“The showbags have been filled and the dagwood dogs are on the cooker for the opening of the Royal Darwin Show today” shouts The Northern Territory News. Yes, it’s showtime in the Top End again — for those who can afford it. The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FAHCSIA) has ruled that Aboriginal Territorians whose income is controlled through income management under the intervention won’t be able to use their Basic Cards to get into the Show.
The 58th Royal Darwin Show isn’t bad value: $17 a day for adults, kids under 14 for $10 and families for $40, and many of the events, from ring events to racing pigs, are free. But it just got a lot more expensive for some of the poorest Territorians — the many Aboriginal people who visit the Show. Thousands of Aboriginal Territorians, half of whose income is controlled through income quarantining and management, won’t be able to access money through their Basic Cards to get into the Show.
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) have spent weeks negotiating to allow the Show to become a “temporary Basics Card merchant” but FAHCSIA have ruled that families can’t use their Basics Card to get into the Darwin Show.
The Basics Card is the only practicable way for thousands of Aboriginal Territorians to access their welfare payments under the income management terms of the Intervention — with Basics Card purchases excluding access to items such as alcohol, cigarettes and p-rnography.
Chairperson of NAAJA Norman George told Crikey that FAHCSIA ruled that the show was not a priority, and that the card should only be used for food and basic items.
We were “very disappointed and disgusted over the decision,” said George.
“There should be some flexibility to use these Basics cards,” George told Crikey. “The show society were very accommodating, and said they were willing to accept the Basics Card.”
“The show comes around once a year, and the children very much look forward to it, as do adults…they’ve been waiting for 12 months,” said George. “Everyone loves going to the show … every second house would be going. They just want to go the carnival. Where’s the equality?“
George told Crikey that Basics Card holders were similarly denied the right to use their card at the recent Show in Katherine and that consequently, numbers for the Show were down this year. “FAHCSIA and Minister Macklin had months to make a decision, but nothing was done. They just treat us like second class citizens,” said George.
Crikey understands that Basics Card holders are given the option to go to the Centrelink office, and formally apply to make out a Centrelink cheque made payable to the Royal Darwin Show Society.
But George told Crikey that “… not many people know about going to get the cheque, they haven’t got the message about it, there’s been no promotion.”
George said that card holders are more likely to just turn up to the show, “they will probably just be turned away, imagine seeing the faces of your children, they’ll be devastated.”
Crikey contacted Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin’s office with the following questions:
Given that the Darwin Show organizers were amenable to accepting the Basics Card, what was the problem with granting the organizers Basics Card merchant status?
Crikey has been given information that there are other measures in place for cardholders ie Basics Card holders need to go to the Centrelink office and formally apply to make out a Centrelink cheque made payable to the Royal Darwin Show Society. If so, how has this been communicated to Basics Card holders?
Macklin’s office did not get back by deadline.
Tragically, this comes as no surprise. Just another example of the ongoing same pattern towards our indigenous population.
I quote from the Review of the NTER by Peter Yu et.al. which at a couple of million was a bargain compared to the obscene amounts being wasted by the Government supposedly to protect Aboriginal children:
“Recommendations on Welfare reform and employment:
Income Management:
-The current blanket application of compulsory income management in the Northern Territory cease.”
Jenny Macklin and FaCSIAH have chosen to ignore this unambiguous recommendation and signalled their intension to continue it (and even roll it out to other States).
For Income Management(IM) (initially called “income quarantining”) to be able to continue after the reinstatement of the (suspended under the NTER) Racial Discrimination Act, requires a bit of fancy legal semantic footwork… IM has to be dressed up as a “Special Measure” and the authorities have embarked on a farcical “consultation” process and a propaganda barrage (“The little children are getting fresh healthy food at last” etc.). As someone living on a “Prescribed Area” where Centrelink recipients are being Income Managed I can assure you that there is nothing “Special” about it. Even pensioners that have no dependent children and never had an alcoholic drink in their lives are being subjected to the demeaning need to go to the Centrelink office to spend long waiting times to have some young person that doesn’t speak a word of the Pensioner’s first language “interview” them to help them “manage” their income.
The last budget included over $100 million for the administration of IM. I calculate the total amount being Income managed is less than the cost of administering it.
Talk about closing the “Gap”… how about the “dignity Gap”?
Regrettably, a different government but seemingly the same.
Sophie says ‘But George told Crikey that “… not many people know about going to get the cheque, they haven’t got the message about it, there’s been no promotion.”‘
It is surprising that George is not aware that everybody on IM already knows about this procedure, because this is the normal procedure they have been following for at least 15 months since the IM roll-out was introduced to all communities.
Unless you are using your Basic Card credit at your approved stores, then you have to ask the Centrelink worker to arrange a cheque. Maybe George is not on IM, & doesn’t understand the detail of how it works. Either that, or he’s not thinking straight.
Most people don’t have to go to the big Centrelink offices in the towns to do this, as there are now Centrelink workers in all the communities, and other special Centrelink staff who are trained to help with these things and who are continually travelling around the communities to help people as well.
But regardless of this, it’s even more surprising that Sophie didn’t think to ask: why would families miss out anyway, when the 50% of welfare which they do receive in cash, and any non-welfare income any of them receive, can be used – without any bother – to pay for the entry fees, which, as she noted, are not exorbitant?
Admittedly, some people are not very well organised, but most people seem to have no trouble figuring these things out except when the Crikey journalist comes along. Or is somebody with an axe to grind prompting this “poor bugger me” response?
I have no doubt that there will be many IM recipients at the Darwin Show, just as there were at the Alice Springs Show, and that they will have (on average) more cash available to spend on the kids at the Show than used to be the case before the 50% quarantine of welfare was introduced.
I’ve got a better idea Bob. Why don’t you sign up for a few months of IM… you mean-spirited, conservative putz.