NDIS shrinks, gas profits soar, and One Nation takes a hit: the week in politics
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Daniel James, and you're listening to 7am.
What changes did the Albanese government propose for the NDIS?
This week, the Albanese government moved to rein in the NDIS, making a hard political argument that one of the most impactful reforms in recent memory now has to be smaller to survive. In Canberra, a Senate hearing pressed on another pressure point, whether at a time of global instability and rising costs, Australia should be getting more from its gas exports. And in the lead-up to the first electoral test of the reshaped right, there may be signs that One Nation's surge in the polls may have reached its limit. Today, contributing editor of the New Daily, Amy Remekis, on what this week reveals about Labor, the right, and the pressure on both. It's Saturday, April 25th. Amy, good to see you again.
The biggest story of the week, the one that will affect the lives of millions of Australians, were the changes announced to the NDIS by Health Minister Mark Butler. What case did he make for the changes and what do you make of the timing of the announcement?
The case Mark Butler made for the changes to the NDIS, which is one of the biggest changes to a government social program that we have seen in modern political history and one of the biggest cuts to a government social program, were basically justified in the same way that we've seen every other previous cut to social services justified, which is that the The last few years have been basically building consent for that. There's been a lot of manufacturing consent for the government to do this. It's not just something Labor supports, it's also something that the Coalition support. So there's a lot of negative stories about the NDIS and all of it has been designed for this moment for a government minister to stand up and say, we are going to cut the NDIS contract.
But if you have any impact with somebody with a disability, be it learning disability or a physical disability, if you have anybody who is on the NDIS or who has received support from the NDIS, it's very scary. The NDIS already only services a fraction of people with disabilities. It is not the entire disability community in Australia. So we are seeing a lot of panic here. And all of it has come down to, oh, but we just can't afford it. And this conversation was happening at the same time as we were hearing from gas executives talking about how they could not afford to put a tax on gas because they're doing it very tough.
How are gas exports being discussed in the context of global instability?
We will get to that, Amy, I assure you. It's been a few days now since the announcement and we know that it has caused a lot of anxiety across the community. What's the reception been like from advocates today?
Advocates obviously have been devastated, mostly, and the ones that are expressing hope are saying that, well, they need to see what the states are going to offer because this is the offset that the federal government is offering. They're saying, well, we're not abandoning these people. We are giving funding to the states to set up state supports and The problem with that, though, is that people don't know the eligibility for these new supports. They don't know where they're going to be available. They don't know when they're going to be available. And what happens is we get into a funding fight between the Commonwealth and the states and territories over how much or how little they're actually able to fund.
And that can go on for a really long time because nothing in these funding agreements is is ever set in stone or is ever certain for long enough for people to be able to plan their lives around it.
What does the latest Senate hearing reveal about gas taxation?
If we think about all this in the frame of the upcoming budget, there was a Senate Select Committee hearing this week on the taxation of gas resources. Who fronted the committee and what was on the table for discussion?
So the committee has been going over three days. It heard from think tanks like the Australia Institute, who I am employed by, the Superpower Institute, Ken Henry, who was appearing in a personal capacity, former Secretary of the Treasury and also one of the authors of Taxes.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:09
2
What changes did the Albanese government propose for the NDIS?
0:09–2:49
3
How are gas exports being discussed in the context of global instability?
2:49–3:53
4
What does the latest Senate hearing reveal about gas taxation?
3:53–6:52
5
What are the implications of the NDIS changes for people with disabilities?
6:52–7:20
6
What is the current political landscape for One Nation?
7:20–7:38
7
How have advocates reacted to the NDIS changes?
7:38–8:00
8
What strategies are being used by the Liberal Party to regain traditional voters?
8:00–18:02