'Bunch of drunken sailors': Sky News host Steve Price scorns Labor's 'crazy' spending as NDIS budget exceeds defence by a billion
Price said the Albanese government was rightly happy to have won the federal election, but now needed to get the country 'back on track'.
A report by the Centre for Independent Studies which found more than half of Australian voters rely on government for most of their income - through wages, benefits or subsidies - was proof of the major challenges ahead, he claimed.
'We have become a nation of leaners, not leaders, and I hate to say that,' Price said.
'We have continued to swamp the country with unprecedented numbers of migrants. We have workers relying on governments for their pay packets. That grows alarmingly.'
CIS economist Robert Carling warned such widespread dependence has fuelled unsustainable government spending and eroded economic resilience.
In a new paper published on Wednesday, Leviathan on the Rampage, Mr Carling warned federal spending alone has reached 27.6 per cent of GDP.
This was up from between 24 and 25 per cent of GDP in 2012-13 and has been fuelled by a 'program expansion in social services, defence and debt interest'.
'How can that be sustainable?' Price said.
'According to that report, spending is driven largely by a small group of programmes including - surprise surprise - the NDIS, Aged Care, Medicare and Defence. The NDIS is actually costing taxpayers more than what we spend on defence. How crazy is that? This year alone, $52 billion on the NDIS.
'Simply not sustainable.'
Australia's current defence budget is $51 billion.
Price said the Labor government was 'spending like a bunch of drunken sailors'.
According to the federal budget 2025-26, the NDIS recorded the second highest annual growth in major payments, behind only interest.
It has been projected to cost more than $64 billion by the end of the decade.
Meanwhile, the federal budget has been projected to endure a decade of deficits and surge past $1 trillion of debt.
The findings come just days after leaked Treasury advice revealed the Albanese government has been told to pursue 'spending reductions'.
Treasury said Treasurer Jim Chalmers would need to find 'additional revenue and spending reductions' to ensure a 'sustainable budget'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
28 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Rogue providers run rife in disability support sector
Rampant rule-breaking is going unnoticed within Australia's disability support sector, an industry body says as the workplace watchdog launches a probe into rogue conduct. Less than three per cent of Australia's 260,000 NDIS providers are registered, peak body National Disability Services notes as it welcomes the investigation announced on Tuesday by the Fair Work Ombudsman. "We do not know what is occurring in the unregistered market, because there is no oversight so seeking to understand that is a positive thing," chief executive Michael Perusco told AAP. His organisation has heard of countless instances of poor quality and unregistered providers exploiting staff and participants, he said, also praising the probe for shining a light on those practices. The ombudsman has received tens of thousands of inquiries, anonymous reports, requests for assistance and self-reported breaches each year. Back-payments for workers were close to $68 million between 2020 and 2024, equating to about $13.6 million every year. The peak body has pushed for all National Disability Insurance Scheme providers to be registered in a proportionate system, where regulatory burdens would be higher for services completing complex work. "In the absence of that reform, we are concerned that unsafe practices are going unnoticed," Mr Perusco said. Previous investigations have uncovered widespread and large scale non-compliance in the sector, with ombudsman Anna Booth holding "serious" concerns. The ombudsman aims to identify the root causes of non-compliance then work with industry and government to improve compliance. Key themes of breaches are small and unregistered providers, higher labour costs, an uptick in digital gig platform providers and financial pressures, the ombudsman said. Workers say they face strong demand for their services, high levels of casualisation in a predominantly female workforce, quick staff turnover and tight profit margins. Ms Booth said the sector had relied heavily on migrant workers who are vulnerable to exploitation due to their reluctance to complain, despite having the same rights as other workers. But she warned change won't be instantaneous. The inquiry has been welcomed by the Australian Services Union, the largest group representing disability support workers. "It often feels like a 'whack-a-mole' exercise with underpayments popping up all over the place in this rapidly growing sector," union spokesman Angus McFarland said. The inquiry's first phase will run for 18 months and involve hearing from workers, stakeholders and clients who require disability support. Rampant rule-breaking is going unnoticed within Australia's disability support sector, an industry body says as the workplace watchdog launches a probe into rogue conduct. Less than three per cent of Australia's 260,000 NDIS providers are registered, peak body National Disability Services notes as it welcomes the investigation announced on Tuesday by the Fair Work Ombudsman. "We do not know what is occurring in the unregistered market, because there is no oversight so seeking to understand that is a positive thing," chief executive Michael Perusco told AAP. His organisation has heard of countless instances of poor quality and unregistered providers exploiting staff and participants, he