Fund NDIS supports instead of spending on AUKUS submarines — back it or block it?

The Greens moved an urgency motion saying the government should invest in disability services and supports rather than committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the AUKUS submarine deal, while people fight for NDIS supports and families face rising living costs. Labor argued the NDIS bill before parliament is about fixing fraud, unsustainable cost growth and inconsistent assessments — not cutting genuine support — and rejected the motion. The Coalition attacked a Labor–Greens deal that extended an NDIS inquiry, arguing the bill should be dealt with now. The Senate rejected the motion, and an earlier bid to suspend rules to amend it also failed. The debate ran about 46 minutes.

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📄 Senate Hansard, 24 Jun 2026 — National Disability Insurance Scheme

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For · GreensJordon Steele-John and David Shoebridge argued Australia should not spend over $368 billion buying nuclear submarines and tying itself to the Trump administration when that money could fund the NDIS. They said the bill would cut nearly $40 billion over four years from vital disability supports and hand sweeping powers to the minister — and a Senate inquiry had unanimously heard it should not pass in its current form.

Against · Government (Labor)Michelle Ananda-Rajah and Karen Grogan said the scheme now costs $50 billion for 760,000 participants and is riddled with fraud, diagnostic inflation and inconsistent assessments that risk its public support. They argued the reforms fix these problems and standardise eligibility around functional capacity, protecting support for people with permanent, significant disability — and rejected simply pouring in more money by cutting defence.

Against · CoalitionAnne Ruston accused the Greens of hypocrisy for doing a 'dirty deal' with Labor — trading support for major tax changes in return for just a two-month extension of the NDIS inquiry — then bringing this motion. She argued the NDIS bill should be scrutinised and dealt with now to give affected Australians certainty.