Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Even the ABC acknowledged why they were doing it. The ABC said, 'The now Labor government philosophically opposes compulsory income management in most circumstances.' There you go. Your philosophical left say, 'We don't agree with this.' Paternalism in action is alive and well and the name is Labor.

What did some of the local leaders from Western Australia say when they begged you to keep the card? 'Local leaders in East Kimberley say the removal of the card had coincided with a surge in alcohol-fuelled violence and antisocial behaviour. … Wyndham East Kimberley Shire president, David Menzel, said frontline workers and Indigenous agencies had raised concerns with him of about the abrupt change. "Disruption to people's way of life, quite a demand for food for kids. There have been increased sales in high-alcohol content drinks.'" What did the President of the Shire of Laverton say? He said, 'The lack of consultation is profound on the government's behalf and the words and the rhetoric do not bode well for the future of Laverton. As local governments do, we will pick up the pieces with other state government agencies. The CDC has brought sanity to people's lives. Most of the spending allocation is to purchase food and other essentials in life for women, children and the elderly.' Yet you did not listen. Big Brother—big paternalist brother, thy name is Labor and the Greens—knew better and didn't listen to local communities. What did Ian Trust, the director of the amazing Wunan Foundation in Kununurra, who knows about this firsthand, say? He said that the cashless debit card had reduced alcohol violence and the harassment of the elderly and vulnerable for cash when they go to the AGM. He said that it wasn't a silver bullet but it was something we could build on and something the local community in Kununurra wanted. So it goes on and on. Senator Nampijinpa Price knows only too well the consequences that your paternalism and your not listening to local communities have had for her community in Alice Springs and right across the Territory. So please never come and lecture us on any moral issue again, because the fact is that you are stopping a royal commission into child sex—