said, also praising the probe for shining a light on those practices. The ombudsman has received tens of thousands of inquiries, anonymous reports, requests for assistance and self-reported breaches each year. Back-payments for workers were close to $68 million between 2020 and 2024, equating to about $13.6 million every year. The peak body has pushed for all National Disability Insurance Scheme providers to be registered in a proportionate system, where regulatory burdens would be higher for services completing complex work. "In the absence of that reform, we are concerned that unsafe practices are going unnoticed," Mr Perusco said. Previous investigations have uncovered widespread and large scale non-compliance in the sector, with ombudsman Anna Booth holding "serious" concerns. The ombudsman aims to identify the root causes of non-compliance then work with industry and government to improve compliance. Key themes of breaches are small and unregistered providers, higher labour costs, an uptick in digital gig platform providers and financial pressures, the ombudsman said. Workers say they face strong demand for their services, high levels of casualisation in a predominantly female workforce, quick staff turnover and tight profit margins. Ms Booth said the sector had relied heavily on migrant workers who are vulnerable to exploitation due to their reluctance to complain, despite having the same rights as other workers. But she warned change won't be instantaneous. The inquiry has been welcomed by the Australian Services Union, the largest group representing disability support workers. "It often feels like a 'whack-a-mole' exercise with underpayments popping up all over the place in this rapidly growing sector," union spokesman Angus McFarland said. The inquiry's first phase will run for 18 months and involve hearing from workers, stakeholders and clients who require disability support. Rampant rule-breaking is going unnoticed within Australia's disability support sector, an industry body says as the workplace watchdog launches a probe into rogue conduct. Less than three per cent of Australia's 260,000 NDIS providers are registered, peak body National Disability Services notes as it welcomes the investigation announced on Tuesday by the Fair Work Ombudsman. "We do not know what is occurring in the unregistered market, because there is no oversight so seeking to understand that is a positive thing," chief executive Michael Perusco told AAP. His organisation has heard of countless instances of poor quality and unregistered providers exploiting staff and participants, he said, also praising the probe for shining a light on those practices. The ombudsman has received tens of thousands of inquiries, anonymous reports, requests for assistance and self-reported breaches each year. Back-payments for workers were close to $68 million between 2020 and 2024, equating to about $13.6 million every year. The peak body has pushed for all National Disability Insurance Scheme providers to be registered in a proportionate system, where regulatory burdens would be higher for services completing complex work. "In the absence of that reform, we are concerned that unsafe practices are going unnoticed," Mr Perusco said. Previous investigations have uncovered widespread and large scale non-compliance in the sector, with ombudsman Anna Booth holding "serious" concerns. The ombudsman aims to identify the root causes of non-compliance then work with industry and government to improve compliance. Key themes of breaches are small and unregistered providers, higher labour costs, an uptick in digital gig platform providers and financial pressures, the ombudsman said. Workers say they face strong demand for their services, high levels of casualisation in a predominantly female workforce, quick staff turnover and tight profit margins. Ms Booth said the sector had relied heavily on migrant workers who are vulnerable to exploitation due to their reluctance to complain, despite having the same rights as other workers. But she warned change won't be instantaneous. The inquiry has been welcomed by the Australian Services Union, the largest group representing disability support workers. "It often feels like a 'whack-a-mole' exercise with underpayments popping up all over the place in this rapidly growing sector," union spokesman Angus McFarland said. The inquiry's first phase will run for 18 months and involve hearing from workers, stakeholders and clients who require disability support. Rampant rule-breaking is going unnoticed within Australia's disability support sector, an industry body says as the workplace watchdog launches a probe into rogue conduct. Less than three per cent of Australia's 260,000 NDIS providers are registered, peak body National Disability Services notes as it welcomes the investigation announced on Tuesday by the Fair Work Ombudsman. "We do not know what is occurring in the unregistered market, because there is no oversight so seeking to understand that is a positive thing," chief executive Michael Perusco told AAP. His organisation has heard of countless instances of poor quality and unregistered providers exploiting staff and participants, he said, also praising the probe for shining a light on those practices. The ombudsman has received tens of thousands of inquiries, anonymous reports, requests for assistance and self-reported breaches each year. Back-payments for workers were close to $68 million between 2020 and 2024, equating to about $13.6 million every year. The peak body has pushed for all National Disability Insurance Scheme providers to be registered in a proportionate system, where regulatory burdens would be higher for services completing