November 11, 2025 • 15 mins
As the year winds to an end, kids with autism and developmental delay face an uncertain future.
Back in August, the government revealed plans to kick them off the NDIS – announcing a new scheme called Thriving Kids, set to kick off next year.
The health minister, Mark Butler, said it would give kids better support – and go some way towards curbing the billions being spent on the NDIS.
But months on, the government still hasn’t reached a deal with the states on how the scheme will be funded – despite threatening to withhold their hospital funding until they agree.
Today, journalist Rick Morton on the fight over the future of Thriving Kids – and what the government is really doing to the NDIS.
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Guest: Journalist Rick Morton
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm Ruby Jones and you're listening to seven AM. As
the year winds to an end, kids with autism and
developmental delay face an uncertain future. Back in August, the
government revealed plans to kick them off the NDIS, announcing
a new scheme called Thriving Kids, set to kick off
(00:21):
next year. The Health Minister Mark Butler said it would
give kids better support and go some way to curbing
the billions being spent on the NDAs. But months on
the government still hasn't reached to deal with the states
on how the scheme will be funded, despite threatening to
withhold their hospital funding until they agree. Today journalist Rick
(00:42):
Morton on the fight over the future of Thriving Kids
and what the government is really doing to the NDAs.
It's Wednesday, November twelfth. So Rick, on Friday, state and
(01:03):
territory disability ministers, they met with the federal NDAs minister,
Jenny McAllister. But before that meeting even happened, things seemed
to be going off the rails. State ministers were threatening
to boycott the meeting. So tell me what was going on.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, that was fascinating because the tension was so high
before this meeting. Ever, even got off the ground, the
states were extremely frustrated, and I think quite rightly that
they had been given just two minutes each on the
agenda to speak about the future of the NDAs foundational
supports in particular, they wanted at least ten minutes. And
(01:40):
this stuff is like some of the most complicated state
on federal government interaction we have in the NDAAs, and
it's been going on for ten years, and they were
reduced to two minutes.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
After announcing a new program to divert children with autism
from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS, Minister Mark
Butler has today shocked state governments with a demand that
they match the federal government's two billion dollars of funding
for the program. Mister Butler wants the Thriving Kids Scheme
(02:09):
to be rolled out across the country from twenty twenty
seven to help cut the growth and expense of the NDIS.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And so they kind of had a show down and
said we're not going to do it. So this is
an insult. And in the end the Satan territory ministers
did get more time, but it kind of set the
tone for what was to come, because this is not
really a consultation. It never has been from the start.
It is, as far as I can tell, unprecedented, and.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
It doesn't bode well for the meeting itself. So tell
me what happened when it did go ahead.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, well, we know the answer basically not well. The
state and the federal government, to give some context, they're
attempting to come to an agreement on what is called
thriving kids.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
We should have an alternative system in place for those
parents and for those kids, and that's what I committed
to building today, a system to support those children to thrive.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I think it's this new program that the Comwealth government
has itself committed to and wants the state and territory
governments to commit to, which is about essentially curbing growth
in the NDAs blay, pushing more responsibilities back onto the states,
particularly when it comes to children with what the Health
Minister mrket but the CALLD mild and moderate autism, which
(03:24):
isn't a real diagnostic criteria, and also kids with developmental delay.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Exception, and that is kids with developmental delay and autism,
particularly at mild to moderate levels, so not levels.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And so they're worried about the cost of the NDAs,
and they want this kind of new service system outside
of the NDAs for much more low level, less intensive support.
But of course that means the states kid getting more
money in addition to the contributions they already make to
the NDAs, which are all in national agreements, right, and
so we never get to see exactly what happens inside
(03:57):
these things. Where there was one state source was reported
in the media is saying that it was a complete disaster.
