With stubbornly high levels of alcohol abuse in some regional and remote communities, the federal Coalition has reaffirmed its commitment to bring back the cashless debit card if it wins the upcoming election. The card was a controversial form of income management scrapped by the Albanese government in 2022.
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00:00It was the little card that caused a big stir.
00:06From our point of view, we always think that income management and any card should be voluntary.
00:11It shouldn't be mandatory.
00:13Rolled out in 2016 and abolished by Labor six years later, the cashless debit card limited
00:19access to welfare payments, so it couldn't be spent on alcohol or gambling.
00:24The coalition now says if it's elected this year, it'll bring it back.
00:29The commitment is that we will reintroduce the card in the communities that want it.
00:35The card was used in sites in South Australia, WA, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
00:41Last year, a study from Adelaide University found its removal in some spots, including
00:46Sojourner in South Australia, had a negative impact.
00:51They want that card back.
00:52They see a direct correlation and have experienced the direct correlation between the card's
00:58removal and what's happened to them now.
01:01If it does return, some hold concerns about how it would work.
01:05When you say a community can opt in, who makes that decision?
01:11What body in a community is the all-encompassing body that represents all of the families and
01:17all of the people to say we want this in our community?
01:21In the Northern Territory, where income management is still widespread on a separate system,
01:27the government says it'd still welcome the card's return.
01:31We certainly do.
01:32We want to see a system in place that helps the children of the Northern Territory so
01:36that we can work with families to ensure that there's food on the table for kids.
01:41A different standpoint in WA.
01:43It won't surprise you to hear that I think self-determination in relation to Aboriginal
01:47communities is a fundamental principle in the way you engage with them.
01:52In a statement, Federal Labor described the Coalition's pitch as base politicking and
01:58said multiple evaluations showed the card did not work to address issues faced by many
02:03regional communities.
02:05With Anthony Albanese expected to visit at least one of the towns that used to have the
02:09cashless debit card this week, he'll have a chance to hear first-hand about whether
02:14or not they want it back.