9th Dec 2020, 9:57 PM – Senate Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020 - Second Reading - Withdraw the bill

The majority voted against an amendment moved by WA Senator Patrick Dodson (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

Omit all words after "That", substitute: ", the bill be withdrawn and the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) 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,

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

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

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) not roll out the Cashless Debit Card nationally, and

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

What does this 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.