I'm not surprised.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
This is what a source from one of the state
governments said to me yesterday, quote, the meeting was a
complete disaster. Despite pushing for a robust discussion, we are
no clearer on what foundational supports are or thriving kids are.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
The Queensland Premier David Krypsofouley said that the federal government
was playing a cruel game, and I've heard similar things
from my contacts in the various state and territory governments
when I've been reported on this in the past, where
they've been railroaded into this position, not given any detail
or even the proper financial metrics on which this decision
has been based. Because the NBAS doesn't want to share
(04:41):
or the agency I should say that runs the National
Disability Insurance Scheme doesn't want to give away exactly what
its plans are, either to the States or particularly to
parents of children who are on the NDIS because they
think it will scare people, probably for a reason. And
so we have had this mess of a situation which
(05:01):
is cloaked in secrecy, including at the official technically the
official decision making body of the meeting of disability ministers
across the country.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
And so when someone like David Christoph fully or you know,
another state leader calls this a cruel game, are they
referring to this idea there that the federal government is
kind of forcing their hand.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, And I think what they're worried about. And this
goes back to the original agreements where the states were
allowed by the then labor government to get out of
the provision of services in return for them funding their
share of the NDIS. And of course the States took
that as a green light to vacate the field, and
they did that. And so now the states are saying
(05:46):
that we've been asked to make this cruel decision where
we haven't given the information. The Commonwealth wants to cut
costs in the NDIS, but it wants to shift that
cost back to the States. The funding ask in this
case was linked directly by their Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi
to money that the States needed for hospitals, and so
(06:08):
the hospital agreement was due for renegotiation and the FEDS
essentially is sent to the States, you're not going to
get whatever you're asking for until you come to an
agreement on foundational supports is what they're calling the supports
outside of the NBAS. So you either kick in for
both or you don't get the hospital funding. And they
didn't get the hospital funding. They got a one year
extension which was a rollover of a really bad system
(06:31):
that has not been updated for the massive change in
the way we do health in this country. And then
of course they were not told about Thriving Kids, and
so Mark Butler, the Health Minister, just comes out one
day and says, so Comwealth has allocated two billion dollars
to a program called Thriving Kids, which is sort of
being trialed but not very well and not very transparently
within the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Kicking the money or
(06:54):
we're not going to give you a hospital funding, and
the States are like, hang on, you're asking us to
sign a blank check, because how much are you askingess
to pay? What is it going to do? What does
this thing look like? They have know any what it
actually if? No one knows what thriving kids is. And
I think the ultimate problem here is that they're being
asked to make decisions inside a black box, and we're
being asked to interpret that, including the families who rely
(07:16):
on support wherever it's provided for their children.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, so it's clear it seems that the federal government
is going into these negotiations in a pretty heavy way.
They're trying to get the states to agree to this
program that they haven't really been given any say on,
they don't know anything about. And then on top of that,
there's this kind of idea that their hospital fund big
(07:41):
is tied into this whole thing. So, given that, how
did those negotiations go? Has anything actually been agreed on
when it comes to thriving Kids at this point?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
No, there is no final agreement. You know, they say,
of course they'll keep working on it, but there's nothing
for them to agree on yet. And I think the
real interesting thing here is that this isn't even the
disability the disility Minister's meaning is not the forum where
this is going to get agreed because it was taken
and explicitly tied to health. Where Mark Butler is the
(08:13):
Minister for Health and Disability in Australia, He's the senior
cabinet minister, not Jenny McAllister. As good as she is,
she's holding this meeting with ministers. She doesn't have the
authority to make the decision and they don't have the
information to agree on it.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
We are hopeful of reaching agreement with the States and
territories by the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
It's a complex agreement.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Of course, what are you going to do?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Well, our intention is to come to an agreement you
just mentioned and so is it any wonder that she
kind of comes out afterwards and says that she's aiming
for an agreement by the end of this year, but
wouldn't actually say on whether that is going to happen
and what the consequences will be at the states don't.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Sign coming up? Why children are already being kicked off
the ndis can we come back to thriving kids? Because
as you've said, there doesn't seem to be much information
at all about the program and how it would work.
(09:21):
But it was a while ago that it was announced.
