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

This is another example of the coalition not consulting and not understanding what the real issues for the community are. This is a government so enmeshed in its own internal problems that it never gets to a stage where it properly consults with a community or the general community. This is a government that really doesn't get it. The bill that's before the Senate is about trying to push the government's paternalistic approach eventually onto every Indigenous community in the country. What we are saying is that, if there are those in a community—the majority of the community—that want to deal with the cashless welfare card, that is one thing, but to simply push along with what is not a clear outcome in relation to this cashless welfare card when there is still a wide diversity of opinion in Indigenous communities on this card is another thing, and the government should take note of the concerns that are being put there.

We support genuine community-driven initiatives to tackle drug and alcohol abuse. I want to make it clear that we do not support a national rollout of the cashless debit card. I heard Senator Hanson earlier in the debate—always bringing the debate to the lowest point, always pushing a divisive approach—