“Moved on”? An exploratory study of the Cashless Debit Card and Indigenous mobility

Abstract

What is the relationship between the first two trials of the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) and Indigenous mobility? In Ceduna, Vincent conducted ethnographic research into lived experiences of the first CDC trial. In the East Kimberley, Klein conducted 51 structured interviews with people on the card and 37 semi‐structured interviews with key informants. Markham used regression analysis of net migration rates at the Statistical Area 2 level to determine whether the CDC trial sites were associated with greater net population loss in 2016 census data than comparable locations. Our exploratory study finds significant local talk of displacement arising from the introduction of the CDC, as well as discussion of short‐term trips away from the trial sites being made more difficult. The regression analysis found that the net migration rate was 9.3 per cent points (95% CI: 2.0, 16.5) lower in Ceduna, Wyndham and Kununurra when compared with a group of comparable towns, and 5.2 per cent points (95% CI: 0.9, 9.5) lower when compared with Australia as a whole, meaning that the populations of these towns declined faster than those of comparable towns. Policy effects on mobility should be taken seriously by researchers and policymakers when considering place‐based welfare policy.

Introduction to the special issue on welfare conditionality in Australia

“…Furthermore, poorly understood local realities, which include unreliable and slow Internet connectivity, result in high levels of non-compliance recorded in the system, which reinforced political narratives of Indigenous dysfunction as well as impacting on Indigenous people's payments, food security and well-being (see Jordan & Fowkes 2016). Vincent et al (2019) turn their attention to a somewhat neglected issue: the nexus between welfare conditionality and mobility (but see Marston et al 2019). They provide a tentative exploration of a possible relationship between increased mobility in the East Kimberley and Ceduna and the first two trials of the Cashless Debit Card.…”

“…Vincent et al () turn their attention to a somewhat neglected issue: the nexus between welfare conditionality and mobility (but see Marston et al ). They provide a tentative exploration of a possible relationship between increased mobility in the East Kimberley and Ceduna and the first two trials of the Cashless Debit Card.…”

Acceptance of Cashless Society among Indigenous Youth: A Qualitative Analysis

“…Indigenous youth, like any other group, play a significant role in shaping the future of society, and their perspectives and preferences should be taken into account when considering the adoption of cashless payments. A previous study draws attention to the relationship between welfare payments, other forms of remote service delivery, and questions of mobility and immobility (Vincent et al, 2020). The study identified a concept of "orbiting" emerged and it is fostering disempowerment, passivity and social pathologies of reduced dependence on "welfare poison", thus it was minimally elaborated (Burke, 2013).…”

Urban Indigenous homelessness: much more than housing

“…Notably, the introduction of the Centrelink debit card system in Ceduna (Vincent, Markham et al 2020) was seen as a contributor to homelessness in the area, with people using a non-Ceduna (i.e. Davenport) address so they could receive their payments in the usual way.…”