Mr RAMSEY (Grey—Government Whip) (11:37): It will come as no great surprise that I disagree with some of the comments from the member for Lingiari. I point out that it was just on four years ago that the then Assistant Minister for Social Services, the member for Aston, and I sat down with a leadership group in Ceduna that included the Indigenous groups around that greater community and the mayor of Ceduna, and we agreed together to trial the cashless welfare card. I’d have to say that community is absolutely delighted with the results. It came on the back of a coroner’s report after no less than seven people had died either sleeping rough or in accidents on the road with intoxication. I had been to Ceduna and talked to people at the drying-out centre, where they said, ‘Last night there was a woman in here who was eight months pregnant who could not stop throwing up.’ It is just heartbreaking when you hear the stories.
This card has made a palpable difference. It has changed Ceduna. The Indigenous leaders there have stood up strongly, and they believe in the card. A gentlemen the other day said to me: ‘I get all the numbers; I get all the figures. But this place just feels like a whole lot better place.’ So the outcomes are very, very good.
Ms Burney interjecting—
Mr RAMSEY: I invite you to come and sit down and speak to these people.
I was at Koonibba the other day, speaking to a community leader. He said: ‘Don’t you take that card away. That’s made all the difference.’ Those Indigenous groups there have grown in confidence. In fact, the member for Lingiari was just slamming the CDP. The CDP in Ceduna is run by the Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation, and they really like it. It’s getting their people into work. They are building a relationship there that we should all be very proud of.
I say of the card that anyone who is managing their working-age welfare income correctly will not be inconvenienced. Twenty per cent of their income is available for alcohol, drugs or gambling. If you’re on working-age welfare, that is more than enough to spend on alcohol, drugs or gambling. When somebody else tells me that the 80 per cent is only available for the basics of life, that is rubbish. It’s available for everything in life except