Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

We are not going to be lectured about consultation by the former government. They provided zero consultation to the people of Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. I know that because I've been there multiple times. They imposed this from on high through their local member, Mr Pitt. No consultation was taken with that community before this was imposed on them. I went there and did forums in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg. I took the then shadow minister, Linda Burney. We consulted with those people on the ground whom this government ignored. The local member, the member for Hinkler, Mr Pitt, wouldn't even meet with constituents who raised issues about this; that's how arrogant he was. For this opposition to come in here and try to lecture us about consulting is completely outrageous.

This is something on which we consulted in opposition over many years. The shadow minister travelled to many communities so that we could listen to evidence on the ground. That's what a good opposition does to actually learn the lessons and hear from people directly. We formed our view about this policy over that period of opposition—before we said that we would actually go to the election and say that we would end the cashless debit card. We consulted widely. We were productive in how we used our time in opposition, and we took a policy to the election that the Australian people voted for. So we're not going to get lectured by the opposition about how we do it.

We know that the committee has enough time to provide a report so that this legislation, which has already passed the House of Representatives, can get debated in this place and, ultimately, I hope, lead to the removal of the cashless debit card and the impact it has had on communities. The trauma and the stigma that this has caused people who have been forced onto this card, and the way that they have been treated in these communities, is not acceptable. It's not something that this current government stands for. We absolutely urge the Senate, when the vote comes, to remove the cashless debit card.