2016-04-05
It is unbelievable that a rehabilitation centre is seven hours away from a community forced onto the cashless welfare card which is supposed to be aimed at reducing drug and alcohol abuse, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“Income support recipients in Yalata are being forced onto the cashless welfare card because the Government claims they are trying to reduce drug and alcohol abuse.
“If the Government were serious about addressing drug and alcohol abuse in Yalata, they should be funding a rehabilitation centre in the community.
“To impose a paternalistic card that restricts cash on a community then force them to drive seven hours to the nearest rehabilitation centre is unfair and nonsensical.
“The card is already beginning to unravel and its true intentions are becoming clear. This card is not about genuinely reducing disadvantage, rather tightening control on our most vulnerable accessing income support”.