Treasurer faces $26bn deficit in 25 March budget. Follow today’s news live
The premier of Queensland, David Crisafulli, appeared on the Today show this morning following media reports suggesting tropical cyclone Alfred will cost the budget around $1.2bn.
Asked if he was concerned the hit might signal a limit to the amount of financial assistance affected residents would receive, he said the state government’s focus was “to make sure we go from response to recovery”.
We’ve got to do things differently. So I acknowledge it might cost a little bit more up front to do that. But why would you replace things to the same substandard? In the end, it’s going to cost you more in the long run to have to constantly go back and pick up the pieces.
But there’s also the social and the community disconnect that comes with that. We’ve over the years, we’ve rebuilt bridges to the same standard in the same location and expected a different result. That’s crazy. And I’m determined not to do that. So yes, I acknowledge that it’s a bit of a cost up front, but long term it will pay for itself many, many times over.
We have had a strong focus on providing greater clarity on what Ndis funding can and cannot be spent on, on preventing fraud, and on improving planning to make it more consistent, transparent and fairer.
We know there is more to be done, but these reforms are bringing us closer to the original intent of the scheme – to provide genuine choice and control, and provide reasonable and necessary supports, to people with a permanent and significant disability so they can participate in everyday activities.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/mar/17/australia-news-live-cyclone-alfred-budget-deficit-jim-chalmers-election-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-minns-reshuffle-nsw-psychiatrists-arbitration-ntwnfb
Author : Caitlin Cassidy
Publish date : 2025-03-16 21:00:00
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