Kerbey, maybe look up the actual meaning of "bigot".
I'm not arguing for booze and cigarettes. It was my understanding anyway that Andrew Forrest specifically mentioned alcohol and gambling, rather than cigarettes but I could be wrong on that.
I understand what you're saying. Maybe try to understand what I'm saying. i.e. that to issue someone with some sort of card or voucher which effectively says "we regard you as so incompetent that we will determine how you may spend your benefit" is to be taking away from someone who has never shown any irresponsibility the dignity they deserve. My objection is to that principle, rather than the actual commodities concerned, most of which the average benefit recipient doesn't consume anyway.
I know full well that there are people across the broader community who make poor choices. I volunteered in a community agency assessing applications for emergency relief for more than 12 years and saw every kind of individual struggling to get their lives together the best way they could. Only a tiny proportion of these people wasted any part of their benefit.
Mostly, they struggled because of the demands of their own illness, a chronically sick child, domestic violence of any number of other situations that most of us here have no comprehension of.
When you live with that sort of disadvantage, no matter what your skin colour, you do not need some 'superior person' in the form of a taxpayer saying to you that you're a dumb idiot, incapable of making appropriate decisions.
By all means, where it's demonstrated that someone is inappropriately using their benefit, put them on an income management scheme. But, please, allow the ordinary non-abusing Australian who genuinely needs help to maintain what little dignity they have left.
There seems to be a general impression that people on any form of benefit are living on the fat of the land, having a great time at the expense of the taxpayer. I can tell you that that's simply not true.
A further point: if you're going to ban spending on alcohol on the basis that's a bad choice of consumption, then are you also going to ban sugar, fried chips, fizzy drinks, all fat? Ban any fast food?
If not, why not? They're all absolutely far worse for you than a single glass of wine with a meal.
I won't be commenting further. There's little point.
