Labor breaks election promise with new income management card

June 23, 2023
Issue 
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe described the income management reform bill as more paternalistic racism. Photo: @SenatorThorpe/Twitter

Labor鈥檚 cashless welfare bill passed the Senate on June 22, breaking an that included a prominent campaign to scrap the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) if it won government.

While the CDC has been officially abolished,聽the new is essentially the same.

The was supported by the Coalition and Pauline Hanson鈥檚 One Nation.

It includes provisions allowing cashless welfare to be expanded across the country at the minister鈥檚 behest. It locks cashless welfare into the social security system.

While Labor claims the new card is 鈥渧oluntary鈥 鈥 it allows some communities to choose whether to go on the program 鈥 it does not allow individuals to opt out.

鈥淭HIS IS NOT A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM,鈥 tweeted the Antipoverty Centre, pointing to the report on the bill. That said聽the bill is capable of 鈥渟ubjecting an individual to mandatory income management鈥 and 鈥渞estricting how they may spend a portion of their social security payment鈥.

The report said these measures 鈥渓imit the rights to social security and a private life鈥. It questioned how extending compulsory participation in the enhanced income management regime is 鈥渃onsistent鈥 with Labor鈥檚 claim it wants to make the program voluntary.

There were 聽as at April 28, and 22,000 are living in the Northern Territory.

The Antipoverty Centre Labor had 鈥渂etrayed welfare recipients鈥. Spokesperson Jay Coonan said the Labor had 鈥渙pened the door for the mass expansion of cashless welfare鈥 and 鈥渃rushed the hopes of 22,000 people in the Northern Territory currently subjected to compulsory income control, the vast majority of whom are First Nations鈥.

Change the Record said on Twitter that: 鈥淜eeping the same system in place and changing the name of the basics card isn't abolishing income management. It鈥檚 rebranding it.

鈥淔irst Nations peak bodies & advocates have long called for abolition of compulsory income management ... This Bill ignores these calls & instead chooses to play politics with people's lives.鈥

Yamatji-Noongar woman and Greens Senator Dorina Cox puts First Nations people at risk. 鈥淭his week, where we have passed a bill on a Voice to Parliament, this government are ... ignoring First Nations voices.鈥

Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe said: 鈥淟abor has just re-introduced income management. The racist basics card continues.鈥 She read out a list of Labor MPs who had promised to scrap cashless welfare and income management.

Labor voted down a Greens amendment to 鈥渟unset鈥 the program by 2024, which would have ensured an end date.

Greens Senator Janet Rice said: 鈥淟abor have now gone further than the Libs did in expanding racist and ineffective compulsory income management.

鈥淏etween the Cashless Debit Card 2.0, the measly $2.85 a day JobSeeker increase, and refusing to help renters during the worst housing crisis in generations, Labor has no business calling itself the party of the working class.鈥

As on social media, Labor is happy to break its promise to scrap cashless welfare and income management, but is still leaning on its pre-election promise not to scrap the Stage 3 tax cuts for the rich.

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