The Wire

A new version of the Northern Territory Intervention, renamed as the Stronger Futures bill, was passed in the early hours of the morning by the Senate late last week. This extended various policies of control and management for another decade. It also introduced the policy of welfare quarantining in five trial local councils across Australia including the Western Sydney suburb of Bankstown. Bankstown was identified as an area of high unemployment and long-term welfare dependency by the Federal Government.