It was August, and it is supposed to be up
and running, as you've said.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Next year.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So I mean, what is likely to sort of happen
when it's supposed to kick in.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, I mean Thriving Kids. It's funny because we know
what Thriving Kids is because it's an existing program, right.
It's essentially a referral service with a light touch parental
education element. They kind of want to teach families how
to be with their own children who have developmental delays
or have some social or behavioral impairments that are not severe.
(09:56):
And the way they do that is by linking to
community services, whether it's through hospitals or health settings, community health,
et cetera. And it kind of sounds fine on the surface,
but is this a program that can be rolled out nationally?
Is it a program that works for the types of
children that they envisage to move off the nbas? So
(10:16):
how are they going to look at people who have
been long been eligible for the nbas who need support?
How do they decide to remove them from the scheme?
And that is what Mark Butler said will happen from
July twenty twenty seven. That will change the eligibility.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Access and eligibility changes will be made to do that
once the Thriving Kids program is fully rolled out.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And send them to what. I don't personally think a
light touch program like Thriving Kids is going to be
appropriate for all of the people that they envisage removing
from the scheme. And the only way they save the
money they need to save is by removing a lot
of those children from the scheme. And so we're about
seven months away from the start of the program officially,
(10:57):
it's meant to start in July next year, with the
ability changes a year later, and there is so much
that needs to be worked out before we getting everything
into place. And bearing in mind that we were meant
to have foundational supports in place the first of July
this year and they were not ready.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
And record sounds like from what you've been saying that
there's little doubt that as this particular process unfolds, there
is going to be children who need help, who are
going to fall through the cracks.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I mean, I personally think we're already seen it. The
Health Minister, Mark Butler said there will be no children
removed from the scheme before Thriving Kids comes into place,
except and this was his statement, except as part of
the usual assessment and reassessment process, which has been ongoing
and has always been ongoing. But what we've seen in
the last year is that the government has essentially tripled
(11:52):
the budget for the Eligibility and Access Team within the
National Disability Insurance Agency, and they've also tried to mess
around with their guidelines and internal policies around how those
eligibility reassessments are done. And we've seen reports from people
who are on the front line of children just being removed,
people without autism just being kicked off, people with long term, permanent,
(12:15):
in some cases terminal diagnoses things like modern neurone disease
and multiple sclerosis being removed with very little indication as
to why.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And why is it rick What do you think is
really behind the government's changes to who is eligible for
the NDAs?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So essentially what they're saying is, well, we think participants
are brought in the scheme, what they really want to
be saying, or I think the truthful answer is that
we are designed the scheme with far too much choice
and control, which is what the original promise was. It
will sold us a silver bullet, right, Everyone gets choice
and control. Everyone can spend the money how they want
in a way that helps them live in the community.
(12:55):
And that's what the legislation from twenty thirteen aloud. And
the government has changed its mind, and they're allowed to
change their mind. They're at the government, but they're definitely
not being honest about it. And I think that is
the thing that drives me and particularly the advocates and
people who use the system absolutely spared. You know, fraud
and wrouting is a problem in every government program. It's
(13:17):
a big problem in the Indias, it's a big problem
in age care. It's often at the level of the provider.
And we've seen all these examples over and over again
of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, quality and Safeguard's Commission
failing to do its job properly, failing to regulate the sector.
Whenever it tries to crack down on that, or say
that they're cracking down on that, what they end up
doing is removing the ability of people who have disabilities
(13:40):
who use the scheme to use the scheme as they're
initially promised. And I genuinely think that's quite appalling.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Well, Rick, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thanks for it, It's always a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Also in the news, only one in five millennials voted
for the Coalition at the last federal election, a new
study has revealed. The research, known as the Australian Election Study,
is an authoritative study conducted by the A and U
after every election since nineteen eighty seven. Results show that
young voters viewed climate change as a serious threat. Despite that,
the Coalition looks set to scrap their support for that
(14:27):
zero this week and the trial of Alan Jones will
begin next August and could last up to four months,
with one hundred witnesses expected to appear. A magistrate has
announced the disgraced former broadcaster faces twenty five indecent assault
charges and two sexual touching charges against nine complainants. The
assaults are alleged to have taken place at the Opera House,
(14:48):
a restaurant of his various homes and formal workplaces. Alan
Jones denies all the allegations. I'm Ruby Jones. This is
seven am. Thanks for listening.
