TRANSCRIPT
ABC GOLDFIELDS WITH IVO DA SILVA
28 February 2023
E&OE.
Ivo Da Silva
Now, the issue of the removal of the Cashless Debit Card at trial sites in Australia has certainly captured the eyes and ears of the nation’s politicians. And the next big politician that has made their way to Leonora and Laverton, Michaelia Cash is the Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Deputy Opposition Leader in the Senate. I caught up with her yesterday afternoon as she was leaving Leonora and Laverton. So I started by asking her that we’ve seen Rick Wilson, Member for O’Connor, we’ve seen the Leader of the Opposition and now yourself in the Goldfields region, why has Laverton in WA become the centre of the political universe?
Senator Cash
Because there is playing out here on the ground at the moment a complete failure of Albanese Government policy. You just have to come up here – and Mr Albanese to date has not done that – and talk to the people on the ground. I’ve been in both Leonora with Peter Craig, the Shire President and Patrick Hill, the Shire President in Laverton. And I can assure you since the abolition of the cashless debit card, their exact words, “the rivers of grog are now flowing”. They are having to deal with people on a daily basis who are drunk or stoned, they’re saying they’re hungry. You talk to the shop owners, Ivo, on the ground, this is the direct feedback they will give you – whilst the Cashless Debit Card was in place, we sold meat and we sold vegetables – we saw that the kids were getting fed. The moment the Cashless Debit Card was abolished, guess what they’re now selling? Noodles and Coke, and if the kids are lucky, as they said to me, they get a packet of chips – so what you are seeing playing out on the ground now in Leonora and Laverton is a complete failure of Albanese Government policy.
Ivo Da Silva
Senator Cash, your leader Peter Dutton said that he would like to see the Cashless Debit Card come back. We know that that’s not going to happen under this federal government. It was an election promise with them. What practical steps can be done to help the people of the Northern Goldfields?
Senator Cash
In the first instance though Ivo, can I say this, the mere fact that it is an election commitment does not mean that when you have a complete failure of government policy, as a prime minister, you shouldn’t listen to the people on the ground who are saying we want it back. So I actually don’t accept that it was just an election commitment. The people at the Goldfields, as you know, in the first place they actually wanted the Cashless Debit Card, they actually saw the direct benefits to the communities, to the women. They didn’t have nearly as much domestic violence, the drinking absolutely lessened and the kids were no longer wandering the street and were being fed. They can now tell you firsthand what has happened as a result of the abolition.
Ivo Da Silva
So Senator, working in real terms. In reality, it won’t come back. What can be done at this point in time?
Senator Cash
So, on the 20th of February, both the Shire Presidents Patrick Hill and Peter Craig, the Shire Presidents of Laverton and Leonora respectively, they have written a detailed letter to the Prime Minister of Australia and they have clearly set out a plan of action that they know will improve the community here. So for example – improve community safety and cohesion. They know that there needs to be more youth engagement and diversion programs. They know that they need further job creation, whether it’s working with the mining industry, the Great Central Road, working with the Laverton and Leonora Shire Councils. They also have said quite clearly, we need better services, we need to improve the health services that are on the ground, but in particular, the drug and alcohol counseling, the assistance for mental health, those who are suffering from domestic violence, they need shelters. Where can they put these women and children? They do need action in helping to prevent and address the issues caused by alcohol. It’s one thing to say you can’t get access to alcohol, but as they said to me, Michaelia, you also need to treat the addiction, including better responding to the health and justice systems. They want to see better investment in families, but in particular on country learning and education. Ivo they’ve clearly set this out. This is the community, the voices of the communities of Leonora and Laverton, who have clearly written to the Prime Minister saying this is what we need from you. And to date, they haven’t even gotten an acknowledgement.
Ivo Da Silva
You are hearing from Senator Michaelia Cash talking about her trip to Leonora and Laverton talking about the Cashless Debit Card. Senator Cash you’ve been pretty vocal in the Senate talking about this issue with the Cashless Debit Card. With this proposal put forward by both Shires, will you be advocating that when you return to Canberra?
Senator Cash
Absolutely, and I’ve made a commitment to both the Shire of Leonora and the Shire of Laverton, and I will be raising this in the Parliament next week. I will be speaking on it in the Parliament next week. And I can assure you Peter Dutton is not going to stop, Rick Wilson is not going to stop, I’m not going to stop, Libby Mettam as the leader of the WA Liberal Party, putting the pressure on Mark McGowan to get up here and do something about what’s going on. Mr. Albanese talks about listening to the voices of community. Well shame on you Mr. Albanese, because the voices of the communities of Laverton and Leonora have presented you with a solution and you haven’t even bothered to give them an acknowledgement of their letter. So much for listening. All talk, no action.
Ivo Da Silva
We’ve seen quite a bit of money poured into Alice Springs, into the Northern Territory where the same issues that we’ve seen in the Northern Goldfields are occurring. Would you like to see the same amount of money put into WA, not only just in the Northern Goldfields, but in all the trial sites?
Senator Cash
Look, I think it’s a really interesting question because you actually need to go to each trial site and talk to them about what they need on the ground. We need to start better responding at a grassroots, rural, regional and remote level. So when you look at what the Shires of Laverton and Leonora are saying, that doesn’t necessarily then mean, that’s what’s needed elsewhere. And I think that is actually one of the great failings of government, we don’t actually listen to the voices of the people on the ground. We have a perfect opportunity here to listen to the voices of the Shires of Laverton and Leonora, they say they accept, okay, they’re not going to get the Cashless Debit Card back. Okay, they accept that that is Labor Party policy. But they have clearly articulated in this letter to the Prime Minister what they need from government. And I call on the Prime Minister, Ivo, read the letter, come up here, sit down, in fact these are their exact words, this is a message from Patrick Hill in the Shire of Laverton: come and spend a couple of days in Laverton, sit down with the shop owners, go through the figures. If you want information, if you need proof, they can give you proof that it is going backwards here at a rate of knots.
Ivo Da Silva
With the wraparound services that I know Shire President Pat Hill has requested, am I correct in that it’s about $40 million worth.
Senator Cash
Yes, but he’s actually done it over a period of four years. This is actually just what they’ve managed to put together. Okay, it is a very good first start. What they want is to know that the Prime Minister is listening to them. They are more than happy to put forward more detailed information. But I can tell you again, this is the voices of those on the ground saying this is what we need, please listen to us. We accept that you’ve abolished the cashless debit card. We don’t agree with you, but the Albanese Government’s made it clear. They’re not interested in a major failure; they wanted to get rid of it. So let’s now listen to what they’re saying they now need. And when you look at the items listed, improve community safety and cohesion, job creation, better services, alcohol management, investing in family, on country learning and education. And in fact, I lie, I’m looking at it here, it’s a commitment for five years. So it’s done over five years, at least come and talk to them about it. Don’t just shut them out. As I said, I will be raising what is an incredibly important matter. We’re not going to stop. We’re not going to stop until we get a response from the Prime Minister and from Premier McGowan and one that actually listens to the voices on the ground in Laverton and Leonora.
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