The federal government announced it would drop its $5,000 veteran allied health care cap, a measure initially unveiled in this year’s federal budget to limit over-servicing and save $750 million over three years. Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh confirmed the decision to scrap the limit following pushback from veterans, families, and medical practitioners nationwide.
“This is what happens when a government listens to veterans,” said John Armfield, a spokesman for Fair Care for Veterans and a former Navy clearance diver.
Simultaneously, the political landscape shifted toward federal immigration reform as Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke prepared to announce a migration plan aimed at reducing net overseas migration to 225,000 people by 2028. The government’s impending announcement follows One Nation’s unveiling of its own migration strategy on Monday, which proposed slashing 750,000 migrants over three years and pushing net overseas migration below zero.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson argued that Labor’s migration strategy targeted the wrong workers, pointing specifically to a pause on working holiday maker visas.
“They’re not allowing the right workers in,” Ms Hanson said. “They’re slowing down visa applications, and a lot of these tourist operators don’t know whether they’re going to get the workers to come in and fill the spots that they desperately need.”
Away from migration and veteran portfolios, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins appeared at the Canberra Zoo and Aquarium to announce that nearly 10,000 birds, including little penguins and select parrots, have been approved for vaccination against the H5 bird flu starting next week. According to Ms Collins, 551 bird flu events have been recorded across the country in various species, though the ACT remains free of the virus and the overall risk to human health stays low.