I'm Ruby Jones and you're listening to seven AM. As
the year winds to an end, kids with autism and
developmental delay face an uncertain future. Back in August, the
government revealed plans to kick them off the NDIS, announcing
a new scheme called Thriving Kids, set to kick off
(00:21):
next year. The Health Minister Mark Butler said it would
give kids better support and go some way to curbing
the billions being spent on the NDAs. But months on
the government still hasn't reached to deal with the states
on how the scheme will be funded, despite threatening to
withhold their hospital funding until they agree. Today journalist Rick
(00:42):
Morton on the fight over the future of Thriving Kids
and what the government is really doing to the NDAs.
It's Wednesday, November twelfth. So Rick, on Friday, state and
(01:03):
territory disability ministers, they met with the federal NDAs minister,
Jenny McAllister. But before that meeting even happened, things seemed
to be going off the rails. State ministers were threatening
to boycott the meeting. So tell me what was going on.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, that was fascinating because the tension was so high
before this meeting. Ever, even got off the ground, the
states were extremely frustrated, and I think quite rightly that
they had been given just two minutes each on the
agenda to speak about the future of the NDAs foundational
supports in particular, they wanted at least ten minutes. And
(01:40):
this stuff is like some of the most complicated state
on federal government interaction we have in the NDAAs, and
it's been going on for ten years, and they were
reduced to two minutes.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
After announcing a new program to divert children with autism
from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS, Minister Mark
Butler has today shocked state governments with a demand that
they match the federal government's two billion dollars of funding
for the program. Mister Butler wants the Thriving Kids Scheme
(02:09):
to be rolled out across the country from twenty twenty
seven to help cut the growth and expense of the NDIS.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And so they kind of had a show down and
said we're not going to do it. So this is
an insult. And in the end the Satan territory ministers
did get more time, but it kind of set the
tone for what was to come, because this is not
really a consultation. It never has been from the start.
It is, as far as I can tell, unprecedented, and.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
It doesn't bode well for the meeting itself. So tell
me what happened when it did go ahead.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, well, we know the answer basically not well. The
state and the federal government, to give some context, they're
attempting to come to an agreement on what is called
thriving kids.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
We should have an alternative system in place for those
parents and for those kids, and that's what I committed
to building today, a system to support those children to thrive.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I think it's this new program that the Comwealth government
has itself committed to and wants the state and territory
governments to commit to, which is about essentially curbing growth
in the NDAs blay, pushing more responsibilities back onto the states,
particularly when it comes to children with what the Health
Minister mrket but the CALLD mild and moderate autism, which
(03:24):
isn't a real diagnostic criteria, and also kids with developmental delay.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Exception, and that is kids with developmental delay and autism,
particularly at mild to moderate levels, so not levels.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And so they're worried about the cost of the NDAs,
and they want this kind of new service system outside
of the NDAs for much more low level, less intensive support.
But of course that means the states kid getting more
money in addition to the contributions they already make to
the NDAs, which are all in national agreements, right, and
so we never get to see exactly what happens inside
(03:57):
these things. Where there was one state source was reported
in the media is saying that it was a complete disaster.
