Aust govt should extend welfare restrictions

Published: 3:39PM Sunday May 24, 2009 Source: AAP

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All welfare dependent families should have their payments quarantined, opposition families spokesman Tony Abbott says.

The federal government is considering changes to the strict income management rules for people who have proven they can manage their finances.

Payment quarantining, part of the Northern Territory intervention, is designed to prevent payments from being spent on drugs, alcohol and gambling.

Abbott says the measure should be rolled out nation-wide.

"If you're fair dinkum about looking after your family ... then why not have 50% of that payment quarantined," Abbott told ABC Television.

This would allow Labor to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act, which had to be suspended in the territory to allow the roll-out of some elements of the intervention, such as income management, he said.

"This would eliminate any suggestion that Aboriginal people are being singled out for special treatment."

Abbott said the coalition would vote against any moves to "water down" the intervention.

The government is considering changes to the grog bans and welfare quarantining measures, he said.

"The opposition will be against anything that looks like it is watering down the intervention," he told ABC Television.

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