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

I stand here today as one of the initiators of and an ongoing supporter of the cashless debit card trial in the Goldfields region of my electorate of O'Connor. I know I'm backed by Goldfields leaders and their communities when I offer my wholehearted support for the passage of the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020.

This government is providing certainty for cashless debit card participants and their communities by continuing the program as an ongoing measure. This will allow additional reforms and support measures to be built on top of those already in place to continue to improve the lives of participants and the utility of the card. And, while the current Community Affairs Legislation Committee report on this bill may reflect the views of more detractors than supporters, it's important for me to qualify that the vast majority of unsupportive submissions came from individuals and organisations that have no presence or experience on the Goldfields.

It's notable also that, when the good senators of this committee last visited the Goldfields for a hearing in 2017, they were extended an open invitation to visit the trial site communities and see for themselves the difference, the positive difference, that this card is making. To my knowledge, not one of them took up the invitation. As I recall, senators never ventured further than the committee hearing room in the centre of the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Had they walked the length of Hannan Street, they would have met shop attendants who had closed their doors during the middle of the day due to alcohol-fuelled violence in the street. And, had they travelled to the smaller communities, such as Laverton, Leonora and Coolgardie, they would have seen firsthand the social problems community leaders have been working for years to address and have finally been making headway since the introduction of the card. Instead, these elected leaders, Mayor Bowler of the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, shire president Patrick Hill of Laverton, shire president Peter Craig of Leonora, Mal Cullen of Coolgardie and Greg Dwyer of Menzies—all shire presidents—had their lived experience and evidence to the hearings discounted as anecdotal and had their advocacy for the communities that they love devalued.

As I listen to the most recent Senate hearings, I was dismayed to hear the same senators casting the same doubt on evidence presented by those in support. People like Robyn Nolan, the president of the National Council of Women Australia, Shelley Cable, the Indigenous CEO of Generation One and Ian Trust of the Wunan Foundation all presented their lived experience in trial site communities before and after the introduction of the card. It was disheartening to hear the evidence they presented discounted once again as anecdotal, the factual material from independent evaluations labelled as flawed and quoted police data questioned. I stand here today to publicly thank those who've had the courage and strength of conviction to stand by their lived experience of the card in their communities.

At this time, I'd like to provide a brief history of the introduction of the cashless debit card in the Goldfields, acknowledging some of the key supporters who made this trial possible. In late 2015, I was approached by respected Aboriginal elder Gay Harris when I visited Leonora for a school graduation. A teenage girl had taken her life just that morning, and the town was reeling after five suicides in short succession. Nanna Gay implored me to do something to address the social harm alcohol was wreaking on their community. Children were not safe in their own homes. The future of teens seemed hopeless. Alcohol-related violence and social disruption had become an accepted part of life. The situation was similar in Laverton. The shire president, Patrick Hill, added that gambling in public places was rife, with anything from $2,000 to $5,000 in the ring, yet kids were running around with no food or clothes. In Coolgardie, respected elder Betty Logan reported young children knocking on doors late at night begging for food while their parents were drunk and unaware of their whereabouts.

Thanks to strong leadership and overwhelming community support, and following over 270 community consultations, the shires of Leonora, Laverton, Menzies and Coolgardie along with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder rolled out the cashless debit card trial between March and May 2018. I can say unequivocally that this card has had a major impact on those communities. Children who were going hungry are now presenting at school fed—so much so that at least one primary school has recently terminated their school breakfast program due to a lack of demand. Parents have reported taking their kids to McDonald's for a birthday party for the first time ever. They're having money in their accounts go through direct debit to utilities and rent, and they've even been able to save money. Shop owners have seen people who they never knew lived in the town filling up their baskets with groceries and buying clothes and toys for their kids with the card. Support services have reported less demand for emergency relief food, clothing and accommodation vouchers. Public drunkenness and street gambling has diminished markedly—so much so that Jim Epis, the CEO of the Shire of Leonora, reported:

… the Cashless Debit Card is doing wonders for the Leonora Community. It's so peaceful, even the dogs have stopped barking at night.

