2016-03-15
The Australian Greens have penned a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about the cashless welfare card trial, which launched today in Ceduna.
“It is extremely disappointing that today the Government will be rolling out the Cashless Debit Card trial in Ceduna”, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“The Australian Greens hold major concerns about the impacts the card may have in entrenching poverty for residents in Ceduna accessing income support.
“The Australian Greens will continue to highlight logistical issues and community concerns associated with the card, and will keep a close eye on the Government’s potential plan to roll this out to regional Australia and beyond.
“This trial should not be taken lightly, it could serve as a stepping stone to huge changes in how our social safety net is rolled out across the country.
“We must abandon a paternalistic top-down approach to reducing disadvantage, time and time again we have learnt it does not work”.