Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to draw attention to the escalating social dysfunction in the Goldfields region of my electorate following the withdrawal of the cashless debit card. The Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, has blamed issues being experienced in the Kimberley CDC site on recent flooding events. Well, Minister, there's been no rainfall in the Goldfields, just a tsunami of alcohol fuelled violence sweeping Leonora, Laverton and the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The minister attributes this to out-of-towners rather than locals who can now spend their entire welfare payment on booze should they choose.

This same minister announced the abolition of the card without any community consultation and has never visited to see any of its benefits. Her assistant minister accuses the coalition of failing communities like these when it comes to domestic violence funding. Yet, while the coalition funded the Goldfields Indigenous Housing Organisation's expansion of family violence housing, the Albanese government failed to honour a coalition commitment to build a similar facility in Leonora.

Minister Rishworth has publicly denounced the $160 million spent by the coalition on the entire cashless debit card scheme. But the Prime Minister spent a couple of hours in Alice Springs and announced a $250 million support package for their alcohol affected communities. I call on Mr Albanese to come to the Goldfields and support my communities, who are suffering alcohol related social harm caused by withdrawal of the cashless debit card.