“The cashless debit card was always just another paternalistic response to addressing issues that affect Indigenous people in this country. Approaches that have failed to make significant inroads into addressing intractable issues like poverty and discrimination.
“The report into the trial, conducted at great expense, found that people involved in the trial of the CDC felt discriminated against and shamed for receiving welfare payments.
“Shaming people doesn’t improve anyone’s situation, but condemns them to the same discriminatory treatment they’ve experienced for generations.
“It’s hard to understand how we will ever get closer to First Nations people having their human rights respected when governments continue to treat us like second-class citizens. The CDC is dehumanising and attempts, unsuccessfully, to treat the symptoms of colonialism and dispossession.
“What we need from Government is to trust Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to know what’s best for us and to support us in community-led solutions.”
