On 30 September 2017 Lawrence James "Larry" Anthony (pictured above) was not happy and here’s the reason why:
The Directors of The SAS Group note reports in Fairfax newspapers today which refer to our firm. The SAS Group prides itself on achieving outstanding results for our clients. That has been our track record since our inception almost a decade ago, and we make no apology for the fact that we give our clients the best advice and guidance to help them achieve their business goals.
At all times we operate in accordance with the Federal lobbying laws and code of conduct, and we will always do so. We note that the Fairfax journalist has made no allegation of impropriety, and was not able, when asked, to point to any breach of the relevant code.
We are unbothered by the baseless implications upon which the news story is founded. However, we are deeply offended that our hard-working staff and consultants should have their achievements debased in this way.
The SAS Group has risen to be one of Australia’s leading strategic communications consultancies because our consultants have a breadth of experience in media, government and a range of industry sectors. We value the outcomes achieved by our personnel, and we – and our clients – understand that the firm’s success is derived not from the standing of one director, but from the efforts of our entire team.
On 30 September 2017 thousands of voters across Australia were also not happy and here’s their reasons why:
THE plan to rollout cashless welfare cards to thousands of residents on the dole in Hervey Bay-Bundaberg has sparked a fierce backlash from opponents claiming the cards will cause social segregation, stigmatise job seekers and entrench poverty.
“The people of the Hinkler region (Hervey Bay-Bundaberg) are feeling threatened, scared and worried for their financial futures and inclusion in our communities,” Hervey Bay’s Kathryn Wilkes, who has launched an online petition opposing introduction of the Federal Government scheme early next year, said.
The scheme is based on a suggestion by Western Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, that 80 per cent of welfare payments be cashless and only available via an electronic debit card that cannot be used for alcohol or gambling.
“The insults that we cannot manage our funds, that we are all drunks, druggies and pedos are unjust and not true,” Ms Wilkes said.
“The cashless welfare debit card will completely destroy people on so many levels and we don’t have the mental health services to cope with the loss of self and autonomy.
“The card does not care what colour your skin is, your religion, or your circumstance; it is about profits for private business.”
A new research paper has issued a damning assessment of the quality of the report the Turnbull government has been using to promote its cashless welfare card trials, saying the report shows the program is not working.
Janet Hunt, the deputy director of the centre for Aboriginal economic policy research at the Australian National University, says the government has ignored serious flaws in the Orima Research report, which it released this month.
She said the report showed the government’s cashless card trials had not actually improved safety and violence figures in the two trial sites in Ceduna and the East Kimberley, despite that being the point of the card.
A researcher studying the impact of the cashless welfare card has linked the Federal Government's welfare program to the issue of youth suicides in the Kimberley.
Coroner Ros Fogliani is examining the suicides of 13 children and young adults in the Kimberley, and is this week hearing testimony in the town of Kununurra.
Among those to give evidence was Melbourne University researcher Elise Klein, who is midway through a study on the effects of the implementation of the cashless welfare initiative in Ceduna and the west Kimberley.
All of the suicides being examined in the inquest took place before the cashless welfare card trial began in the East Kimberley in April 2016.
But Dr Klein argued the program would add to the disempowerment felt by Aboriginal people in the region.
"It has become a symbol of not having control over one's life and of state intervention over people's lives," she said.
Questioned on her findings so far, Dr Klein said local people and the community as a whole felt weakened by being subjected to the mandatory spending restrictions.
"Maybe the relevance to this inquest is that the kind of atmosphere that this feeds into is extremely disempowering for people.
Dr Klein was scathing of the implementation of the cashless card program, saying there was no proper consultation in Kununurra or Wyndham, and inadequate explanation as to how it worked.
"People were given a manual, that was full of technical language that was difficult to understand, so people had a lot of difficulty using the card," she said.
"When the trial began there was a fair amount of chaos.
"People were directed to a mobile app to check their balance, but some people didn't know how to use the internet, never mind have a mobile phone."
What connects all this unhappiness? Well it’s the SAS Consulting Group of which Larry Anthony is a founding director and part owner through Illalangi Pty Ltd as Trustee for the Anthony Family Trust and Indue Limited a financial services corporation established in 1999.
From 17 February 2005 to 30 October 2013 Larry Anthony sat on the Indue board as a director and, for much of that period he was also Senior Vice President Australia of the National Party.
The Australian Government Register of Lobbyists shows that Indue Limited is one of the 19 clients on whose behalf SAS Consulting lobbies. Indue has been reportedly a client since mid-2014.
All welfare recipients, excepting age pensioners, have been placed on the cashless debit card in Ceduna SA, Kununurra and Wydham WA.
By January 2018 it is expected that all welfare recipients under 35 years of age who receive unemployment or single parent benefits and live in Goldfields WA or Hervey Bay Qld will also be placed on this income management scheme.
It is likely that within the next five years an est. 24,633 people on Centrelink income management as of 25 March 2016 will also be transferred onto the cashless debit card program.
Larry Anthony can expect to see more media articles in the future which make him uncomfortable, now his relationship with Indue Limited has begun to be scrutinised.
BRIEF BACKGROUND
Larry has had a distinguished career in both business and politics and is the current President of the National Party, one half of the ruling Coalition Government.
He is the founding Director of the SAS Group and prior to his current commercial career was a former member of the Australian Parliament and served between 1996- 2004 in the Howard Government. During this period, he held numerous Ministries: Children and Youth Affairs, Minister for Community Services and Parliamentary Secretary for Trade. Larry also served on House of Representatives' Standing Committees on Financial Institutions; Public Administration; and Corporations and Securities.
Larry was the longest serving Minister responsible for Centrelink with an annual budget of over $60 billion and is widely regarded for his achievements in social policy reforms. In trade, he was responsible for driving export market development programs.
Larry is the third-generation Anthony family member in the Australian Parliament - the only family in Australian history where each elected member served as Minister of the Crown and collectively served 56 years in the Australian Parliament.
Prior to entering Parliament, Larry was a stockbroker and investment banker with Potter Warburg and Merrill Lynch.
Larry is a professional company director with a keen interest in information technology, finance, media and human services sector.
As Minister for Community Services in 2000 Anthony introduced a Centrelink pilot data matching program which compared data held on welfare recipients with data held by the Australia Taxation Office and the Australian Investment & Securities Commission.
Larry Anthony held the seat of Richmond for the National Party for over eight years and lost it at the federal election on 9 October 2004.
Anthony became National President of the National Party in September 2015.
