I have started this petition to hopefully garner the attention of Senator Jacqui Lambie and to respectfully ask that she does not support the introduction of the cashless debit card for people on income support payments in Australia. 

Instead of paternalistic and ideologically driven measures such as income management, we need a comprehensive set of policies that are grounded in evidence of what works, and that tackle the underlying causes of poverty and inequality. The lack of viable long term secure employment in many parts of the country, and entrenched long-term unemployment among people with limited education and skills or severe health problems. These are all key drivers. The considerable resources expended on the cashless debit card and other paternalistic measures could be better spent on improving the adequacy of income support payments, investing in education, redevelopment of the Australian manufacturing industry as a whole,  job creation and funding appropriate and effective services for struggling individuals and families.   

A humane answer needs to be found for a human problem Ms Lambie.