Global Pulse

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  • Iranian president says communication with Supreme Leader Mojtaba ‘very difficult at moment’

    Iranian president says communication with Supreme Leader Mojtaba ‘very difficult at moment’

    In a candid interview released via his official office website on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly addressed the current state of leadership coordination and national challenges facing the country, just months after a major shift in Iran’s top leadership post.

    Pezeshkian made striking remarks confirming that dialogue and communication with Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains very “difficult at the moment.” Even with this noted challenge, he emphasized that the new leader’s tenure serves as a unifying core and significant source of strength for Iran as it navigates ongoing crises.

    The president also leveled sharp accusations against the United States and Israel, claiming the two countries deliberately assassinated former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba’s father, in a February 28 strike carried out out of “desperation.” Pezeshkian stated that the attack was planned with the explicit expectation that removing the long-serving former leader would trigger the collapse of Iran’s governing system. Contrary to those predictions, he noted, the nation remained stable and moved forward with a smooth leadership transition.

    “However, the country continued, and our new beloved leader was selected,” Pezeshkian said in the interview. “Our new dear leader’s presence is a very great strength for us to be able to continue this path, although communication with him is very difficult at the moment.”

    Mojtaba Khamenei was formally selected to assume the role of Supreme Leader by Iran’s influential Assembly of Experts in early March, just days after the death of his father. The appointment completed the planned leadership succession process outlined in Iran’s constitutional framework.

    Beyond the internal leadership dynamics, Pezeshkian openly acknowledged that Iran is currently grappling with what he described as the most difficult set of circumstances in modern Iranian history. He outlined a range of mounting pressures facing the country, including intensified Western banking sanctions, sweeping restrictions on all foreign financial transactions, an effective naval blockade of Iranian ports, and an ongoing active military conflict in the region that continues to strain national resources.

  • Congo Ebola health workers protest unpaid wages, disrupting response as deaths top 1,800

    Congo Ebola health workers protest unpaid wages, disrupting response as deaths top 1,800

    BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo – A growing crisis over worker compensation has compounded the public health emergency unfolding in eastern Congo, where dozens of frontline health workers leading the response to the country’s record-fast Ebola outbreak walked off the job Thursday to demand long-overdue pay. The striking workers abandoned critical treatment facilities in the outbreak’s epicenter, even as international aid organizations continue to warn that the virus is spreading at an alarming rate that outpaces current response efforts.

    New government data updated through Tuesday and released Thursday confirms the outbreak has grown to 3,973 confirmed cases, with a total death toll of 1,801. This outbreak ranks as the second-largest Ebola event in recorded history, falling only behind the devastating 2014–2016 West African outbreak that infected more than 28,000 people and killed over 11,000 across the region.

    Thursday’s protest was held outside the governor’s office in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province – the region that accounts for nearly 90% of all of Congo’s confirmed Ebola cases. This demonstration marks the latest in a series of work stoppages over unpaid wages that have disrupted response operations for weeks. Striking workers, including frontline nurses who provide direct, life-saving care to Ebola patients, report they have not received base salaries or hazard bonuses since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. The outbreak is centered in one of Congo’s most remote, vulnerable regions that has already been destabilized by years of ongoing rebel conflict.

    “With this mismanagement, Ebola will never be eliminated from this province. We call on authorities at every level of government to intervene to find a quick solution to this issue,” said Edouige Makosi, one of the striking protesters.

    In past statements, Congolese officials have blamed complex logistical challenges for the persistent payment delays. As of Thursday, authorities had not issued any immediate response to requests for comment on the latest protests. Poor working conditions and lack of support for frontline response workers have been a persistent, core flaw throughout this outbreak. Beyond unpaid wages, dozens of health workers and facilities have been targeted by attacks from rebel groups and violent community mobs in recent months.

    During an official visit to Congo Wednesday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus publicly urged Congolese authorities to make supporting and caring for frontline Ebola responders a top priority. This week, the global medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders warned that the outbreak continues to spread at an “alarming and unprecedented rate,” noting that while response capacity has expanded in recent weeks, interventions still fail to reach at-risk communities fast enough to break chains of human-to-human transmission.