complex work. "In the absence of that reform, we are concerned that unsafe practices are going unnoticed," Mr Perusco said. Previous investigations have uncovered widespread and large scale non-compliance in the sector, with ombudsman Anna Booth holding "serious" concerns. The ombudsman aims to identify the root causes of non-compliance then work with industry and government to improve compliance. Key themes of breaches are small and unregistered providers, higher labour costs, an uptick in digital gig platform providers and financial pressures, the ombudsman said. Workers say they face strong demand for their services, high levels of casualisation in a predominantly female workforce, quick staff turnover and tight profit margins. Ms Booth said the sector had relied heavily on migrant workers who are vulnerable to exploitation due to their reluctance to complain, despite having the same rights as other workers. But she warned change won't be instantaneous. The inquiry has been welcomed by the Australian Services Union, the largest group representing disability support workers. "It often feels like a 'whack-a-mole' exercise with underpayments popping up all over the place in this rapidly growing sector," union spokesman Angus McFarland said. The inquiry's first phase will run for 18 months and involve hearing from workers, stakeholders and clients who require disability support.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Violence may ensue': Labor MPs speak out against premier's opposition to bridge protest
Members of Chris Minns's government have accused the premier of overstepping his authority in declaring he would oppose a planned march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday, with Labor MPs criticising him for tainting proper process and being 'more concerned about traffic flow than the plight of starving children'. Despite repeatedly criticising pro-Palestine demonstrators – including previously flagging the potential to limit the number of times organisers could arrange protests in Sydney – Minns sought to strike a conciliatory tone on Tuesday, even as he reiterated that a planned march across the Harbour Bridge could not go ahead. 'Many people are worried about aid and humanitarian care getting into Gaza, and I want the killing to stop as well,' he said. But Minns's insistence, during a radio interview with the ABC, that the planned march should not go ahead in 'any circumstances' drew an angry rebuke from some Labor MPs who say his ongoing opposition to pro-Palestinian demonstrators has created a 'hostile' atmosphere which could lead to violence. Stephen Lawrence, an upper house Labor MP and barrister, said the 'detailed statutory regime' governing rules for protests gave 'no substantive role' to the premier in deciding whether police can refuse to give immunity to demonstrators from offences such as blocking roads. Loading But, he said, he was 'extremely concerned' by the premier's comments, which he said could 'taint' due process, and potentially lead to violent confrontations between police and demonstrators because of anger over the decision to block it. 'I find it troubling that the premier's statement does not reference any apparent sound basis to prevent the protest nor the legal mechanism in NSW through which authorisation is considered,' he said. 'I am concerned the premier has, in effect, made a purported decision himself to try and prevent this protest, that this will taint proper consideration of the matter by police, and that violence may ensue as a consequence.'
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
‘Violence may ensue': Labor MPs speak out against premier's opposition to bridge protest
Members of Chris Minns's government have accused the premier of overstepping his authority in declaring he would oppose a planned march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday, with Labor MPs criticising him for tainting proper process and being 'more concerned about traffic flow than the plight of starving children'. Despite repeatedly criticising pro-Palestine demonstrators – including previously flagging the potential to limit the number of times organisers could arrange protests in Sydney – Minns sought to strike a conciliatory tone on Tuesday, even as he reiterated that a planned march across the Harbour Bridge could not go ahead. 'Many people are worried about aid and humanitarian care getting into Gaza, and I want the killing to stop as well,' he said. But Minns's insistence, during a radio interview with the ABC, that the planned march should not go ahead in 'any circumstances' drew an angry rebuke from some Labor MPs who say his ongoing opposition to pro-Palestinian demonstrators has created a 'hostile' atmosphere which could lead to violence. Stephen Lawrence, an upper house Labor MP and barrister, said the 'detailed statutory regime' governing rules for protests gave 'no substantive role' to the premier in deciding whether police can refuse to give immunity to demonstrators from offences such as blocking roads. Loading But, he said, he was 'extremely concerned' by the premier's comments, which he said could 'taint' due process, and potentially lead to violent confrontations between police and demonstrators because of anger over the decision to block it. 'I find it troubling that the premier's statement does not reference any apparent sound basis to prevent the protest nor the legal mechanism in NSW through which authorisation is considered,' he said. 'I am concerned the premier has, in effect, made a purported decision himself to try and prevent this protest, that this will taint proper consideration of the matter by police, and that violence may ensue as a consequence.'
