Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Debit Card Trial) Bill 2015. In doing so I want to begin by acknowledging the Labor Party's support of this bill. I think it is fair to say that that too often in this place good policy is opposed by members opposite for perhaps no good reason other than politics. I want to commend particularly the member for Brand for his contribution, which was very gracious and very constructive. Let us hope that this spirit of cooperation prevails into the future when we present good policy to the House.

This bill introduces a number of measures, including legislation to trial a cashless debit card for Centrelink recipients in communities where there is significant alcohol, drug and/or gambling problems. Locations have been chosen on the basis of their openness to participate in addressing welfare-fuelled alcohol, drug and gambling abuse. As we have heard, Ceduna in South Australia has been selected as the first trial site, and I am very pleased to say that there is tremendous local support for the trial.

The government is also in advanced discussions in the East Kimberley region in WA for a trial in Kununurra. The trial will operate for 12 months and will be assessed to see if it works before any further decisions are made. The government is planning to introduce a cashless debit card trial for up to three discrete communities. These locations will be selected on the basis of high welfare dependence, high social harm indicators and also, very importantly, an openness from community leaders to participate in the trial. The trial is very much focused on reducing social harm, particularly violence directed towards women and children, and issues in relation to child neglect, which predominantly, as we have seen in many communities, is caused by welfare-fuelled alcohol and drug abuse.

The member for Brand has made some very significant and constructive comments about our government's efforts in relation to what we are doing for Indigenous Australians. As I mentioned, his comments were very gracious. I also note the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's very strong commitment to Indigenous affairs, taking the seat of government to Indigenous communities over the last two years. But I want to make the point that this trial is colourblind. It is not directed at anyone in particular; it is based on the geography and determined by the parameters I have just set out.

I particularly want to commend community leaders in Ceduna in South Australia, who have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government, agreeing to be the first trial site for the debit card. The government has been working very closely with local Ceduna leaders over the last few months, listening to their concerns and jointly designing and agreeing to a trial. On that note I want to commend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister—or to the former Prime Minister—the member for Aston, for his work in conjunction with members of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. There has been a huge amount of engagement, much discussion, much negotiation and much consideration, and it is to the parliamentary secretary's credit that this trial has been signed and is underway. I can see the member for Brand nodding in furious agreement.

Participants in the trial will receive a mainstream, everyday debit card, which will be connected to the Visa, MasterCard or EFTPOS platform. The card will be able to be used anywhere for the purchase of anything except alcohol and gambling products. Because cash will not be made available from the card, illicit substances will not be able to be purchased.

The Ceduna community agreed that 80 per cent of a person's social security payments will be placed into the recipient's debit card account. The remaining 20 per cent will be placed into the recipient's existing bank account. All working-age social security support recipients within the Ceduna region will be part of the trial and receive the card. Age pensioners, veterans and other workers may also volunteer to opt in.

I think that one of the really important markers of this trial, which perhaps demonstrates the extent to which this has been so comprehensively negotiated, is that a local authority will have the power to adjust the settings down on the card should someone apply to that authority. So, if an individual feels that they need to have access to more cash than, say, the 20 per cent designated to go into their account on a weekly basis, they can make that application, particularly if they are known to be someone who has not been using this money for the purposes of purchasing alcohol or gambling consumption, and then the settings on the card can be adjusted accordingly. Also, to support the implementation of the trial, the federal government will work with state governments and local community leaders to provide a tailored package of additional assistance.

I just want to reflect a little on the community of Ceduna and also, I guess, at this point, invite other communities to look at what is happening in Ceduna and the very proactive and positive way that they have embraced the trial. Ceduna and its surrounding region have a population of just over 4,000. The regional towns that will be captured by the card are Koonibba, Oak Valley, Yalata, Scotdesco, all further west. The region runs all the way to the Western Australian border.

I need to make this particular point. The trial has received the overwhelming support of the community. The community and the community leaders see this as an opportunity to get on top of the social problems which affect their community, and there are significant social problems. In 2013-14, presentations to the hospital emergency department due to alcohol or drug use exceeded 500, more than one per day. The Ceduna sobering-up facility had 4,667 admissions in that same period. Hospitalisations due to assault are 68 times the national average in this particular region.

The Ceduna community heads leadership group—and this is referring to a press release they put out on 5 August 2015—said this of the trial:

We want to build a future for our younger generation to aspire to and believe we cannot do this if our families are caught up in the destructive cycle of alcohol or drugs that destroys our culture, our lands and our communities.

At the heart of this reform, is a change that is being shaped specifically to meet our local needs. It has been a true collaboration to ensure that we can give our mob and our Communities every chance to create real and genuine change in their lives.

We have grasped this initiative; we have helped shape this initiative; and we are confident that this initiative is for the betterment of all people within our region.

As I mentioned, the government is also considering a trial in the East Kimberley and is in some advanced discussions with respect to rolling out the trial there. On 24 July 2015, leaders of the East Kimberley region wrote to the government in support of the trial, stating:

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.

In the East Kimberley region, hospitalisations due to assault are in the same range as Ceduna: 68 times the national average. So again we are seeing a community embracing this trial and embracing this debit card for the betterment of all people within the region.

I think it is very important to reiterate this: the cashless debit card is not income management. Participants in the trial can use the card anywhere and purchase anything except alcohol and gambling products and will not be able to withdraw cash with the card. The card will look and feel like a mainstream debit card and will be connected, as I mentioned, to one of the Visa, MasterCard or EFTPOS platforms. Their existing bank account and card will be used for the cash component of their welfare. What we are seeing is a certain degree of flexibility in the way in which the card is used.

Under the trial, if you are on Newstart, single with three children and live in your own home, you will have over $145 cash per week, with the remainder of your payment on the card. On a parenting payment, single with four children and living in a private rental, you will receive over $220 cash per week, with the remainder of the payment on your card. On the DSP, the    disability support pension, partnered with no children, you will receive over $85 per week, with the remainder of your payment on the card. If someone is single and on Newstart, the payment in cash is $60 per week, with the remainder of the payment on the card. What happens is that the card will work at every store except those store categories which have been switched off. I note that there has been a lot of work behind the scenes, obviously, with the payment providers to make sure that this mechanism can be delivered.

I want to reflect on some very important contributions from the likes of Professor Marcia Langton, the Indigenous academic. In The Monthly in May 2015, Marcia Langton, a renowned Indigenous leader—an Australian leader, I think it is fair to say—said this:

A woman goes to withdraw cash and is met by a line of male "relations" who threaten and intimidate her for money … Her children and other dependants will go hungry before the end of the fortnightly payment cycle … the smart card—

debit card—

approach makes good sense. It gives people the power to help themselves.

Allan Suter, the Mayor of Ceduna Council, said on ABC Radio on 5 August:

We're also very confident that the use of this card will help the few families that suffer because the responsible parents are addicted to alcohol and gaming. We see the card doing a massive amount of good.

Ian Trust, Ted Hall Junior and Des Hill, in a letter to the government from the Wunan Foundation, the Gelganyem Trust and the MG Corporation, on 24 July 2015, said this:

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.

But, as I said before, it is their view that continuing to deliver the same programs as they have done over the past 40 years will not help progress their community and their region.

The card is designed to be as light a touch as possible. It will have very little impact on people if they are responsible. It will reach out to the communities to provide positive, constructive and, I think it is fair to say, lifelong change in these communities that embrace the trial. This is a very significant piece of legislation, and I commend the bill to the House.

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