    Current government data shows 674 confirmed Ebola patients are currently receiving care in isolation facilities, the vast majority of them in Ituri province. While contact tracers are successfully monitoring at least 75% of people documented to have been exposed to infected patients, officials warn that a far more troubling trend is unfolding: between 60% and 70% of all new confirmed cases are detected among people with no recorded exposure to known cases. These unlinked cases are concentrated mostly in isolated rural areas, where access for response teams is severely limited by ongoing rebel violence and frequent population movement linked to informal mining activity.

  • Nigerian president hails ‘largest ever’ single-day rescue as 308 abductees freed in country’s north

    Nigerian president hails ‘largest ever’ single-day rescue as 308 abductees freed in country’s north

    ABUJA, Nigeria – In a landmark operation described as unprecedented in the nation’s history, Nigerian security forces have rescued at least 308 people abducted in a series of separate attacks across the country’s northern region, President Bola Tinubu announced Wednesday in an official statement.

    Among the freed hostages are 163 residents taken captive from the Woro community in Kaiama, Kwara State, during a mass kidnapping in February. An additional 145 people, most seized from neighboring Niger State, were also released in the coordinated mission. Tinubu confirmed that all hostages were extracted from a remote forest hideout where they had been held for months in captivity. Few operational details have been made public to protect ongoing security work, but the president noted that all rescued people are currently receiving on-site medical evaluations and care for their ordeal.

    Tinubu labeled the mission the “largest rescue operation ever” conducted by Nigerian security forces in a single 24-hour period. He emphasized that the successful outcome was rooted in precise intelligence gathering and close inter-agency collaboration, a combination that has sharply boosted the effectiveness of the country’s security response to kidnapping threats. “The successful execution of this intelligence-led operation demonstrates the growing efficiency and collaboration among our security services,” Tinubu said. “I commend our gallant men and women in uniform for their bravery and unwavering commitment to safeguarding Nigerian lives.”

    The large-scale rescue comes amid a years-long crisis of mass abductions and ransom kidnappings across northern Nigeria. Armed groups locally referred to as bandits have expanded their control of remote border and forest regions in northwest and north-central Nigeria, launching regular raids on rural communities and schools to seize hostages for ransom. Security analysts note that many of these bandit formations emerged from long-simmering resource conflicts between pastoral herder communities and sedentary farming groups, with many former herders turning to armed violence after repeated cycles of displacement and confrontation.

    Mass school kidnappings have become a particularly common tactic for these groups, who use the public outrage over captive children to pressure the federal and state governments and extract large ransom payments. In addition to the bandit insurgency in the northwest and north-central regions, Nigeria has also grappled with a separate 13-year-old extremist insurgency in the country’s northeast that has displaced millions and left thousands dead. Recent United Nations security assessments have warned that armed kidnapping groups are increasingly expanding their operations southward, seizing more young hostages and extending their influence beyond northern strongholds.

  • US asks Philippines to extradite Filipino church leader accused of sex crimes and fraud

    US asks Philippines to extradite Filipino church leader accused of sex crimes and fraud

    Two senior Philippine government officials have confirmed that the United States has formally submitted an extradition request for 76-year-old Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, a once-powerful Filipino church leader who served as a spiritual adviser to former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Quiboloy, currently held in Philippine custody on domestic human trafficking and child abuse charges, is wanted by U.S. authorities on charges including child sex trafficking and financial fraud that earned him a spot on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

    The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss the extradition process publicly, confirmed the U.S. request was transmitted to Manila’s Department of Justice via the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs back in July 2025. The U.S. Embassy in Manila has not yet issued a public response to requests for comment on the filing from the Associated Press.

    Quiboloy is the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, which he established in 1985 in Davao City, southern Philippines. The organization claims millions of followers across the Philippines and in overseas communities including the U.S. At the peak of his influence, Quiboloy was widely viewed as a political kingmaker in the country, and held enormous sway as an influential spiritual confidant to Duterte during his 2016 to 2022 presidency. Duterte himself is currently in detention in the Netherlands, facing an International Criminal Court trial on charges of crimes against humanity linked to thousands of deaths during his controversial national anti-drug crackdown.

