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Katie Woolf spoke with Senator Malarndirri McCarthy · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Live from Canberra. Senator for the Northern Territory Mellandarie McCarthy,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Mallanderie.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Senator you and I have spoken about this on
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  Speaker 1: so many occasions, these two seats in Federal Parliament. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: Michael McCormack was on the show about a week and
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  Speaker 1: a half ago and confirmed that we would keep this representation.
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  Speaker 1: But Senator I understand that these formal moves are now
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  Speaker 1: finally being made.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, thanks Katie, and huge thanks to you and your
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  Speaker 2: listeners there for your advocacy and support for something that
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  Speaker 2: is just about doing the right thing here. And you
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  Speaker 2: know it has been tremendous that we've seen a breakthrough here,
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  Speaker 2: a real breakthrough. The Joint Parliamentary Committee might recall Katie
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  Speaker 2: back in when was it just in June July? I
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  Speaker 2: think it was when they held the hearings into whether
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  Speaker 2: we should have two seats or not. They actually came
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  Speaker 2: down with their final report on Friday, and as a result,
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  Speaker 2: the Federal Government has taken the recommendation of their report,
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  Speaker 2: which the first recommendation in it, there's three recommendations and
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  Speaker 2: the first one is really the one that matters, and
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  Speaker 2: that recommended that there should be two seats in the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory. But they also added two seats as a
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  Speaker 2: minimum in the Act. So the Act has won out
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  Speaker 2: of our lobbying. Yeah, and addedacy as well. So then
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  Speaker 2: a game.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I tell you what you know. Hats off to you,
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  Speaker 1: hats off to everybody involved. I know that you and
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  Speaker 1: Senator Sam McMahon really put politics aside on this one,
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  Speaker 1: which I think is fantastic to see. How soon I mean,
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  Speaker 1: how soon do you think that this is formally sort
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  Speaker 1: of going to come into play. I just think it's
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  Speaker 1: wonderful that this has worked out for the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, good question. We've got this week, We've got
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  Speaker 2: two weeks of settings. Now Senate is in Senate Estimates Committee,
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  Speaker 2: so we're not sitting in the Senate, which has got
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  Speaker 2: our budget estimates hearings, but it's the Lower House that
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  Speaker 2: are sitting for the next fortnight. So they'll either introduce
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  Speaker 2: the legislation in this next fortnight or possibly in the
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  Speaker 2: November sittings, but they must do it before the end
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  Speaker 2: of the year. And the government, in its press release
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  Speaker 2: on Friday, has committed to doing that and will certainly
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  Speaker 2: be asking when that's going to occur. So I can
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  Speaker 2: certainly say to your listeners that this will definitely happen.
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  Speaker 2: They have now the government has certainly formally accepted the
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  Speaker 2: recommendation and if proceeding to put together a bill for
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  Speaker 2: the two seats for the Northern Territory and the Act.
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  Speaker 1: Wonderful stuff. Senator, you must be feeling quite toughed at
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  Speaker 1: the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Just relieved and very very thankful for the support across
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  Speaker 2: the territory in Australia, Katie, you know this, Yeah, when
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  Speaker 2: when you think about it, I also lament the fact
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  Speaker 2: that we had to fight us, if you know what
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  Speaker 2: I mean. It's something that we should should not have
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  Speaker 2: had to do, but hey we did it, and we
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  Speaker 2: were told we would never win, and hey we won.
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  Speaker 2: So yes, it's a fantastic feeling. But when we've got
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  Speaker 2: to now get on with the business of other matters
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  Speaker 2: that are affecting Territorians. And the next one, as you know,
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  Speaker 2: is the cashless debit card. So that's another battle that
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to start dealing with now. The federal government
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  Speaker 2: is very determined to see the cashist debit card roll
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  Speaker 2: out across the Northern Territory, and I'm particularly concerned. We've
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  Speaker 2: got territorians across the board who are going to be
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  Speaker 2: impacted by this, So I just have to start preparing
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  Speaker 2: for that now and getting feedback from the community across
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  Speaker 2: the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Senator, we don't have a huge amount of time, but
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  Speaker 1: just briefly, if you can tell us what your concerns
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  Speaker 1: are with the cashlest debit card.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, the Cashist debit card is basically going to put
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  Speaker 2: most recipient too are on Center Link to have their
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  Speaker 2: income quarantined to fifty to eighty percent a bigger pardon.
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  Speaker 2: So at the moment the Basics card, and there are
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  Speaker 2: over twenty two thousand people in the territory who are
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  Speaker 2: going to be moved on to this. People who are
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  Speaker 2: on the Basics Card currently have their income quarantined at
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  Speaker 2: fifty percent, but there will be other people who are
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  Speaker 2: not on the Basics Card which will be captured in
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  Speaker 2: the cash List debit card. And that means so if
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  Speaker 2: you get saved, for example, if you get five hundred
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  Speaker 2: dollars from you know, whether it's through any of the
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  Speaker 2: care that you provide, anything that you do in relation
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  Speaker 2: to receiving support from Center Link, eighty percent of that
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  Speaker 2: five hundred dollars is going to be quarantined where you
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  Speaker 2: can only spend it in specific places.
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  Speaker 1: So does that mean if you're a care if you're
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  Speaker 1: a care if you're a pensioner, that you could get
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  Speaker 1: caught up in this as well?
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  Speaker 2: Absolute And this is why we need to see the
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  Speaker 2: details of the legislation that's going to go through the
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  Speaker 2: House of Works in the next fortnight. So once I
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  Speaker 2: have a good look at what the changes are or
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  Speaker 2: amendments in that legislation, I'll certainly be putting information out
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  Speaker 2: on my social media. Yeah, the Territorian's asking them to
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  Speaker 2: let me know their views.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Senator I Reckon, we'll be speaking to you again
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  Speaker 1: in the very near future about this. I really appreciate,
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  Speaker 1: really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so very
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  Speaker 1: much for having a chat to us, and well done
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  Speaker 1: on what you and all of our other representatives from
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory in Canberra have done to ensure that
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  Speaker 1: we do keep our two seats in Parliament.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, and it's a huge thanks to everyone in
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  Speaker 2: the territory and all political parties they're certainly the Labor
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  Speaker 2: and CLP I did commit to it as well through
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  Speaker 2: the j schem that was the parliamentary inquiry, so you know,
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  Speaker 2: it goes to show when we need to pull together together,
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  Speaker 2: we can. So that's very big. Thank you to everyone.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely good on your Melandarie. We'll talk to you again soon.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you,