Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

This bill provides the underpinning legislative authority to enable the expansion of the cashless debit card into new regions.

The government is committed to addressing the serious harm which is caused by alcohol, gambling and drug abuse paid for by welfare payments.

I thank the Joint Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills for their comments in relation to this bill. In light of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee's recommendation that the explanatory material be updated, the government will table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum.

The addendum provides further background around the use of delegated legislation to support the operation of the cashless debit card and includes the results from the final evaluation of the cashless debit card trial.

I also thank the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee for its report on the bill and its recommendation that the bill be passed.

I note the dissenting reports from the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Greens which recommended that the Senate not pass the bill. However, the government considers that amendments introduced by this bill are essential to sustaining positive impacts in the existing cashless debit card communities and expanding these results to new regions.

Welfare payments are provided to people in need to help with essential living costs, in particular food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. The community expectation is these payments will not be spent on harmful goods such as alcohol, gambling and drugs.

Alcohol is a contributing factor to an estimated 65 per cent of all domestic violence incidents and 47 per cent of child abuse cases in some jurisdictions. Alcohol related harm and illicit drug use costs the Australian economy over $22 billion each year.

The cashless debit card aims to reduce the devastating effects of alcohol, drug and gambling abuse. The card operates like an ordinary debit card, with the primary difference being that it does not work at liquor stores or gambling houses and cash cannot be withdrawn from it. Consequently, illicit products cannot be purchased with it.

The card has been in operation for almost two years in Ceduna, South Australia and Kununurra and Wyndham in the East Kimberley, Western Australia. In each of these communities, 80 per cent of an individual's welfare payments are placed into a separate account which is only accessible using their cashless debit card. The remaining 20 per cent is placed into their ordinary savings account.

Consultations with community leaders led to independent community panels being implemented, as a tool to encourage people to uphold social norms. The panels were established as a mechanism that allows individuals to apply to have access to a higher portion of unrestricted funds.

The community-wide impacts of the use of harmful goods mean that the CDC program is most effective when most people in a community who receive a welfare payment participate in the program. Where CDC participation would not be appropriate, it is not applied. For instance, people do not participate in the program if they have payment nominees, they are a student outside trial areas, they receive the age pension or a veteran's payment, or CDC participation would seriously risk their mental, physical or emotional wellbeing.

To complement the roll out of the cashless debit card, the government committed an additional $1 million in Ceduna and $1.6 million in the East Kimberley in new funding for support services in the first 12 months to ensure vulnerable people were supported. The government has since committed to match the first-year funding envelope for additional support services in a second-year package.

Support packages were designed in consultation with communities and aim to complement and enhance existing services and provide a comprehensive response to address addiction, help people reduce their dependence on alcohol or drugs and have better financial management practices.

The results of the trials are encouraging. There is less public drunkenness, less gambling, fewer alcohol related hospital admissions, and people are engaging with the support services and working to improve their lives.

While the card is not a 'silver bullet' to overcome all community issues, it has led to improvements in the lives of individuals, families and children in the two communities of Ceduna and the East Kimberley.

Since this bill was introduced, the government released the independent final cashless debit card trial evaluation report that assessed the impact of the introduction of the cashless debit card in Ceduna and East Kimberley.

I am pleased to report the independent evaluation found that the cashless debit card has been effective in reducing alcohol consumption and gambling in both trial sites and is also suggestive of a reduction in the use of illegal drugs.

Across the two trial sites, 41 per cent of participants surveyed who drank before the trial started reported they drank less frequently.

Additionally, 37 per cent of participants who reported engaging in binge drinking before the trial, said they were doing this less frequently.

In the East Kimberley specifically, of participants reporting that they drank alcohol before the trial commenced, 43 per cent reported drinking less at wave 2.

Across the two sites, 48 per cent of people reported gambling less often. From April 2016 to March 2017, poker machine revenue in the Ceduna area was 12 per cent lower than in the same 12-month period before the trial started in March 2016.

This is the equivalent of almost $550,000 less spent on poker machines in the 12-month trial.

The government is heartened by the initial positive findings. The extension of the card in these communities will focus on sustaining these positive outcomes in the longer term.

Building on these research findings, the government has announced two new expansion sites, the Goldfields region in Western Australia and the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay Region in Queensland in September 2017. Expansion to these communities will help test the card and the technology that supports it in more diverse communities and settings.

Roll out into these communities will also include $1 million in funding for wrap-around support services in each site to complement the operation of the cashless debit card and ensure vulnerable people are adequately supported.

The evaluation also found that there are areas that we can improve on—and as we roll out the CDC in the Goldfields and Bundaberg and Hervey bay region we will take these learnings into account.

The bill itself amends the existing legislation to enable the cashless debit card to operate in further locations. It removes section 124PF of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, which limits the number of locations, participants and end date of the cashless debit card trial.

Removing this section will support the extension of arrangements in current sites, and enable the expansion of the cashless debit card.

Under the legislation, the locations, cohorts covered and timing of the operation of the cashless debit card will still be determined by a disallowable instrument. These instruments can also specify other parameters, including sunset dates and participant criteria.

What this means is that the government can work with individual communities to co-design the particular parameters, and tailor the program to suit that particular community's needs. It also ensures that the parliament itself retains the right to consider each proposed new cashless debit card site on a case-by-case basis.

It is important to point out that the cashless debit card will only be implemented in communities that support it. Support for the CDC is measured through extensive consultation with interested communities. So far consultation has covered all relevant stakeholder groups, including potential program participants.

Consultation is conducted on an ongoing basis in both Ceduna and East Kimberley, and extensive consultation was undertaken prior to announcing the expansion sites. Consultation is ongoing in both expansion sites in preparation for implementation.

The cashless debit card is a world first in how it operates. The trials have been completed, an evaluation has been conducted, and it has been shown to work and now there is an opportunity to expand the cashless debit card to new locations. This bill will allow this to occur.