Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Well, look, I'm happy to lay the cards on the table and show you just how much Senator McCarthy, former Minister Scrymgour and Luke Gosling consulted in the Northern Territory alone. They didn't stop talking to the people of the Northern Territory in this particular case. And what did the people of the Northern Territory do? They re-elected two Labor members as well as Senator McCarthy. So, I think there's no doubt that we've gone beyond the call of duty to consult.

But let me talk to you a bit about what we did. Prior to the election Labor heard the many calls from people living on the card who said that the card was negatively affecting their lives and their ability to manage their money. The Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon. Linda Burney—she was then shadow minister, but she's now minister—visited many of the CDC communities and spoke with participants. The minister heard that the card did not help them manage their money or improve their lives. Since the election, that terrific Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, and the assistant minister—another fine minister, Justine Elliot—visited each of the six communities affected by the CDC. They spoke with participants on the card, local government representatives, emergency services and the First Nations leaders.

I'm happy to go through the dates of those visits. In Ceduna it was 23 and 24 June 2022; that was Minister Rishworth. East Kimberley was 29 June to 1 July; that was Minister Rishworth again. Bundaberg and Hervey Bay was 4 and 5 July; that was Assistant Minister Elliot. Cape York was 9 and 10 August; that was Assistant Minister Elliot. Cairns was 12 August; that was Minister Rishworth. Then the Goldfields was 15 and 16 August; that was Minister Elliot. Finally, the Northern Territory was 17 to 19 August; again, that was Minister Rishworth. So I'd submit that that's pretty conclusive evidence of the consultation that this government participated in before we moved this legislation.

As to the other particular question that the shadow minister asked, we simply can't sit back and wait for 2023 to roll around, meanwhile extending a payment management system that amounts to privatised welfare. This is not in the best interests of the recipients and, more importantly, not in the best interests of taxpayers. That's why we are passing legislation through the parliament right now to abolish the card.