Laverton shire president Patrick Hill has challenged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to spend a night with first responders in his violence-plagued town to witness firsthand the “ramifications” of his government’s decision to scrap the cashless debit card.

Alcohol-fuelled unrest has spiralled in the Goldfields town since the welfare management program – which quarantined 80 per cent of income support payments on a card that could not be used to gamble or purchase booze – was binned in October.

Mr Hill said Laverton had experienced a big spike in anti-social behaviour, including violent public brawls, in the four and a half months since then.

He said the town’s oval was littered with empty Jim Beam and Jack Daniels whisky bottles on a daily basis and the desperate children of drunken parents had begun breaking into houses in search of food.

Local watering hole the Desert Inn Hotel has repeatedly resorted to short-term booze bans over the past fortnight, including shutting its liquor store completely on Thursday and introducing a temporary one-item-per-customer rule on Friday.

“I’d like to see the Prime Minister and all his ministers coming out here and going out with our police and ambulance officers to see what is actually happening,” he said.

“Go out on pension night and observe what police and hospitals have to go through and the aftermath of fights with steel pickets and crowbars.”

The call comes after Mr Albanese in January jetted into Alice Springs following weeks of pressure to act on out-of-control crime also linked to the end of grog restrictions.

The Prime Minister used that visit to announce the return of interim booze bans in town camps and remote Aboriginal communities, with the dry zones in place until more extensive community alcohol management plans are completed.

Mr Hill said the cashless debit card – which Mr Albanese has described as “patronising” and vowed to scrap ahead of the 2022 election – had been discontinued without sufficient consultation with community leaders in towns like Laverton.

He said the card had been strongly backed by local Aboriginal elders and should be immediately reintroduced “until we see something better put in its place”.

“When they pulled out the cashless card, they aren’t thinking about the consequences on the ground - it’s the last thing on their mind in Canberra where all they’re thinking about is votes,” he said.

“It hasn’t fixed anything – it’s made things worse. Now the politicians should be coming out here to see what’s going on so they can fix it.”

lee wrote on Feb 13^th, 2023 at 4:09pm:


Two Voice good, Four Voice bad.  Or the other way around.

You look at Tennis Albo and you know he is a USyd Socialist Alliance boy from the 80s, suited up and trotted out. A teenage Trot in an aging man's body.
How many investment properties has he bought recently?



Landlord Anthony Albanese is raking in $115,000 a year in rental income on top of his salary as Prime Minister as interest rates soar for struggling families.

After growing up in public housing, the Prime Minister is now renting out two Sydney homes including a mortgage-free federation bungalow with a pool while he lives rent-free at the Lodge.

Mr Albanese, who scored a huge pay bump after the election, now earns $564,356 a year.

He also earns $70,000 a year in rental income for one property and $45,000 for another.

That means Mr Albanese has a combined annual income of $679,356 before he pays tax on his income and two investment properties.



How's that for cashed up welfare??

Johnnie wrote on Feb 13^th, 2023 at 9:08pm:


Oi you there- stfu   uupppp!!!!