Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That was briefer than I thought across the chamber. You did say you would be brief.

Labor will not be supporting this disallowance motion, either. I would just like to briefly outline our position on why we will not be supporting the disallowance motion. Labor does not believe in a blanket approach to welfare quarantining. We do not believe the debit card on welfare payment should be rolled out nationally. We understand that the vast majority of people on income support are more than capable of managing their own finances, but the level of alcohol abuse in communities like Ceduna and Kununurra cannot be ignored.

Labor supports community-driven initiatives designed to tackle alcohol abuse. That is why we offered support for the 12-month debit card trial in both Ceduna and Kununurra. We want to see the results of these trials. Trial participants include people who receive Newstart allowance, parenting payment, disability support pension and carer payments. It is important to note that new debit card arrangements are very different from income management. Unlike income management, participants on the new debit card will not receive assistance from Centrelink workers to assist in budgeting or to ensure that income support payments are directed at life's essentials, such as food, rent and clothing. The intent of the new debit card is to ensure that the majority of income support payments cannot be spent on alcohol or gambling products.

Labor does not see this card as a panacea for all the problems in these communities. We believe that the card must come accompanied by appropriate wraparound support services if it is to be successful in tackling complex, multidimensional and intergenerational social problems, which is something Labor argued successfully for in the legislation that passed the parliament last year.

As was pointed out during the debate of this legislation, Labor do support the quarantining of income support payments to ensure that money is spent in the best interests of children and families, and the most vulnerable people in the community. It means that more money will go to providing food, clothes and rent, and that less money will go to alcohol and gambling. Labor also believe that quarantining of income support payments can be a useful tool to help stabilise people's circumstances and to ease immediate financial stress. In finalising our position, Labor listened to people living in the possible trial locations and heard that they were desperate for action to assist in tackling the harm that is being caused by alcohol in their communities. Community leaders in the area have said they wanted to take part in the trial.

It is for these reasons that Labor will not be supporting this disallowance and will be waiting and watching to see how the first 12 months of this trial have gone. We will be talking with community leaders in these trial towns to get their firsthand experiences from the trials. Labor's Jenny Macklin has requested a briefing from the department to update the opposition on the progress of the trial at Ceduna and Kununurra. We look forward to that briefing and to finding out more about how the trial is progressing. As such, we will not be supporting the disallowance motion today.