LNP single out NDIS cuts to pay for AUKUS

Peter Dutton has called for cuts to the NDIS to help pay for AUKUS, while steadfastly attacking superannuation changes that would affect only the very rich.

This is yet another attack by the LNP on Australia’s most vulnerable, and one can only surmise that this was the LNP intention when they first announced the AUKUS deal back in 2021.

It also raises the question of what else the LNP want to make cuts to.

We have seen from the Robodebt Royal Commission that they deliberately went after the poor to make cuts to the budget. Budget cuts were needed to help pay for the stage three tax cuts, which again were aimed at helping Australia’s richest people.

We see a pattern emerging in LNP policy. They rob from the poor to help the rich. How much they will do this is not yet clear, but given their form in recent years, there seems to be no limit.

Will they go after aged pensioners as well? Probably. Will they go after veterans entitlements? That’s not completely off the table either.

There are a multitude of services to the disadvantaged that the LNP could go after, and their history shows they are not backward about going after them.

So are these cuts necessary? No, they are not.

If the LNP were serious about making cuts to pay for AUKUS, they would look at cuts to tax for the very wealthy. Like the stage three tax cuts and the superannuation changes.

The LNP are playing up the fact that the AUKUS deal will cost at least $100 billion, but seem to conveniently leave out the point that this cost is spread over 50 years.

The cost amounts to 0.01% of GDP per year, hardly a significant amount in the big scheme of things. It is not an amount that has to be paid for at the next budget.

So why are the LNP already targeting the poor? Because that is their nature. They are using a false flag to incite division and appeal to their support base.

Indeed, if we were to repeal the stage three tax cuts, as most people seem to support, then we could actually improve services for Australia’s most vulnerable. It would also go a long way towards paying for AUKUS.

Anthony Albanese must reject Dutton’s calls to go after NDIS recipients. There are plenty of other areas where savings can be made.

Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based Social Justice Campaigner, Writer, Teacher and Business Consultant. He has campaigned for social justice in Australia, promoted human rights in China and worked with the homeless in Honolulu. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Business, a Graduate Certificate in Education and a degree in Management. He is also the General Manager of The Australian Business and Leadership School.

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