Newsroom

January 18, 2022

Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter has been buoyed by a strong show of support for his Blue Card Bill, which is designed to get some of the State’s most vulnerable people out of the welfare system and into stable employment.

Mr Katter said he was pleased to see submissions to the bill had been overwhelmingly supportive, with organisations such as the Queensland Council of Social Services, Australian Lawyers Alliance and Sisters Inside among those backing the legislation.

He said the Legal Affairs and Safety Committee, which would report their verdict on the proposed changes to the Parliament by the end of 2022, was also accepting late submissions up until January 31st.

“This is the third time I have put a version of my Blue Card Bill through the Parliament, and I feel as though we are closer than ever to gaining the support needed to get it – or an amended version of it – over the line,” Mr Katter said.

“While the bill proposes an updated Blue Card framework that would apply only to Queensland’s First Australian communities, its passing would have a huge impact beyond these boundaries.

“The high rates of unemployment that are systemic to these communities have flow-on effects, like drug and alcohol abuse and high crime and incarceration rates, that reverberate across all of Queensland.

“If you want to address these problems then you need to get to the heart of the issue and start with getting people into work – the current Blue Card system is a huge impediment to this primary goal.”

The Working with Children (Indigenous Communities) Amendment Bill 2021 would allow eligible people to request that Indigenous community leaders – namely Local Justice Groups – consider their Blue Card applications in certain situations.

Any individual who has a history of child-related or sexual offending, or any other disqualifying offences, would not be able to utilise the framework and child safety would remain paramount.

Mr Katter said while the Blue Card system served a vital purpose and was commendable in its intent, the majority of Queenslanders did not understand that its assessment reach extended far beyond criminal history associated with children.

For example, unlawful use of a motor vehicle is considered a serious offence under the current Blue Card rules, meaning an individual who was in trouble with the law as a teen may be prevented from securing a job and turning their lives around many years later.

“I have seen this sort of situation replicated time and time again and, in Indigenous communities where job opportunities are scarce and almost all jobs require Blue Cards, this knock-back can be tragic,” the Traeger MP said.

State Government data shows that while people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander account for 5 per cent of total Blue Card applicants, from 2017-2020, they made up 22 per cent of rejected applicants.[1]

This is despite, during the same period, these applicants being more likely to provide a submission relating to police and/or disciplinary information than non-Indigenous applicants.

Submissions to the Mr Katter’s Blue Card bill can be sent to the Legal Affairs and Safety Committee by emailing lasc@parliament.qld.gov.au – late submissions are being accepted up until 5pm, January 31st.

The Explanatory Notes for the bill can be found at: https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au /bills/2021/3069/Working-with-Children-(Indigenous-Communities)-Amendment-Bill-2021---Explanatory-Notes-ae75.pdf

[1] safe-children-and-strong-communities.pdf (publications.qld.gov.au)