The government’s Cashless Debit Card almost fell apart on Wednesday night.
Senator Rex Patrick’s refusal to support the government’s plans to make the scheme permanent gave some hope that this expensive, ideological and cruel policy would end.
Yet in the final Senate vote, it was revealed that Centre Alliance had reached an understanding with the government.
The trail at four sites outside the Northern Territory would be extended by another two years and people in the Territory would be given the option of moving from the green BasicsCard to the silver Cashless Debit Card (known searingly in East Kimberley as the “white” card).