Kate Beaumont is President of the National Welfare Rights Network, the peak community organisation in social security law, policy and administration.
We discussed the cashless debit card, or ‘Healthy Welfare Card’ which was rushed through federal Parliament this week. The card quarantines 80 percent of a person’s welfare payment onto a debit card, which they can’t use for alcohol, gambling or cash transactions.
It will be rolled out in the majority-Aboriginal population of Ceduna in South Australia. The NWRN has real concerns about the logistics and lack of information surrounding the card.
For more information on NWRN, click here.