I'm not surprised.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
This is what a source from one of the state
governments said to me yesterday, quote, the meeting was a
complete disaster. Despite pushing for a robust discussion, we are
no clearer on what foundational supports are or thriving kids are.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
The Queensland Premier David Krypsofouley said that the federal government
was playing a cruel game, and I've heard similar things
from my contacts in the various state and territory governments
when I've been reported on this in the past, where
they've been railroaded into this position, not given any detail
or even the proper financial metrics on which this decision
has been based. Because the NBAS doesn't want to share
(04:41):
or the agency I should say that runs the National
Disability Insurance Scheme doesn't want to give away exactly what
its plans are, either to the States or particularly to
parents of children who are on the NDIS because they
think it will scare people, probably for a reason. And
so we have had this mess of a situation which
(05:01):
is cloaked in secrecy, including at the official technically the
official decision making body of the meeting of disability ministers
across the country.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
And so when someone like David Christoph fully or you know,
another state leader calls this a cruel game, are they
referring to this idea there that the federal government is
kind of forcing their hand.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, And I think what they're worried about. And this
goes back to the original agreements where the states were
allowed by the then labor government to get out of
the provision of services in return for them funding their
share of the NDIS. And of course the States took
that as a green light to vacate the field, and
they did that. And so now the states are saying
(05:46):
that we've been asked to make this cruel decision where
we haven't given the information. The Commonwealth wants to cut
costs in the NDIS, but it wants to shift that
cost back to the States. The funding ask in this
case was linked directly by their Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi
to money that the States needed for hospitals, and so
(06:08):
the hospital agreement was due for renegotiation and the FEDS
essentially is sent to the States, you're not going to
get whatever you're asking for until you come to an
agreement on foundational supports is what they're calling the supports
outside of the NBAS. So you either kick in for
both or you don't get the hospital funding. And they
didn't get the hospital funding. They got a one year
extension which was a rollover of a really bad system
(06:31):
that has not been updated for the massive change in
the way we do health in this country. And then
of course they were not told about Thriving Kids, and
so Mark Butler, the Health Minister, just comes out one
day and says, so Comwealth has allocated two billion dollars
to a program called Thriving Kids, which is sort of
being trialed but not very well and not very transparently
within the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Kicking the money or
(06:54):
we're not going to give you a hospital funding, and
the States are like, hang on, you're asking us to
sign a blank check, because how much are you askingess
to pay? What is it going to do? What does
this thing look like? They have know any what it
actually if? No one knows what thriving kids is. And
I think the ultimate problem here is that they're being
asked to make decisions inside a black box, and we're
being asked to interpret that, including the families who rely
(07:16):
on support wherever it's provided for their children.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, so it's clear it seems that the federal government
is going into these negotiations in a pretty heavy way.
They're trying to get the states to agree to this
program that they haven't really been given any say on,
they don't know anything about. And then on top of that,
there's this kind of idea that their hospital fund big
(07:41):
is tied into this whole thing. So, given that, how
did those negotiations go? Has anything actually been agreed on
when it comes to thriving Kids at this point?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
No, there is no final agreement. You know, they say,
of course they'll keep working on it, but there's nothing
for them to agree on yet. And I think the
real interesting thing here is that this isn't even the
disability the disility Minister's meaning is not the forum where
this is going to get agreed because it was taken
and explicitly tied to health. Where Mark Butler is the
(08:13):
Minister for Health and Disability in Australia, He's the senior
cabinet minister, not Jenny McAllister. As good as she is,
she's holding this meeting with ministers. She doesn't have the
authority to make the decision and they don't have the
information to agree on it.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
We are hopeful of reaching agreement with the States and
territories by the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
It's a complex agreement.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Of course, what are you going to do?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Well, our intention is to come to an agreement you
just mentioned and so is it any wonder that she
kind of comes out afterwards and says that she's aiming
for an agreement by the end of this year, but
wouldn't actually say on whether that is going to happen
and what the consequences will be at the states don't.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Sign coming up? Why children are already being kicked off
the ndis can we come back to thriving kids? Because
as you've said, there doesn't seem to be much information
at all about the program and how it would work.
(09:21):
But it was a while ago that it was announced.
It was August, and it is supposed to be up
and running, as you've said.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Next year.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So I mean, what is likely to sort of happen
when it's supposed to kick in.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, I mean Thriving Kids. It's funny because we know
what Thriving Kids is because it's an existing program, right.
It's essentially a referral service with a light touch parental
education element. They kind of want to teach families how
to be with their own children who have developmental delays
or have some social or behavioral impairments that are not severe.
