00:02Hi there, Jo. Well, it's been a pretty jam-packed few days here in Canberra and there's been
00:07quite a bit of wash up today from two key pieces of legislation, Labor's gambling advertising
00:12bill and its NDIS overhaul in the Senate. Now, the government was able to secure coalition
00:18support in passing its gambling advertising bill through the House. That passed yesterday
00:23afternoon and it's expected to pass the upper house later this week. Now, the government
00:28is really claiming victory with this legislation, despite having to make some concessions on
00:33inducements, which ended up being quite targeted and not a sweeping ban of inducements like the
00:38Greens were calling for. Some notable amendments include where Australians can opt out of betting
00:44company ads online called AdStop and restrictions of TV gambling ads on TVs. Now, not everyone is
00:52happy with these changes. We heard from Independent Senator David Pocock this morning, who said
00:57that this legislation doesn't go far enough and it only addresses the most serious forms
01:01of inducements. Greens Communications spokesperson Sarah Hansen-Young also spoke this morning and
01:08dubbed the AdStop establishment of that body, she dubbed it DudStop.
01:15I'd like to know from the government, who in the department gave advice that this DudStop would work? Who
01:24in the department or technical experts said that this DudStop would have any effect? How much is it
01:33really going to cost? There's also been quite a large focus on the NDIS overhaul that passed the Senate
01:39last night. Now, the government was able to secure again the coalition's support on this legislation
01:45after it agreed to fast track a fix to the so-called widow's tax, which was an unattended
01:50consequence from the federal government's negative gearing tax changes in the federal budget earlier
01:56this year. So it got the coalition's support on that. Now, that bill needs to return back down to
02:01the lower house to get the final tick off of approval. Now, the government has said that this
02:05overhaul is aimed at making this the scheme more sustainable by focusing on anti-fraud measures
02:11and new eligibility requirements. There's a lot of people in the disability community who are really
02:17concerned that those who potentially are going to be kicked off the scheme with these new eligibility
02:22requirements might not have any supports as the states and territories have to pick them up.
02:28And there are some concerns that they aren't going to be ready in time, especially Queensland,
02:31who hasn't opted in just yet. Now, the Minister for Disability and the NDIS, Mark Butler,
02:37was speaking in parliament this afternoon, acknowledging some of those anxieties from
02:42the community at this time. And he said that there is a lot of work that needs to be done
02:46with the states and territories to make sure that there are those supports in place.
02:51Now, while these reforms are essential, I know that they are, as the Prime Minister indicated,
02:56their hard reforms. And I know that they are causing anxiety in some parts of the community,
03:03among some NDIS participants and their loved ones. And I want to assure those Australians and the
03:09broader community of a few things. This program will still grow.
03:14And Courtney, there's been an ongoing discussion for a couple of years now about the effectiveness
03:19or otherwise of the excise that the government imposes on cigarettes. What's happening with that
03:26discussion over the last couple of weeks?
03:30Well, One Nation has floated another policy that it's looking at this week, and that was that it
03:35wants to cut the federal tobacco excise by dramatic 75% and freeze indexation for three years,
03:42leader Pauline Hanson said in a bid to curb organised crime. Now, she flagged this policy
03:47yesterday morning. She said that the current settings had failed. Now, we need to note that
03:52Australia has amongst the highest cigarette prices in the world. One Nation's proposal was slammed by
03:58Health Minister Mark Butler this morning, who said that it was a thought bubble and a cheap headline.
04:04Now, the government also says that its focus is currently on law enforcement, and that's how it
04:09wants to tackle illegal tobacco. It hasn't given any indication at the moment of whether it would
04:14entertain a potential additional excise cut. Opposition leader Angus Taylor was also questioned
04:21on this and whether the coalition is potentially considering an excise cut or would be on board
04:25with that. And Angus Taylor said that while illegal tobacco does need to be looked at, the coalition
04:32will have more to say in coming wakes. Jo, lots happening around here at the moment.
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