Tweet of the Week

Watch out below, here comes Scomo and Malcolm's #Trickledown pic.twitter.com/tftguwCp54

— TwoEyeHead (@TwoEyeHead) September 13, 2017

'Whistleblower network' confirms Cashless Debit Card trial currently sends welfare recipients' transaction histories to federal government agencies, including Dept. of Social Security

Voters have been raising many concerns on social media platforms about the Turnbull Government’s nation-wide Cashless Debit Card proposal.

Two questions frequently posed have been in relation to the fact that the Indue Ltd account created for each welfare recipient will not attract interest on any balance recorded and, the inevitability that federal government will keep a record of an individual’s purchasing history when using this card.

Other concerns have ranged from restricted purchasing options if vendor participation is low through to how rent from private landlords can be paid and the pitiful amount of cash in hand allowed under the Turnbull Government’s de facto privatisation of the Centrelink pension/benefit/allowance payments system.

A website dedicated to the idea of open and transparent government as a benchmark of genuine democracy went looking for some answers………..

The Little Bird: Support those who support the greater good, 5 May 2017:

CORRESPONDENCE WITH INDUE: #CASHLESS WELFARE CARD

I recently emailed a list of questions to Indue after reading their cashless welfare card Conditions of Use.

QUESTIONS FOR INDUE

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to you with questions based on the document at https://indue.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Conditions-of-Use.pdf Why do you not pay interest on the funds kept on Indue cards? How was the list of restrictions you impose on card holders drawn up?

These restrictions include:

* refusal to pay interest on savings;

* preventing joint banking;

* refusing the ability to pay down other credit cards;

* refusing the ability to set up direct debits;

* refusing chargeback rights provided with normal bank card purchases;

* construction of merchant whitelist/exclusion list.

Who were the stakeholders in the decision making process to create the above list of punishments and where is the documentation to provide accountability to the public about how this list was developed?

Can you please list the datasets that you share with other organisations and the organisations that you share this data with?

Why do you collect information about taxi rides taken by people using your debit card? What information do you collect about journeys taken by card holders?

Why are Indue account holders required to provide you with ‘external account information’?

Is it the case that you supply card holder transaction history with the Commonwealth Government? (p64)

What is the name of the ‘overseas service provider’ that you share card holder information with? (p65) What data does the Indue DCT App collect? (p71)

thank you for your time Rosie Williams BA (Sociology) whistleblower.network

Here is their reply. I have coloured text in red where I have concerns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Ms Williams

Thank you for your questions regarding the Cashless Debit Cards issued by Indue in connection with the Commonwealth Government’s Cashless Debit Card Trial.

Account Restrictions and Interest on Funds

The restrictions associated with the Cashless Debit Cards and Accounts including the decision to offer fee-free accounts and not to pay interest on the funds in accounts were decisions of the Commonwealth.  Any questions related to the decision making process surrounding the Cashless Debit Card Trial should be directed to the Department of Social Services at debitcardtrial@dss.gov.au.

Although the Department of Social Services is best placed to answer your questions regarding the restrictions, we take this opportunity to clarify the following with respect to the restrictions noted in your correspondence:

*  chargeback rights that exist for Visa debit cards issued by other financial institutions also apply to the Cashless Debit Cards.  Indue encourages anyone who believes that an  

    incorrect or unauthorised transaction has occurred through the use of their Cashless Debit Card to contact Indue’s Customer Service Centre on 1800 710 265;

*  cardholders are able to enter into direct debit arrangements with third parties by using their Visa Card number but not their BSB and Account Number; and

*  cardholders are able to transfer at least $200 per 28 days from their Cashless Debit Card account to a third party account which may be used to pay down any credit card debt.  If

   cardholders believe that the restrictions in place are causing them financial hardship by preventing them from paying off credit card debt, then Indue recommends they contact the Department of Social Services on 1800 252 604.

Privacy

Indue only collects and discloses information for the purpose of providing services to cardholders and providing information to the Commonwealth for the purposes of the Cashless Debit Card Trial.  The information that Indue shares in the course of providing the services includes details such as a cardholder’s name, date of birth and address as well as transactional information, including the amount of a transaction, where a transaction was undertaken and who the payment was made to or received from.  It is essential to provide these details to payment scheme providers so that transactions can be made. In addition to the Commonwealth, in the course of providing the services to cardholders Indue may provide information to:

*  service providers who Indue operate the accounts (such as the card manufacturer and Indue’s payment switch);

*  payment scheme providers (such as Visa, BPAY and APCA);

*  regulatory bodies, government agencies, law enforcement bodies and courts;

*  other participants in the financial systems (such as other financial institutions for the purpose of resolving disputes, errors or issues in relation to Accounts); and

*  other parties as is authorised or required by law.              

Information regarding taxi journeys may be collected to ensure merchants cannot circumvent welfare restrictions. 

External account information

There is no obligation on Indue account holders to provide Indue with their external account information.  In certain circumstances Indue may request this information from account holders or the Commonwealth so that Indue can facilitate a transfer from an Indue account to a cardholder’s external account.  For example, to return any residual funds to a Cashless Debit Card account holder upon the closure of their account.

