Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this disallowance motion proposed by the Greens. Based on our extensive consultations with Indigenous stakeholders and communities, we oppose the disallowance motion of the Greens. As I said in my remarks yesterday in the second reading debate on the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card) Bill 2017, the cashless debit card is a complex issue. Issues of alcohol abuse, intergenerational poverty and social dysfunction, and the implications of those issues, are extremely complex. Their causes are extremely complex. Equally, the policy solutions that address these issues require careful deliberation and consultation, and that's exactly what Labor have done in determining our position. We need a calm and considered approach on this issue. Labor have consulted with many communities and many key stakeholders both in the trial site communities and around the country. We've received a wide range of opinions from both communities and individuals within those communities. We've heard from some communities and individuals who strongly oppose the cashless debit card. We've heard from some communities and some individuals who support it.

To be very clear, Labor does not support a national rollout of the cashless debit card. As I've said many times, Labor believes that the vast majority of income support recipients are more than capable of managing their own finances. I also want to make Labor's position very clear. Labor supports a limited continuation of the existing cashless debit card trial sites in Ceduna and East Kimberley. However, Labor will not support the rollout of the cashless debit card to the two new proposed sites of Bundaberg and the Goldfields. Labor understands that entrenched disadvantage cannot and will not be solved by income management alone. That's why we have always advocated for the government to provide additional wraparound support to the participating communities.

Labor believes that there still exists sufficient community support for a continuation of the trials in Ceduna and the East Kimberley. Labor knows that entrenched social issues cannot and will not be solved by income management alone. That's why we insisted that the government provide additional community supports for participating communities. We're calling on the government to support our amendment that funding for these critical wraparound services be guaranteed in the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card) Bill. Labor will also move an amendment to ensure that no new trial sites can be introduced. In the future, Labor will only consider the introduction of a new trial site if the government can show that they have an agreed, formal consultation process with the community as well as an agreed definition of 'consent'.