Butler concedes Australians 'uneasy' as NDIS trimmed days after $53bn defence splurge

Guardian Australia · Josh Butler and Tom McIlroy · Thursday 23 April 2026

Butler concedes Australians 'uneasy' as NDIS trimmed days after $53bn defence splurge

The health minister has defended cuts that will remove 160,000 participants from the NDIS by 2030, acknowledging public disquiet days after the government announced $53bn in fresh defence spending.

Fifty-three billion for frigates, a haircut for 160,000 people in wheelchairs, and a minister telling us we'll feel 'uneasy' about it. Mate, uneasy is what you feel when you've left the oven on. This is the budget as a set of priorities written in invisible ink — readable only under the lamp of who gets cut and who gets a contract.

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