Provision of transaction history to the Commonwealth

As set out in the Conditions of Use for the Cashless Debit Card (available on our website at www.indue.com.au/dct/cou), Indue shares information collected about cardholders with the Commonwealth.  This information may include the cardholder’s address, date of birth, contact details, transaction history and communications a cardholder has had with Indue about their account. This is necessary for the Commonwealth to operate aspects of the trial.

Indue DCT Application

Once the Indue DCT Application has been installed on a device and a card holder has logged into their account, Indue will collect device identification details including DeviceId, DeviceName, DeviceModel, DevicePlatform and DeviceVersion. These device details allow Indue to identify the type of device used by a card holder. These details are necessary for the Application to allow in-application notifications to card holders. 

Yours sincerely,

customer service centre

PO Box 523, Toowong QLD 4066

phone 1800 710 265

email dct@indue.com.au  web indue.com.au/dct

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Turnbull, Morrison and Cormann were expecting high praise for Budget 2017 from ordinary folk they are bound to be disappointed

With perhaps the exception of those big banks, the business community does not appear too unhappy with the Turnbull Government’s latest budget provisions, however letters sections in newspapers yesterday tell a different story when it comes to the average voter……

Australian Financial Review, 10 May 2017:

Surplus? Tell 'em they're dreaming

Based on nine years of irrefutable data, one can confidently make the following predictions after seeing Scott Morrison's budget.

There will be no surplus in 2020/21 or thereafter, and debt will just keep growing. Treasury has yet again overestimated government revenue, underestimated expenditure, continuing a remarkably long run of consistently getting it wrong.

The tragedy is that they, and their political masters, don't seem to learn anything, persisting with flawed models, theories and policies, that promise much but deliver the opposite.

Wayne Swan set the standard with his promise that deficits would end in 2012/13. Scott Morrison has just raised the bar.

Mark Engelbrecht Floreat, WA 

The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 May 2017, p.18:

PM's talk of fairness fails global shame test

The Prime Minister speaks of "fairness, opportunity and security" but the Australian government is continuing its selective vision of entitlement. It is not just that cutting aid adds to the push factors for refugees, it is the maintenance of a philosophy that the haves will grasp ever more tightly to protect their lifestyle at the expense of those who have nothing. The failure of successive Australian governments to meet their millennium goal commitments is yet another in the list of shameful failures by our nation to act as a responsible global citizen.

Philip Cooney Wentworth Falls

Liberals will always be cheaper: Looks like this might be the only believable claim from ScoMo and Turnbull, cheap, not cheerful and false economy. Are all options really on the table? Must health, education, pensions, welfare, housing affordability really be sacrificed, to prioritise keeping the pedlars of spies, submarines and jet fighters in the style to which they're accustomed? Their plans, values and fundamental morality sure is cheap.

Bernie McComb Phillip Island (Vic)

The Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2017, p.20:

Pay off all debt and be frugal

The federal Budget has been presented and everyone is asking, "What's in it for me?" The invisible elephant in the room is asking, "Where is the money coming from?" We are already on the road to owing half a trillion dollars, paying more than a billion dollars a month in interest alone. We are going to lumber our children with the sins of today and turn this great country into a third world nation, just so our current crop of politicians can appease as many voters as they need to stay in power. While there are a great many of wonderful ideas that need funding, can we afford them now? It is time we reined in expenditure, cut back on bloated bureaucracy and consultants, and tell politicians they need to live more frugally. The Titanic, too, was doing quite well until it shook hands with the iceberg.

Jim Stamell, Sylvania

Be fair towards the less privileged in society

Scott Morrison wants to bash the unemployed (again) while striving to achieve "fairness" in the Budget ("No licence to skive", 9/5).

Instead of finding more cruel and unusual ways to punish the unemployed, why doesn't he show true fairness and increase the Newstart Allowance from its current $35 a day -- a rate that hasn't changed since 1990 -- to a rate where a human being in Sydney can actually use it to survive rather than be way under the poverty line? All stick and no carrot is absolutely not fair.

Alex, Woy Woy

The Twitterverse is also less than enthusiastic……

Turnbull Government Budget 2017-18 when and where to find details

http://www.budget.gov.au/

@Treasury_AU

House of Representatives chamber documents

ABC News Budget 2017

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newschannel/

Current Australian Real Gross Domestic Product figure is no reason to panic

Australia has enjoyed 25 consecutive year of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

This is what the last ten years of that growth looked like:

So  when that arch enemy of sound economic principles, Federal Treasurer and Liberal MP for Cook, Scott Morrison, starts yelling that the sky is falling and Santa Claus is dead – remember the only weapon in his armoury across all three portfolios he has held (Immigration, Social Services & Treasury) is The Big Scare.

Like all his big scares this one is designed as warfare against the weak and vulnerable, so expect the MYEFO (mid-year budget update) released tomorrow to be structured to deliver doom and gloom.

According to Yahoo! News: The last time Australia was in recession, Sale of the Century was on the nation’s televisions and people endured Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do it for You as the number one song for 11 long weeks.

So if a 77 year-old Tony Barber isn’t fronting a new television game show this month and a 57 year-old Bryan Adams hasn't returned to centre stage from the musical back blocks he currently tours, then I suggest you don't have worry about an economic recession just yet.

Otherwise, enjoy your festive season in the sure knowledge that federal parliament is in recess until 7 February 2017 and therefore pollies can do no further harm for the remainder of 2016.