Trial communities back no-grog, cashless welfare cards
Communities riven with social dysfunction and substance abuse have welcomed government moves to introduce a cashless welfare card to stop payments being spent on alcohol and gambling.
The government has identified at least three communities as potential trial sites for the so-called Healthy Welfare card, first advocated by mining magnate Andrew Forrest in his review of the welfare system last year.
The government is consulting with community leaders in Kununurra in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, Moree in northern NSW and Ceduna on South Australia’s west coast, with the aim of rolling out the card within the next six months, but the government says no final decisions have been made.
Each of the communities has a large indigenous population and entrenched social dysfunction as a result of alcohol-fuelled violence and crime.
Ceduna Mayor Allan Suter said there was broad community support for the card, which operates as a bank debit card but prevents alcohol and gambling purchases.
Alan Tudge, the parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister who is leading consultations, has visited twice to talk to indigenous and non-indigenous groups.
“The consultation has been very comprehensive, and I think that is probably one of the reasons why the community may be receptive to a trial,” Mr Suter said.
“We see it as potentially a very positive initiative. However, we will be mindful to the attitude of our local community because there is no good trying to bring something in against the wishes of the community.”
Mr Suter’s comments were supported by head of the Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation Mick Haynes, who gave “in-principle” support to welfare reform. “There are certainly some positives with the card, but we want to ensure that it ticks all the boxes,” he said.
Ian Trust, from the Wunan Aboriginal development organisation in Kununurra, said communities in the East Kimberley were eager for changes aimed at ending welfare dependency and addressing substance abuse.
He said the reform could apply in Wyndham and Halls Creek, along with Kununurra.
He said this could be achieved through a combination of the new card along with some measures taken from the Families Responsibilities Commission from Cape York. This could be used to determine how much welfare was quarantined, based on measures such as school attendance.
“There are a lot of people currently in a social crisis, and to get them to some level of stability we need to have some sort of reform agenda,” he said.
Once this was achieved, incentives for work and school attendance could be introduced. But Mr Trust warned that the card would need to be accompanied with additional services, such as detox programs and more indigenous police or “social order rangers” to help with the transition.
“If we roll this out on a mass scale there will be a big demand for people wanting and needing to be detoxed,” he said.
Kununurra shire president John Moulden said the council wanted the card introduced as soon as possible. “The whole community stands to benefit,” he said.
But Moree’s representative on the region’s Aboriginal Land Council, Tom French, said he had concerns. “It is another way for the government to keep us down,” he said. “It will only escalate the problem — people are going to be short of money and they are going to do whatever it takes.”
Mr Tudge would not comment on the consultations, saying only that: “We have been speaking with several communities across the country and no decision has been made.”
Source: The Australian - 13th June 2015
