You've done a lot of work with First Nations people and have been openly critical of some of the welfare policies targeting them. This is especially true of the cashless debit card programme championed by Andrew Forrest, the Australian mining magnate, which you’ve singled out elsewhere as a prime example of Australia’s punitive approach to welfare. Could you explain why welfare is of special concern with regard to First Nations people, and why you single out the card for criticism?
A lot of Australia’s welfare programmes primarily target First Nations people. Australia is a settler colonial society. Sovereignty was never ceded and has never been given back. This is an ongoing struggle, and welfare is now being used as a weapon in neo-assimilationist attempts by the settler state.
Andrew Forrest is a billionaire who made his money by mining stolen Aboriginal land. A few years ago, he was tasked by the then prime minister, Tony Abbott, to review the government’s Aboriginal training and employment programmes. His magnum opus, the 2014 Forrest Review, came with a whole set of policy recommendations. One that I've looked at in detail is what he originally called the healthy welfare card.
