7th Dec 2020, 1:24 PM – Representatives Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020 - Second Reading - Keep wording unchanged

The majority voted in favour of keeping the usual second reading motion unchanged. The usual second reading motion is "that the bill be read a second time," which is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. This division took place after the MP for Barton Linda Burney (Labor) proposed an amendment to the usual second reading motion.

Amendment text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"the House declines to give the bill a second reading and:

(1) notes that:

(a) thirteen years after the Howard Government's so-called Intervention in the Northern Territory, there is no evidence that compulsory, broad-based income management works;

(b) the Minister decided to make the Cashless Debit Card trial permanent before reading the independent review by Adelaide University; and

(c) this proposal is racially discriminatory, as approximately 68 per cent of the people impacted are First Nations Australians; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) not roll out the Cashless Debit Card nationally; and

(b) invest in evidence-based policies, job creation and services, rather than ideological policies like the Cashless Debit Card"

What does the bill do?

The bill was introduced "to establish the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) as an ongoing program rather than a time-limited trial". The CDC program is controversial for many reasons, not least the limited evidence that it is benefiting the communities where it is currently in operation.

Read more about the program and what the bill does in the bills digest.