Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Pensioners have a right to control how they spend their own money without the government and a private company controlling where they can shop and what they can buy, so I'm proud to introduce this bill protecting pensioners from the cashless debit card. It implements Labor's policy to scrap the government's cruel scheme, liberating thousands of Australians, including disability pensioners, carers and others already on this card, and protecting all pensioners from being forced onto the card. Eighty per cent of a person's payment is put on this privatised card and a private company, Indue, controls when, where and how people can spend their own money. This card is dehumanising, degrading and results in horrible situations. One woman was forced to beg Indue for permission to buy a bra that fitted her from a shop that wasn't on the approved list. She was forced to send in photos. This bill stops this government's privatisation of social security dead in its tracks.

The Morrison government has already wasted over $70 million dollars on this private company, Indue. That's $5,200 per card, more than many part-pensioners get in an entire year. This has been a cash bonanza for Indue, yet the government wants to expand it. I challenge the government to stop misleading people and set the record straight about their plans. If they really don't want a national rollout, then they will vote for this bill. They can't be trusted. They said the card was just a trial, but then the minister introduced legislation to make the card permanent before she'd even received the independent review, giving away their real game. As usual, the government is now literally pretending that they haven't said the things that came out of their own mouths. The Prime Minister forgets that TV cameras actually record things. The headline on Sky News clearly said that the Prime Minister 'is eyeing a national rollout of the cashless debit card'. The minister has said:

We are seeking to put all income management onto the universal platform which is the cashless debit card.

Last year the government introduced legislation into this parliament to give the minister the power to force all age pensioners onto the card. Australians are not stupid. Ask yourself: why would you introduce legislation to force pensioners onto the card if that's not what you wanted to do? There are already pensioners who've been forced onto the card. The Prime Minister said numerous times that he considers 'The pension is a welfare payment for those who really, really need it.'

He's not alone. His close mates Senator Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer agree. Senator Hanson said welfare recipients have 'lost their right' to decide how to spend their money. If the Prime Minister wins the next election, pensioners will be forced onto this card and they won't have enough cash to buy cheap food from the local fresh food market or second-hand goods off the internet or meals at the RSLs and local service clubs. It'll hurt small businesses and farmers' markets. They won't have enough cash to give to the grandkids. These are the stories we've heard from people already on the card. The 7.30 Report spoke to a single mum who was forced onto the card who didn't have enough gold coins to make the donation to get into the school fete.

The bill also deals with the government's addiction to secrecy. It will force the minister to come clean, to release the secret contract with the private company Indue. It is the only social services contract that the government has not released. The rest are on their website, but this one is secret. The Senate demanded last week that the minister table the contract on Friday, and she is still refusing. It will also force the minister to release the secret documents about their plans to expand the scheme. I've tried to get them through freedom of information laws, and the government refuses. They said, two weeks ago, 'Well, there are simply too many documents to process.'

Australians deserve to know what this secret technology working group is actually doing. It's chaired by a government senator; it includes the big banks, Australia Post and the supermarkets; and it's trying to work out product-level blocking. That is code for a private company, Indue, being able to control what brands and what sizes of goods in what shops people can buy with their own money. The minister has admitted—again, on the record, on the television—"

The reason we haven't done it in the major cities is because we need to deal with the technology issue, which we are now close to resolving.

This bill is sensible—it's not radical—and provides for transition. It forces the minister to prepare a jobs and services plan for each affected community by the end of January when the card ends.

Finally, the question is: will this bill pass? I believe it will pass if the government allows a vote. Some Liberal MPs don't support the scheme. The member for Bass spoke powerfully in this chamber against the bill to expand the trials but was bullied by the Prime Minister into voting for it. Liberal MPs always say one thing in their electorates and do another thing here in Canberra. The member for Bass and others who privately don't like the card need to put their money where their mouth is and cross the floor to allow a vote. If the government is not stopped, the consequences are horrendous—millions of Australians will be forced onto this privatised scheme, expanding the suffering and indignity.

If the bill doesn't pass before the elections, then we know the government's intentions are clear and the battlelines are drawn. Liberals want to expand their scheme, but a Labor government will fight privatisation and protect pensioners by scrapping this nasty, cruel cashless pension card scheme, once and for all. I invite the member for Richmond to make some remarks in seconding the bill.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded? I call the member for Richmond.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very proud to be seconding this bill and protecting pensioners from the cashless debit card, because this bill will finally end the Morrison government's cruel, heartless and failed cashless debit card. It will end it for those currently on the card, and it will stop the Liberals and Nationals from rolling it out across the country to others on income support payments and to those on the age pension. We, in Labor, stand by those on those trial sites who have currently been forced on to the card, and we will keep fighting to stop the Morrison government from forcing more people onto it.

We know it's the Morrison government's plan to expand it, because they have listed the age pension in the legislation and they keep on talking about making it universal. The minister responsible, Senator Ruston, said that the card should have a more universal platform. The Prime Minister himself said the card is 'commending itself for wider application'. The communications minister said, 'Our Liberal-National government is committed to the cashless debit card.' And the member for Hinkler said, 'I think it's now time to take the evidence on board and roll it out across the country.'

Well, we don't agree with you. In contrast, we've made it very clear that, if elected, Labor will scrap this card, because it does not work and it imposes harsh measures on the thousands who've been forced onto it against their will. But we know that, if the Morrison government get their way, they will expand it out across the country. We already know there are 14 age pensioners who've been forced onto it, bringing the total number of age pensioners to 20. This is a card where 80 per cent of your income is controlled by the government. They get to choose where and when you spend your money. And, of course, in their ongoing outsourcing of welfare, they have this scheme run by a private company, Indue—no accountability, no transparency. We also know the Morrison government is working with the banks. They've got a technology working group specifically designed to roll out the cashless debit card.

So many people have contacted us detailing how being forced onto this card has impacted their lives. The usage of the card is very restricted. The card is often declined. People can't buy food or basic groceries. They can't pay their rent. They're forced into bankruptcy. They can't make car repayments. They can't buy second-hand clothes because they can't access cash to buy them. It is absolutely devastating. Many people have had their dignity taken away, like Bianca, who has to wear plus-sized bras. She can only afford to buy this specific bra on eBay, which is a blocked merchant under this scheme. Indue insisted that she first send a photo of the bra, then get permission to buy it and then show proof of purchase. That is appalling. And Jocelyn, who is 65 years old and on a disability pension, was forced onto the cashless welfare card just because of where she lives.

I'd like to acknowledge all those individuals and groups across the country who have been fighting against this card for years. We are with you. We are with you in fighting the Morrison government's plan to expand the card. We know they want to expand it to age pensioners, who can then say goodbye to cheap food and drinks at their local club, having cash to give the grandkids, being able to access cash to go to the local op shop or garage sale. That's what they're going to take from our age pensioners, the people who built this nation. This is insulting, it's demeaning and it is downright wrong.

This is why this bill must be supported. If the Liberals and Nationals refuse to vote on this bill in parliament, then we'll fight this issue every day up until the next election. The choice is very clear. The Liberals and Nationals want to expand the cashless debit card, and Labor is committed to scrapping it once and for all. We're committed to that because Labor is on your side. We will stand up and fight for you every day. I commend the bill to the House.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order for the next sitting.