Senator HANSON (Queensland—Leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation) (12:53): The motion put up by Senator Ruston basically allows the bills within to be considered during this period of sittings. We're coming to the end of the year and it is very important that some of these bills get passed. The Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020 needs to be passed. If it is not, the card will come to an end on 1 January. That is exactly the intention of the Greens, who have opposed it constantly over a period of time. The Labor Party states that this is about balancing the budget. That's got nothing to do with it. I actually went to the hearing in Kalgoorlie. There were only a handful of senators there. I don't know how many senators have actually been to hear the debate that has gone on with regard to the cashless debit card. The government didn't go out there and say, 'We're actually going to put this cashless debit card'— Honourable senators interjecting — The PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson, please resume your seat. With all due respect, Senator Siewert was heard in silence. I would ask her colleagues to show the same courtesy to other speakers, in what is a procedural debate to determine whether there will be a debate on these bills over the remaining course of this week. Senator HANSON: Thank you very much, Mr President. It might be very hard for them, because that's their character and that's their nature. Anyway, the fact is that the government didn't just go out there and say, 'We're going to put this cashless debit card in the Kimberley, in Kalgoorlie, in Hervey Bay, in Bundaberg or in Ceduna, for that matter.' These communities came to the government asking for this to be put into those communities. Senator Chisholm interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Chisholm! Senator HANSON: Having a meeting with these communities, we're talking about— Senator Chisholm interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Chisholm! Senator HANSON: We spoke to— Senator Chisholm interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Chisholm, count to 10, quietly. Senator Chisholm interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Chisholm, this place will have a very messy last few days if people completely ignore the chair, no matter who's in it. There is an opportunity to debate this later on. This is a procedural debate to determine whether there will be an opportunity to debate it later on. Can it please be conducted with courtesy. Senator HANSON: The whole fact is that we're having allegations thrown around this chamber, and most people have not had the opportunity to go to hear what the communities were saying. What I offer to this debate is important. We actually heard from the reports from the police association that domestic violence was on the decline, that even alcohol abuse was on the decline and that it has assisted communities. I haven't got the numbers; I have asked for the figures. But people have asked to opt into the cashless debit card. So they actually see the benefits of it. You also have to understand that, in these communities, the Aboriginal culture is that you've got family members and others in the community who are actually going and forcing them to take money out of their account, so they don't have money to actually— Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Hanson. I called Senator Waters to order earlier—I'm referring to it, not pointing at you, Senator Waters. This is a procedural motion about whether bills will be dealt with this week. We should not be debating the substance of the bills as much as whether or not they should be exempt from the Senate's cut-off order. If it's adopted, there will be an opportunity to debate the bill. So I just ask all senators to keep in mind that this is not the time for substantive debate on these bills. Senator HANSON: If I was doing that, it was in response to Senator Siewert and her comments with regard to this. It is so important to these communities that we continue with the cashless debit card. There is a response in this chamber: 'We know what it's all about. What they intend to do is roll it out to the rest of the country.' That is not the case at all. It will not be going into any other communities. It will be taken to the next election, if they intend to do that. So what others are saying about it is not the truth. Honourable senators interjecting— Senator HANSON: You, the Greens, have no evidence of it whatsoever. I'm sick of the allegations being thrown around this chamber. It's also said that it's going to tie in pensioners and those who are on invalid pensions. That's not the case at all. It is people in the working-age group who are tied up in this, especially those in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg who are 35 years old and under. It is so important. A lot of people have actually got off the alcohol and stopped wasting money on that. There are reports that children are now getting fed. The mothers can buy the food. They still have 20 per cent of their money in cash to spend how they wish to spend it. Sometimes there's such a thing as tough love. You need people to take responsibility. If you are quite happy with people going to spend their money on alcohol and become inebriated to the point that they have domestic violence— The PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson-Young, on a point of order? Senator Hanson-Young: I'm asking for you to reflect on the imputation made by Senator Hanson just then, in relation to suggesting that others in this chamber want people to go and spend all their money on alcohol and be inebriated. The PRESIDENT: I didn't catch that. I will reflect on the Hansard or the video and come back to the chamber or address it to senators as appropriate. Senator HANSON: Touchy! So, anyway— The PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson-Young, on a point of order? Senator Hanson-Young: We have every right in this chamber to make points of order, and I would ask Senator Hanson, through you, Chair: if she wants to stand by what she said, she can say it again and you can hear it and you can make a decision. But just throwing around that people's points of order make them 'touchy'—there will be a lot more of it. The PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson-Young, I said before I don't think anyone in the chamber can claim they're entirely innocent, whether it be disorderly behaviour, whether it be interjections or not. I remind senators that one of the ways of maintaining decorum for a debate like this is to stick to the motion, which is on whether or not bills should be exempt from the cut-off order, rather than to address substantive issues. I gave some latitude to Senator Siewert to do that. Senator Hanson, I have given you the same amount of latitude, and I urge you, as I did to Senator Waters earlier this morning, to come to address the procedural motion before the chair. These other matters can be left to debate if the Senate so determines it. Senator HANSON: Some of us in this chamber have got thick skin and others don't. But, anyway, that comes with age and wisdom and knowledge. The fact is that what I am saying here is it's very important that we deal with this motion and that we deal with the cashless debit card in the chamber. It is going to impact on a lot of people, so I am calling on the senators here: you may have your disagreements with us and say that it's against human rights, which the Greens have said all along, and that we're denying people their rights, but the people are on this welfare payment purely because of the grace of the taxpayers of this nation, who have given them the ability to actually access money. We, as people, must also understand that a lot of people are tied up on drug addiction, alcohol and gambling. That is a big problem here as well. If it is helping these people, if it is saving just a few lives in these communities, surely that's got to be taken into consideration. I know the Labor Party are not going to support this, because that's their voter base: 'How dare you deny the people control of how their money is spent?' We talk in this chamber about the sexual abuse of children. That comes from people who are inebriated—it may be alcohol; it may be drugs. We actually see the decline in domestic violence. Why aren't you prepared to actually say that if it leads to this—spending the money where they do spend it wrongly—that is impacting on their daily lives? Why can't you make the decisions based on what is right for these communities? The people have been crying out for it. When you have meetings with these people, they are crying out for it. These communities came to the government and put their own hands up for it. They wanted this card. If you don't pass this with the cashless debit card, it's going to go back to the BasicsCard up in the cape, so this is very important. At least give them a further trial. The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Faruqi on a point of order? Senator Faruqi: My point of order is about relevance to the debate. Senator Hanson-Young is— Senator Steele-John: Senator Hanson. Senator Faruqi: Sorry, Sarah. My deepest apologies to Senator Hanson-Young. Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Faruqi: Senator Hanson is definitely straying into the substance of the bill and not debating the motion in front of us, so I would request that you call her to order. The PRESIDENT: As I said, I did give Senator Siewert quite a bit of latitude on addressing this. Senator Hanson, I'll ask you now, because I've given you a similar amount of latitude, to come to the procedural matter. Senator HANSON: That's exactly where I was heading, encouraging the members to actually vote for this and allow this to be dealt with this week in the chamber. I've explained my reasons why it needs to be dealt with, so I call on the senators, even those on the crossbench who may be leaning against voting for this—and I know that Senator Patrick went up to Ceduna over the weekend to see for himself and used the card himself. So I'm calling on those crossbench senators: we need to use common sense and pass this legislation before the parliament is finished.