By March Australia Activist Interchange
The Cashless Welfare Card – what is it?
The Turnbull government’s Cashless Welfare Card trial has been running since February 2016 in Kunnunurra, WA and Ceduna, SA on the pretext that welfare money is being spent on alcohol, drugs & gambling.
Now the government intends to impose this scheme upon ALL welfare recipients.
The program restricts 80% of a recipient’s welfare payments to the private company Indue Ltd. The remaining 20% cash allowance is then deposited to the persons’ usual bank account.
The Indue debit card does not work like any other card, as merchants must be approved by Indue Ltd.
This punitive system of forced income management forces people to enter into a contract and consent to terms and conditions that remove their consumer banking protections and allow their private details to be shared with Indue Ltd. and their stakeholders.
This removes freedom of choice and restricts access to cheaper purchasing options.
Why must we stop the card?
35 individual reports tell us that income management has been proven not to work. It does not achieve the outcomes claimed.
The Turnbull government has ignored these reports and fudged the figures to justify continuing the card’s rollout across the country.
People in need of social safety net support are not criminals, yet this unnecessary and unwanted Welfare Card scheme stigmatises Centrelink clients, branding them as addicts and second-class citizens unable to manage their own lives.
“We don’t want Australia to become a divided country where the disadvantaged, our youth and our sick and disabled are controlled by government and treated like lesser citizens” says Kathryn Wilkes, a leading anti-Welfare Card campaigner. “Australia is a caring and compassionate country that looks out for its battlers and doesn’t kick them when they are down. Help us stand up and Say No To The Cashless Welfare Debit Card!”
What we’re doing
The national No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia campaign has been running since the card trials began, mainly on social media. This Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=no%20cashless%20welfare%20debit%20card%20australia
and this public group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1587750588204366/
are resources for sharing information exposing the lies and misrepresentation being used to promote the Welfare Dashless Debit Card program.
We need to take the No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia campaign beyond social media and inform the wider community of the implications of the scheme.
Many volunteers are contributing their time and energy, but money for printing banners, leaflets and posters to raise awareness on the ground will also be required.That’s why we need a fighting fund.
Much work has already been done online, but we need to reach people beyond social media and the internet, to encourage them to speak up and let the government know that Australians reject this scheme.
Who we are
Kathryn Wilkes has become the main face and voice of the No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia campaign.
To support the work of Kathryn and other activists working to stop the card, this Chuffed crowdfunding campaign is being run by March Australia Activist Interchange (MAAI), an incorporated community association which supports activism in the public interest.
Information about MAAI and our team can be found on our websitehttp://maai.x10host.com/ where we operate a calendar to promote activist events and a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/maainterchange/