Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I want to start by putting our perspective on the record so that my questions will be considered in that context. The Greens' position is that we are against any form of compulsory income management because it has clearly failed to work. We have had—what is it?—six years of so-called trials of the cashless debit card, which have failed to address the social problems which they were set up to address. We have had evaluations that have shown very clearly that there has not been any evidence that the cashless debit card has addressed those social problems. We have had a scathing report from the Auditor-General that has shown that compulsory income management has failed. It is a harmful, punitive approach, and it's basically trying to mask an awful lot of other social problems, which are the issues that need to be addressed. We've heard in many speeches, yesterday and today, people being very concerned—and quite rightly—about social problems in some communities across Australia but then jumping to the conclusion that compulsory income management is going to fix those problems. Clearly the evidence from the BasicsCard, which was introduced in the Northern Territory after the Intervention, and from the cashless debit card over the last six years, has shown that compulsory income management has not fixed those problems. Otherwise, the communities it has been imposed upon would have had very clear evidence of having an improvement in those social issues, and it just hasn't happened.

Given that context, the Greens are supporting this bill because it is going to mean fewer people under compulsory income management, because the people in the four trial sites are, after the royal assent to this bill, going to have the ability to get off compulsory income management. That is a huge step forward. I am going to be celebrating with those people in those four trial sites. I know that there are many of them who are just waiting to get off the cashless debit card. We've got amendments that will be attempting to get more people off compulsory income management. But, as I said, we're going to be supporting this bill because it is going to mean fewer people under compulsory income management.

I want to just ask the minister some questions of clarification, starting off with this. Will anyone who is currently not on compulsory income management be forced to go onto compulsory income management as a result of this bill?