Cashless welfare card scare campaign leaves pensioners on edge

Seniors have been left concerned by Labor advertisements claiming Scott Morrison plans to expand the cashless welfare card to all aged pensioners.

The cashless card quarantines 80 per cent of welfare recipients’ payments to a card which cannot be used for gambling, to purchase alcohol or to withdraw cash.

National Seniors Australia chief advocate Ian Henschke says he received calls from fearful pensioners who are worried they’d be put onto the scheme if the government is reelected.

The office of Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says the claims in the Labor advertising are baseless, and the government “never will have a plan to force aged pensioners onto the cashless debit card”.

While the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill in 2020, does reference the aged pension as an eligible category for the cashless card, it only applies to the Cape York area in the Northern Territory.

Mr Henschke says there’s no place for scare campaigns in the lead up to the election.

“Why don’t we just focus on the real policies instead of the ones that are not real? This is what we should be doing,” he told Tony Jones, filling in for Neil Mitchell.

Press PLAY below to hear Mr Henschke’s thoughts on the scare campaign