Editorial: We’re not the fun police, but throw the book at Pommy idiots
International cricketers are role models and must accept the extra scrutiny that comes with the celebrity and big pay cheque, writes the editor.
We are not the fun police, but we had hoped the actual police would have come down harder on the two England Test players who were caught riding electric scooters without a helmet – that is, illegally.
Not only are the road rules very clear on this matter: that riders without a helmet can face fines of up to $166, but the example set by letting them off the hook with not even a warning is not a good one.
The dangers of riding e-scooters has been widely discussed across Queensland in recent months. The government has even convened a parliamentary inquiry into the safety of e-mobility use after eight riders died last year.
In his statement announcing that inquiry, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said: “The increase in injuries and deaths we are seeing because of unsafe and unlawful riding cannot be ignored and I share the community’s concern.”
Well, why is it that his ministerial colleague Tim Mander made light of it yesterday when he said only: “Don’t be silly like the Pommy cricketers, wear your helmet.”
Would authorities take such a soft stance if England players Ben Stokes and Mark Wood had been photographed speeding or holding and looking at their mobile phone while behind the wheel? Unlikely.
Again, we are not the fun police. But international cricket players are role models – and they have to accept that extra scrutiny of their behaviour comes with the celebrity and big pay cheques. They should lead by example.
NDIS A FEDERAL ISSUE
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a wonderful idea – the public policy embodiment of that honourable Australian tradition of a safety net that is there for all.
But it is also an idea that appears more and more like it could collapse under the weight and cost of its ever-growing scope – unless the federal government finds a solution.
When then-prime minister Julia Gillard established it in 2013, she described it as the “single biggest investment in disability care in Australia’s history”– aimed at improving the lives of millions of Australians living with disability.
But from the beginning, the cost and demand was underestimated. Those setting it up also ignored the completely predictable appearance of that other far-less-honourable Aussie tradition – the love of a rort.
Organised criminals have allegedly stolen many hundreds of millions of dollars from the system, while unscrupulous operators have also massively over-charged for under-par services.
The Albanese government says it is cracking down on unscrupulous behaviour in a bid to contain future cost growth to under 10 per cent a year. But the other huge problem has been the massive growth in the number of Australians receiving NDIS funding for autism, which has more than doubled in the past five years – to almost 300,000.
Taxpayer spending on autism reached a record high of $9.2bn last financial year, more than double the $4.2bn cost in 2020-21 – making it the most expensive disability within the NDIS system.
There is plenty of debate why the numbers have leapt so dramatically. Some argue it reflects improved awareness of autism, others that it is the result of less-rigorous diagnoses by well-meaning clinicians trying to help those with mild or moderate autism, rather than just those with substantial functional impairment – the original target of the NDIS.
The federal government’s proposed answer is to create the Thriving Kids program – to provide support for children with mild and moderate autism. But there is a catch – federal Disabilities and NDIS Minister Mark Butler wants the states to tip in $2bn each to the scheme. This is something that the states have, predictably, objected to.
Queensland’s Disability Services Minister Amanda Camm said last month the states had not even been consulted on the new plan, which Mr Butler argues would provide better care and assistance than the NDIS for children with mild and moderate autism.
But one of the reasons so many people have turned to the NDIS for help with their autistic children is because it is now, in the words of Children and Young People with Disability Australia chief executive Skye Kakoschke-Moore, “the only boat in the ocean” – because when the NDIS was established “some of the states got really cheeky”, according to one of the original campaigners for the NDIS, Labor powerbroker John Della Bosca.
As he told the Australian recently: “Not only did they shut down the specialist disability support, they shut down the ancillary disability support in schools and things like that, which meant … that literally, people had nowhere to go except the NDIS.”
We believe that, as the NDIS is a federal scheme, it should be funded by the commonwealth. But we also concede that the usual political games that have always marked state-federal relations are no doubt being played. We urge them all to just get on with the job of ensuring those needing help are able to get it.
Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here
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