Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

O'SULLIVAN (—) (): I sat through the inquiry into this bill. We heard from a number of witnesses who spoke about the shield that compulsorily being on the CDC has provided to them. Frankly, when they were hassled—or humbugged, as some would call it—by other members of the community to hand over cash, they were able to hold up their card physically or figuratively and say, 'It's not me; it's the government that's put me on this card.' There's been a shield for them to deal with the coercion that often occurs within these communities—this is mainly from women and elderly people in the community. What measures is the government putting in place to ensure that cardholders are protected if they choose to voluntarily stay on the cashless debit card—bearing in mind that members of the community and their family and others could put extra pressure on them, now having voluntarily made this decision?