Response to the Transitional Arrangements for the Cashless Debit Card Performance Audit Report 

As a Senator for South Australia, I’m interested in this document and what it says about transitional arrangements for the Cashless Debit Card.

Not just the transition for government departments, related entities and the organisations that received significant resources to deal with the fall-out. But what’s happened to the people – real people.

The women, children and elders who were protected from humbugging – that’s harassment of the worst kind, menacing and co-opting family members to pile on – when they couldn’t use the card as they had the excuse that they had no money to give away. This Albanese Government and their Australian Greens Coalition left people hurt, harmed and hungry.

But if you listen to senior bureaucrats, it’s all going swimmingly – nothing to see here. Apparently, they have done consultations and locals are pretty pleased.

Well, locals in Ceduna in South Australia are not saying that.

When I travelled to Kalgoorlie, locals didn’t say that at a community meeting, either.

These were just two communities that asked for the card to be trialed in their communities.

Nearly every single Ceduna business wrote to federal MPs earlier this year.

All wanted the return of the Cashless Debit Card. They would do anything to have it returned. The chaos is the evidence.

Maybe Minister Rishworth could visit unannounced like I did and actually witness the chaos.

Ceduna residents say this costs them and it costs lives and livelihoods. There is no real evidence to argue otherwise – none.

Increasing alcohol and substance addiction, abuse, social unrest, family and domestic violence and crime in Ceduna and other former CDC sites has been the experience.

You know who has really benefitted from the cards abolition – the Aboriginal service industry.

It has grown since the card was abolished and in fact locals also say those same services are now feeding a thriving dependence on those same programs.

Couple that with the appallingly slow rollout of the so called “Real Jobs” program.

Indigenous Affairs under this Government is a fantastic, ideological mess – but that’s not what this report suggests – nor what you’ll hear at the PM’s favourite pilgrimage place – GARMA.

The Auditor-General’s Report states on page 9:

“Robust program monitoring and performance management to inform future policy design has not been implemented and no evaluation plan has been developed for the Enhanced Income Management program.”

This lack of evaluation of their experiment is repeated

On page 10: “No additional key performance indicators or performance measures have been established.”

There are several mentions of “no reporting” (p10), “not documented” (p10), and “no appropriate record keeping practices” (p9).

Success simply wasn’t measured and progress was ignored.

So where is the evidence from this so called transparent, accountable, leave-no-one behind Albanese Government.

It doesn’t exist because they are not collecting it or they are not releasing it – we know a report exists other than this one.

Not only that, when the Department did receive advice, it was ignored. According to the report (p42):

“There is no evidence that the design of the Enhanced Income Management program was informed by ANAO audit recommendations, evaluations or lessons learned from the CDC program or other relevant programs.”

The locals tell the truth. This report backs up our concerns and the people living with the fallout every day know it.