Albo branded ‘hypocritical’ over welfare card, Indigenous voice

The Albanese government has been slammed for ignoring pleas to stop a key welfare scheme being scrapped while also claiming Aboriginal Australians need a voice in parliament.

Indigenous leaders have slammed Anthony Albanese’s government as “hypocrites” for pledging to campaign for an Aboriginal voice to parliament while ignoring the pleas of remote communities to keep the cashless debit card for welfare payments.

Speaking at a government hearing in Bundaberg, Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson said if the controversial income management program was wound up as planned, there would be little hope of changing remote indigenous communities affected by alcohol and violence.

“We will have to give up hope on the idea that we can change anything for these communities because you guys will repeal this thing and walk away,” Mr Pearson told the Senate committee on community affairs.

“The welfare reform work we have done over the last 20 years will collapse.”

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Price told The Daily Telegraph: “It is absolutely hypocritical for the government to have made a unilateral decision to scrap the card.”

Noel Pearson. Picture: John Feder

“It appears this government is only prepared to listen to those who are pushing to scrap the card because it suits their agenda … there are Indigenous people seeing success in their own communities” because of the cashless card, she said.

Senator Price said the card had made a positive difference where it had been trialled.

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“It’s about food versus alcohol, it’s about supporting families to make sure the bills are covered and make savings towards goals like buying new whitegoods,” she said.

Opposition social services spokesman Michael Sukkar said vulnerable communities would suffer without the card.

“By abolishing the cashless debit card, Labor will unleash a tsunami of alcohol- and drug-fuelled violence into vulnerable communities,” he said.

However, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth rejected the notion the government was not consulting Indigenous communities.

“We are consulting on the future of income management – any suggestion we are not is false,” she said.

“We are focused on the cashless debit card and abolishing that. That needs to be done in a safe way.”