(09:56):
And the way they do that is by linking to
community services, whether it's through hospitals or health settings, community health,
et cetera. And it kind of sounds fine on the surface,
but is this a program that can be rolled out nationally?
Is it a program that works for the types of
children that they envisage to move off the nbas? So
(10:16):
how are they going to look at people who have
been long been eligible for the nbas who need support?
How do they decide to remove them from the scheme?
And that is what Mark Butler said will happen from
July twenty twenty seven. That will change the eligibility.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Access and eligibility changes will be made to do that
once the Thriving Kids program is fully rolled out.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And send them to what. I don't personally think a
light touch program like Thriving Kids is going to be
appropriate for all of the people that they envisage removing
from the scheme. And the only way they save the
money they need to save is by removing a lot
of those children from the scheme. And so we're about
seven months away from the start of the program officially,
(10:57):
it's meant to start in July next year, with the
ability changes a year later, and there is so much
that needs to be worked out before we getting everything
into place. And bearing in mind that we were meant
to have foundational supports in place the first of July
this year and they were not ready.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
And record sounds like from what you've been saying that
there's little doubt that as this particular process unfolds, there
is going to be children who need help, who are
going to fall through the cracks.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I mean, I personally think we're already seen it. The
Health Minister, Mark Butler said there will be no children
removed from the scheme before Thriving Kids comes into place,
except and this was his statement, except as part of
the usual assessment and reassessment process, which has been ongoing
and has always been ongoing. But what we've seen in
the last year is that the government has essentially tripled
(11:52):
the budget for the Eligibility and Access Team within the
National Disability Insurance Agency, and they've also tried to mess
around with their guidelines and internal policies around how those
eligibility reassessments are done. And we've seen reports from people
who are on the front line of children just being removed,
people without autism just being kicked off, people with long term, permanent,
(12:15):
in some cases terminal diagnoses things like modern neurone disease
and multiple sclerosis being removed with very little indication as
to why.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And why is it rick What do you think is
really behind the government's changes to who is eligible for
the NDAs?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So essentially what they're saying is, well, we think participants
are brought in the scheme, what they really want to
be saying, or I think the truthful answer is that
we are designed the scheme with far too much choice
and control, which is what the original promise was. It
will sold us a silver bullet, right, Everyone gets choice
and control. Everyone can spend the money how they want
in a way that helps them live in the community.
(12:55):
And that's what the legislation from twenty thirteen aloud. And
the government has changed its mind, and they're allowed to
change their mind. They're at the government, but they're definitely
not being honest about it. And I think that is
the thing that drives me and particularly the advocates and
people who use the system absolutely spared. You know, fraud
and wrouting is a problem in every government program. It's
(13:17):
a big problem in the Indias, it's a big problem
in age care. It's often at the level of the provider.
And we've seen all these examples over and over again
of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, quality and Safeguard's Commission
failing to do its job properly, failing to regulate the sector.
Whenever it tries to crack down on that, or say
that they're cracking down on that, what they end up
doing is removing the ability of people who have disabilities
(13:40):
who use the scheme to use the scheme as they're
initially promised. And I genuinely think that's quite appalling.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Well, Rick, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thanks for it, It's always a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Also in the news, only one in five millennials voted
for the Coalition at the last federal election, a new
study has revealed. The research, known as the Australian Election Study,
is an authoritative study conducted by the A and U
after every election since nineteen eighty seven. Results show that
young voters viewed climate change as a serious threat. Despite that,
the Coalition looks set to scrap their support for that
(14:27):
zero this week and the trial of Alan Jones will
begin next August and could last up to four months,
with one hundred witnesses expected to appear. A magistrate has
announced the disgraced former broadcaster faces twenty five indecent assault
charges and two sexual touching charges against nine complainants. The
assaults are alleged to have taken place at the Opera House,
(14:48):
a restaurant of his various homes and formal workplaces. Alan
Jones denies all the allegations. I'm Ruby Jones. This is
seven am. Thanks for listening.
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