Inlay

Pauline Hanson charged taxpayers almost $9,000 for a chartered plane to attend an event honouring the mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s donation to a private agricultural college, parliamentary expenses data shows. w/ Sarah Martin v @australia.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Either One Nation or an independent are favoured to take Farrer in its upcoming byelection. Is this a minor curiosity, or a political earthquake? v @australia.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Plan to move 240,000 people off scheme leads states and territories to jointly warn they can’t ‘deliver like-for-like services to people who are exited from the NDIS’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast State and territory disability ministers have rung alarm bells over the Albanese government’s proposed overhaul of the NDIS, warning they can’t deliver “like-for-like services” for more than 200,000 participants expected to be shifted off the scheme by 2031. The Albanese government’s national disability insurance scheme bill is designed to dramatically curb the growth of the $50bn-a-year scheme by first reducing budgets and then the number of people who can access it from 2028. Continue reading...

The home affairs minister, the private prison contractor and the secret meeting - ICE-linked private prison operator blamed for catastrophic security failures in Australia’s immigration detention network. ✏️ Chris Knaus & @arielbogle.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The major parties look like also-rans in the byelection on 9 May, with One Nation and an independent favoured to fight it out. Is this a minor curiosity, or a political earthquake?

Exclusive: Sweeping overhaul expected to be introduced to parliament Thursday as Greens warn proposal is ‘extraordinarily alarming’ Australians with a disability would first need to exhaust “all appropriate” treatment options for their impairment to be eligible for the national disability insurance scheme under strict entry criteria to help curb the program’s soaring costs. The proposed test is expected to start in 2028 and existing participants could be forced off the scheme if they don’t meet the requirement. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Taskforce led by former Treasury official Anthea Long will advise on cost-cutting options for $52bn program * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor has quietly established a razor gang to drive budget savings in the national disability insurance scheme, as it works to further rein in costs ahead of next month’s federal budget. An NDIS Sustainability Taskforce was established within the health department earlier this year, with instructions from the federal government and national cabinet to advise on cost-cutting options for the $52bn program. Continue reading...

In an interview with Sky News’ Andrew Clennell, Hastie ended any pretence that his grievances might have been purely numerical * Full report: Bondi terror attack * Victims of Bondi beach shooting * What we know so far about the Bondi terror attack As details of the Bondi beach massacre started to emerge on Sunday evening, Andrew Hastie posted a video with his immediate reaction to his large social media following. Standing at a beach, the sun yet to set over his electorate south of Perth, the Liberal MP said in a 60-second video posted to Facebook and Instagram: “I am angry, and I know you are too. Continue reading...

Legal team of man who was part of cohort of non-citizens freed after high court decision argues Nauru’s medical facilities are ‘insufficient’ to treat his severe asthma * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Lawyers for an Iranian refugee Australia wants to deport to Nauru say there is a “real risk he will die” there, setting the stage for a showdown against the federal government’s $2.5bn NZYQ deal. The case surrounding the Iranian refugee, known as TXCM, who was granted a 30-year visa for Nauru in February and subsequently placed back into immigration detention after being freed by the 2023 high court ruling, was heard in the high court on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Prohibited from working, people sent to the island by Australia say they are struggling to survive because food is so expensive * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Asylum seekers sent to Nauru by Australia say they are going hungry on the island, prohibited from working to support themselves and given insufficient money to buy enough food. Others say they fear the Nauru government will deport them to their home countries, from where they say they have fled persecution and violence. Continue reading...