Disability, Drag and Canberra Culture
This week on Q+A… a grubby week in politics as parliament's toxic environment is again in the spotlight. Amid fresh abuse claims, a party room banishment and relentless questions in the senate about transparency and whether a minister misled parliament – it seems the much-vaunted culture change in Canberra is little but a distant memory. Is this just the new political normal?
Meanwhile… the NDIS, 10 years on. The revolutionary scheme changed the lives of millions of Australians living with disability – but a decade later, how well is it working for those who need it most? Amid criticisms of cost blowouts and dodgy providers, what will it take to make the program sustainable for the long term – and ensure it provides the critical support participants rely on?
The government insists it can find $74 billion in savings from the NDIS over the next 10 years while "improving the participant experience", but with a major review of the scheme not due to hand down its findings until October – is Labor acting too hastily?
And just what is the issue with drag storytime? Councils are being forced to shut down the reading events at libraries amid fears they'll be targeted by far-right activists. Drag artist Reuben Kaye – who faced a public backlash over a controversial joke earlier this year – says the increasingly vitriolic debate is a distraction, but a negative one that has real-life impacts. So where to from here?
Joining Patricia Karvelas on the panel live in Melbourne:
Bill Shorten, Minister for NDIS and Government Services
Bridget McKenzie, Nationals Senate Leader
Reuben Kaye, Comedian, singer and writer
Monique Ryan, Independent member for Kooyong
Sam Connor, Disability Rights Advocate
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Hell's Kitchen
In Hell's Kitchen, aspiring chefs are put through an intense culinary academy to prove they possess the right combination of ingredients to win a life-changing grand prize.
General Hospital
General Hospital, which celebrated its golden anniversary on April 1, 2013, continues its tradition of passion, intrigue and adventure that takes place in the fictional town of Port Charles in upstate New York. The glamour and excitement of those who have come to find their destinies in this familiar seaport town intertwine with the lives, loves and fortunes of beloved, well-known faces. As always, love, danger and mind blowing plot twists continue to abound on General Hospital with contemporary storylines and unforgettable characters.
Rescue: HI-Surf
Rescue: HI-Surf is an action drama that follows the personal and professional lives of the heavy-water lifeguards who patrol and protect the North Shore of O‘ahu—the most famous and dangerous stretch of coastline in the world. Each episode features these dedicated, heroic, and adrenaline-seeking first-responders saving lives in the difficult and often life-threatening conditions of Hawaii's Seven Mile Miracle.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Edmond Dantes, a nineteen-year-old sailor was falsely accused of treason and is imprisoned without trial in the Château d'If, a grim island fortress off Marseille. After many years of captivity he finally escapes and, under the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo, he plans to take revenge on those who have wrongly accused him.
Night Court
Night Court centers on the unapologetic optimist judge Abby Stone, daughter of the late Harry Stone, who follows in her father's footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding.