Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his direct and short answers to the questions. What we have just heard from the response that we received from the minister is that the sum total of the effect of this bill on recipients of income management across the whole of Australia is the fact that there will be an offering of an enhanced technology to people in four sites—Ceduna, East Kimberley, Goldfields, and Bunderberg and Hervey Bay. Apart from that, this bill does absolutely nothing. The people of Cape York, we found out through prosecution of the previous amendment, will remain on the cashless debit card. The people of the Northern Territory who have transitioned from the BasicsCard to the cashless debit card will remain on the cashless debit card. Those people in the Northern Territory who are currently on the BasicsCard will be forced to remain on the BasicsCard because of the extension of instruments that is being undertaken by this government this week as well.

In all of the other income management sites across Australia that I listed in my previous questions, there will be no change. Every single person currently on compulsory income management in those sites will remain on compulsory income management in those sites. So what the minister has basically just done is bell the cat. What we have seen is that this bill is basically a shell of what they promised when they went to the last election. They went to the election and they promised that they were going to abolish the cashless debit card. This bill is called the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Repeal of Cashless Debit Card and Other Measures) Bill 2022. The cold hard fact is that this bill should read social security administration amendment (extension of the cashless debit card and other measures bill), because what we have heard from the minister tonight is that there is no effect whatsoever on compulsory income management as it is currently outlined under the income management legislation, and that all we are seeing is a so-called transition onto enhanced technology. We've heard, in answers given to other members in this place, that people will still have the cashless debit card. Even when they have supposedly been transitioned over onto this new technology they will still have a card with exactly the same number on it as is currently on their cashless debit card. As we all know, you can put as much lipstick on this pig as you like, the fact is that the cashless debit card is going to remain in place. This is one of the most embarrassing backflips I've ever seen.

The only thing I can say is there are some small mercies by what has happened here tonight. Obviously the government has been forced into listening to a community like Cape York. We've seen an amendment that has enabled Cape York to be able to continue with the functionality that they have fought so long to be able to have, despite the fact that this government, without consultation, went to the election and said they were going to abolish the cashless debit card in Cape York. They clearly hadn't spoken to the members of the Cape York community, because of course they would've told them at the time that they didn't want the card to be abolished, which they've subsequently told them. They have backflipped on it. I am pleased that they have backflipped on that, because the community of Cape York clearly have worked very hard to try and deliver good outcomes for the members of their community.

It is extremely disappointing that, despite all the fanfare and all the con that we have seen from those opposite, the cold hard facts are that this particular bill does very little. They've tried to cloak this as some sort of amazing decision and delivery on an election promise. They have delivered very little by this legislation tonight.

The opposition is not going to stand in the way of the amendment that is before the chair, because we believe that it is appropriate for people to be able to have some continuity and some consistency. We are happy that the government is making the decision to allow people who are on the cashless debit card in the Northern Territory to remain on the cashless debit card.

We look forward to seeing what the government comes back with, with its enhanced technology option. I will make you a fearless prediction in here that the government will come back with the cashless debit card technology. They will probably pop it in a different act. They'll probably give it a different name. But the cold hard reality is that what they will come back into this place with is the cashless debit card dressed up as something else.

If those opposite would like to disagree with me, I'm more than happy for them to do so. You can be assured that every single person in this place will be watching what you're doing, because this has been nothing more than the most monumental con of the Australian public. You have not sought to abolish the cashless debit card. You have actually sought to extend it in some places. You have not sought to get rid of income management. You are intending to extend income management by the extension of instruments that put in place income management across the Northern Territory, and all of those sites that I have just listed here where you have said there will be no change to income management.

As I said, the opposition will support this amendment. The opposition will support this amendment, because we believe it is the right thing to do. We thank the government for actually listening to the people in the Northern Territory. Despite the fact that Senator Farrell has continuously misled this place by saying that there are people in the Northern Territory who have been forced onto the cashless debit card there are none. But at least you have given those people who voluntarily chose to go onto the cashless debit card the opportunity to remain on the cashless debit card. I look forward to seeing the legislation that you intend to bring back into this place to put what you are proposing for income management going forward.

I put you on notice: if you think that you can bring back the cashless debit card technology under some other different name and pop it into a different act and think that we're going to believe for one minute that you have done anything apart from extend the cashless debit card in this country, you are sadly mistaken. You need to come clean with the Australian public about what your intentions are. I think it's been very clear from all the amendments you have put forward, and very clear from the $50 million that you reannounced on Saturday to go towards drug and alcohol services, that you know that, due to the removal of the compulsory nature of the cashless debit card in the four sites that are going to the voluntary cashless debit card, there is a very, very high chance that we will see significant increases in social harm, significant increases in domestic violence and significant increases in police presentations, hospital presentations and child neglect. You know that's the case, and that is why you have put this bandaid of additional funding onto it.

As I said, the opposition will not stand in the way of this amendment because we believe that it is appropriate for people to at least be able to have some sort of consistency going forward. Your decision that you put to the people at the election was ridiculous. You have obviously realised that yourselves, so we will be supporting this amendment.