A TIWI Islands woman speaking to a Toowoomba Catholic school about the Northern Territory Intervention (NTER) told students she was unable to buy groceries locally with a Basics Card issued as part of the policy’s income management provisions.
“Plans to introduce similar compulsory income management to Logan in Brisbane and Rockhampton on a trial basis have now brought such problems out of the NT and to our doorsteps,” Toowoomba diocese’s Social Justice Commission executive officer Dr Mark Copland said.
Dr Copland said Lynette Johnson and Bernard Tipiloura had been visiting St Ursula’s and St Joseph’s colleges in March as part of a reciprocal arrangement.
“The students learnt Lynette runs a post office on Bathurst Island (70km north of Darwin), is an elder and has grandchildren and yet is still subject to income management,” he said.
“She passed the Basics Card around to the students and explained that half of a small carers’ allowance she receives is quarantined for grocery purchases.
“The students were appalled, as was I, that an Australian woman could automatically be placed under such an arrangement in 2012.
“What made it worse was that when she tried to use the card in Toowoomba it was refused.”
The expanded income management arrangements are part of the Stronger Futures legislation which is before the Senate.
The legislation aims to extend the NTER introduced by the Howard Government in 2007 by another decade when the current Intervention expires in August.
Logan Indigenous Community Justice group chairperson Terry Stedman said it was expected the widened income management measure to be introduced on a trial basis in Logan from July 1 could target about 1500 families in the first three months.
He recently helped organise a forum on the issue in Logan with Queensland Council of Unions secretary Ron Monaghan.
Mr Stedman said the policy was not only discriminatory but also looked likely to impact on local businesses.
“That’s because the cards can only be used in major supermarkets,” he said.
He said knowing how the policy had impacted in the Northern Territory and North Queensland, people in Logan were concerned.
“There has been no consultation with any of those people to be affected; it’s implementation of income management by stealth,” Mr Stedman said.
“And despite government claims, all indications are it will be compulsory, not voluntary.
“The latest meeting was attended by about 20 church and state service providers.
“About six weeks ago, about 60 from indigenous and other community groups attended a public meeting on the measure.
“Everybody’s up in arms about the plan – it’s not just going to affect indigenous people, but a whole range of other people on welfare benefits in the Logan area.”
Ngugi Elder of Stradbroke Island’s Quanda-mooka people Aunty Joan Hendriks said “the 2007 Intervention was a drastic punitive measure which has become the foundation for the Stronger Futures Bill”.
“It is clearly identified now that capacity building in Aboriginal communities will not result if a comprehensive collaborative process is not the leading factor in the ongoing delivery,” she said.
Her comments came as a number of indigenous and non-indigenous groups expressed opposition to the Stronger Futures legislation.
Catholic Religious Aust-ralia (CRA) called upon all Federal senators to refuse to pass the legislation of the “Stronger Futures Northern Territory 2011 Bill”.
“We join with the many indigenous and other Australians who have already spoken about the need to consult Aboriginal people and their Elders in the planning of actions and recommendations that will affect their lives for years to come,” the CRA statement said.
“We urge the Federal Government to abandon this legislation and move towards developing strategies, based on trust and respect, which will provide for collaboration with the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory in decision making relating to their future.”
The Stronger Futures legis-lation passed the lower house of Parliament on February 28. The legislation was expected to pass the upper house with the support of the Opposition, when Parliament resumes in May.
A contentious aspect of the NTER has been the quarantining of welfare payments. The measure based in Aboriginal communities has been criticised as being “discriminating” and “racist”.
Those under the compulsory scheme are issued with a “Basics Card”, quarantining a set amount of the welfare benefit which enables them to buy groceries.
Plans are to extend the scheme in July from the Northern Territory and Cape York in Queensland into trial areas including Logan and Rockhampton, Queensland; Bankstown, NSW; and Shep-parton, Victoria.
