speak to us directly. What they said to us repeatedly was, 'I don't like the card. I shouldn't be on the card. But I know the card is really important for my family. I get power and I get control when I can tell people that I can't give them money because the money is quarantined on a card.' That takes it out of the personal. That gives them the power. That gives them the power to feed their children and to clothe them. This is a terrible decision.

Question agreed to.