Last week in Parliament saw debate on the controversial cashless debit card, with the government ultimately failing to make the cards permanent but extending the trial another two years.

The cards force income support recipients to quarantine 80% of their payment onto a debit card that can only be used for essentials and cannot be used for alcohol and gambling.

The cards are on trial in places such as Ceduna, Bundaberg and East Kimberley, with 12,000 people involved. In some of these communities upwards of 80% of people in the trials are First Nations people. 

To discuss the extension we were joined on The Daily by Dr Elise Klein, Senior Lecturer at the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU.