Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

I think that contribution right there really belled the cat. In fact, what it said to me was that this is an opposition that has no policies, and it's an opposition for opposition's sake. This is a bill that delivers on the Albanese government's election commitment to abolish the cashless debit card. It is a position that we took to the election. What happened on 21 May is that we had a change of government. People voted for a change. That's what happened.

A couple of other things happened. A familiar theme has been flowing through the contributions by the opposition: we never listen; then, when we make amendments because we listened to the Senate inquiry into this bill, somehow that is wrong too. You never can get it right with this lot. You can never get it right with this lot. Regardless of what they want to tell you, and regardless of what they say in their contributions, this commitment was made following extensive consultations with individuals, with organisations, with service providers and with cashless debit card holders.

There have been numerous evaluations, inquiries and orders, none of which have been able to establish that the card is working. The latest of these was the ANAO report released in June, which highlighted the lack of evidence to demonstrate any success associated with the rollout of the card. Instead, what we've heard are the experiences of cardholders feeling stigmatised and believing that they're being punished for being welfare recipients. That is why Labor committed to abolishing the card. That is part of why the Australian people voted for the Labor Party—our commitment to abolish the cashless debit card.

The passage of this bill will mean that no new social security recipients can be put on the card. It will also enable the more than 17,000 current cardholders to transition away from having to use the card as part of this process. Everyone who is currently using the card will be able to remain on voluntary income management.

Submissions to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into this bill revealed how poorly targeted the rollout of the cashless debit card was. According to UnitingCare Australia, most of the people on the cashless debit card do not have substance abuse or gambling problems, despite the previous government's claim that the rollout of the card would target welfare recipients experiencing those very issues. UnitingCare went on to say that the numerous evaluations and studies conducted since the card was first introduced in 2016 had provided, 'no evidence that the groups of people singled out and put on the card were in fact the people facing the highest risk of engaging in the behaviours that it was meant to target'. This is not new. This is not news to anyone. The coalition government had the same information to hand back then but they continued.

Last month there were over 17,000 of our fellow Australians on the cashless debit card. People aged 35 and under who receive the JobSeeker payment, youth allowance, parenting allowance and are in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay are required to use the card. All recipients of working age payments in Ceduna, the Goldfields and East Kimberley are required to use the card. Some income support recipients in Cape York and some income management participants in the Northern Territory are also required to use the card.

The current program relies on visa debit cards that have been issued by the payment company Indue or the Traditional Credit Union in the Northern Territory. One of the many problems is that these cards can only be used in stores that accept the cards. That lack of widespread acceptance of the card, and the workarounds developed by some community members and businesses, has led to increased hardship. In some cases rent payments have been blocked, making housing stability an additional challenge for those people.

We've heard, in a number of contributions here, about the issues that related to the use of the card and the extra hardship that it caused people who were required to use these cards. Anyone in this chamber should have a good long, hard look at themselves as to suggest that people should be not be able to shop where they want to shop. When you're putting these systems in place you need to have a good, long, hard look at yourself. I mean, seriously.

The previous government also claimed that this form of compulsory income management would help women in violent and abusive relationships, but, again, there is no evidence to support this claim—no evidence at all—and no-one, in all the contributions that we've had here today, has put forward any evidence to support this claim. If this is your position, if your position is to oppose this piece of legislation, you should be putting forward the evidence—not just blanket statements, but real evidence.

In their submission to the committee inquiry the Top End Womens Legal Service outlined some of the complexity faced by women survivors and victims of violence and abuse, including the shame of providing details to Centrelink and the problems accessing housing and crisis support when on the BasicsCard and cashless debit card—so the opposite of what you're saying.

The St Vincent de Paul's Society shares the view of many that there there's no evidence that compulsory income management has any widespread or sustained benefits. They were also concerned that the use of the cashless debit card did not lead to any discernible improvements in employment outcomes. Instead, it often resulted in stigmatisation, exclusion, financial hardship and discrimination.

This bill allows for a staged transition for people who currently use the card. This gradual process will allow Services Australia to conduct individual interviews with everyone subjected to the cashless card to ensure that each participant is well informed of their options and the support services that are available to them. The approach taken by this government is sensible. It's a government that cares about people. It's incumbent upon the opposition to come out in their contributions and put out cold, hard facts. Quite frankly, we haven't seen that. We haven't seen any facts to support the statements they are presenting to this chamber. They need to take a good, hard look at themselves.

This approach the government is taking is supported by the evidence from service providers that the most effective way to achieve long-term sustainable change is to provide individualised, culturally sensitive services and support for as long as they are required. When this bill is passed, anyone who wishes to cease using the card will be able to do so without having to prove anything to any government agency. They will no longer have to share some very detailed private information in order to be moved off the card. The gradual transition proposed by the government will also allow for further meaningful consultations with First Nations people and their representative organisations on the specific challenges faced by their communities. These consultations will explore the types of supports that will benefit these communities.

Welfare payments and associated supports are key components to delivering on this government's priority that no-one is left behind. A priority for the government will be to ensure that every measure we put in place to assist some of our most vulnerable citizens does just that—assists them. We will always have supporting the most vulnerable members of our community as our top priority. The delivery of housing, health, education, child care and income support will make Australia a better place. These important areas of public policy are key to delivering on this government's top two priorities—no-one left behind and no-one held back. Today we are taking a step forward on that journey. I commend the bill to the Senate.