Welfare quarantining should be extended to all welfare-dependent families across Australia, but the government must not scrap the current blanket system in the Northern Territory, the federal opposition says.
A federal review into the NT intervention has recommended an end to the blanket income management system, under which all Aboriginal welfare recipients' payments are heavily controlled.
Opposition indigenous affairs spokesman Tony Abbott on Sunday morning repeated warnings about scrapping the blanket welfare quarantine system.
"If welfare quarantining goes, effectively the intervention's gone," Mr Abbott told Sky News.
"And I would want to make it very clear to the government, that there would be no bipartisanship whatsoever if welfare quarantine is to be scrapped."
Mr Abbott said he would prefer to see an automatic welfare quarantine system in place rather than wait for bad behaviour to be determined by a family responsibilities commission.
"If people are worried about singling out Aboriginal people, extend the welfare quarantine to all welfare-dependent families with children, black and white, right around Australia," he said.
"And that eliminates this idea that we might be singling out Aboriginal people for harsh treatment.
"It would make sense, because let's face it, if you do have dependent children and you're not spending 50 per cent on the necessities of life, you're not fair dinkum."