But don't just take my word for it. The baseline data collection for the Goldfields trial site was conducted by Adelaide university in mid to late 2018, and their executive summary stated:

Even though, at the time of the interviews, the card had only been implemented for a few months, 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 concluded:

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.

That is the baseline evaluation, which has been released for some time. The baseline evaluation was released some time ago.

I want to address some of the changes that this bill implements, and the first change is around exit applications. There is already a mechanism for a participant to exit the program if they can demonstrate reasonable and responsible management of their affairs. To date there have been 276 exit applications in the Goldfields; 87 have been approved, 137 have not been approved and 40 have been withdrawn. Enabling the minister to determine decision-making principles for the current exit criteria will improve clarity around the exit application process.

A second change will be a review of exit and wellbeing exemptions. Wellbeing exemptions are granted where being activated on the cashless debit card could pose a serious risk to a person's mental, physical or emotional wellbeing. To date there have been 151 wellbeing applications in the Goldfields; 106 have been granted and 45 have been declined. Currently there is no capacity to review exit and wellbeing determinations to enable those whose circumstances have changed to be reactivated back onto the program. The passage of this bill will allow the review and possible revoking of exits and exemptions if it can be proven that a participant has ceased to be able to manage their affairs and/or where there may be a risk to their personal wellbeing or that of their dependants. A third change is the sharing of information with community bodies. This will help with the monitoring and supporting of participants who have exited the program to continue to manage their affairs independently. The fourth change is around voluntary participation in the program.

The previously mentioned benefits of the cashless debit card mean that there should be no impediment to becoming a participant as a matter of choice. I have volunteered to have a card. I use it inside and outside the trial site, including here in Canberra, and it always works. While there are no plans for age pension recipients to be on the card, being able to elect to be a voluntary participant enables vulnerable seniors to be seen as the same as others in their community, which helps to protect them from elder abuse and from humbugging for their cash. Due to the transient nature of many Indigenous participants, I believe it's imperative that voluntary participants are able to remain on the card if they move out of a program area.

Now that I've detailed the widespread benefits that would follow the passage of the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020, I'd like to finish by referring back to the trial in my electorate, which I hope will soon become a permanent measure. The Goldfields has been an ideal trial site. Participants include anyone who is on a working-age welfare payment, whether they receive JobSeeker, youth allowance or parenting payment or are on the disability support pension or a carer's allowance. Over 50 per cent of trial participants are non-Indigenous, while slightly under 50 per cent are Indigenous. Detractors claim that this card is discriminatory, but I ask: how is that so, with such a mixed cohort?

During the rollout phase, each of the five local government authorities committed to supporting their community members' transition onto the card. Local partner shopfronts provided staff who helped participants to activate their card and set up direct payments systems for rent, utilities and other bills. There was access to financial capability and wellbeing services. Those who believed that the trial was harmful to their wellbeing could apply for an exemption, and those who could prove their financial capability could exit the program. Yes, there were teething problems in the early days, and people leaned heavily on their community leaders for help—who delivered in spades. I made myself and my office available to assist wherever possible. Most issues were easily solved locally; others we took all the way to the minister's office. This led to a constant refining of the program to its current level of sophistication and utility, such that I can say with hand on heart that I've had only two card-related concerns come forward to my office in the past 12 months.

People have accepted the card as a way of life, and coronavirus has shown us that society can function without cash. In fact, for many months earlier this year many shops said they wouldn't receive cash, so everybody was operating on a card. I will wrap up, due to time constraints, but I just want to reiterate my thanks to the community leaders across the Goldfields who have supported the trial introduction of the cashless debit card into their communities. I thank them for their patience and their persistence, as this is the third time we've come back to the parliament to have the legislation updated. I commend this bill wholeheartedly to the House.

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