    Known for his provocative public claims, Quiboloy has described himself as the “appointed Son of God” and has asserted he even intervened to stop a major earthquake from striking the southern Philippines — claims that drew widespread skepticism from critics but cemented his loyalty among his devout following.

    Domestic legal trouble for Quiboloy began in 2024, when a Philippine court issued an arrest warrant for him and multiple associates on allegations of child abuse, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. The Philippine Senate also ordered his arrest that year after he refused to attend public hearings into the claims. After months in hiding, Quiboloy and four co-accused surrendered to authorities in September 2024, following a large-scale raid by roughly 2,000 police officers on his organization’s 30-hectare Davao compound, which housed a cathedral, sports stadium, aircraft hangar, and private access taxiway connected to Davao International Airport. He has remained in Philippine custody since his surrender, and has repeatedly denied all allegations, claiming they are fabricated political attacks by critics and former members expelled from his church.

    Parallel to the domestic Philippine charges, U.S. federal prosecutors first issued an indictment against Quiboloy in 2021. A superseding indictment from a U.S. federal grand jury, unsealed that November, charged Quiboloy and eight other co-defendants with a broad series of offenses: conspiracy, child sex trafficking, sex trafficking obtained through force, fraud, and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling, and visa fraud. Prosecutors allege Quiboloy coerced women and underage girls into sexual encounters, threatening victims with eternal damnation if they refused his demands. Following the unsealing of the indictment, Quiboloy was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

    Under Philippine domestic law, criminal suspects are typically required to complete any ongoing domestic trials and serve all imposed sentences before they can be extradited to another country. However, the 1994 bilateral extradition treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines includes a provision that allows Philippine justice officials to petition a domestic court for a temporary transfer of a suspect to face foreign prosecution before domestic legal proceedings are concluded. The U.S. extradition request will now require approval from two separate Philippine courts to move forward, as Quiboloy’s domestic trial on local charges is already underway.

  • Victim of Peak Downs mining tragedy Andreas Loizou remembered as devoted father

    Victim of Peak Downs mining tragedy Andreas Loizou remembered as devoted father

    A tight-knit regional Australian community is coming together to support two grieving children after their father, a well-liked veteran mining worker, lost his life in a horrific on-site accident in Central Queensland.

    Fifty-four-year-old Andreas Loizou, affectionately known to family, friends and colleagues by the nickname “Carpet”, died two weeks ago following a collision on an access road at BHP Mitsubishi Alliance’s Peak Downs mine near Moranbah. Loizou was a passenger in a light utility vehicle when the vehicle collided with a heavy haulage truck operated by the mining contractor Thiess in the early hours of July 24.

    In the days following the sudden loss of the devoted father, tributes have poured in from across the local mining industry and broader community, while a GoFundMe page has been launched to support Loizou’s two children, Jacob and Sophie, as they navigate the aftermath of their devastating loss.

    The fundraising page, which has already drawn dozens of donations and messages of condolence, emphasizes that Loizou was taken far too soon, and that while no amount of support can heal the wound of losing a parent, the community hopes to ease the practical and emotional burden the siblings face in this unimaginably difficult period.

    Official statements from key industry groups and Loizou’s employer have echoed the widespread shock and sorrow over the incident. The Mining and Energy Union, which represents Australian mining and energy workers, released a statement saying the organization was deeply shaken and saddened by the fatal incident at the Peak Downs site. Thiess, Loizou’s direct employer, also issued a public statement via Facebook confirming the worker’s passing, extending the company’s sincerest condolences to Loizou’s family, friends, and colleagues who are grieving the loss of their loved one and team member.

    The tragic fatality has prompted a formal investigation into the circumstances of the collision, led by Resources Safety and Health Queensland, the Queensland government body responsible for regulating safety and health in the state’s resources sector. The regulator confirmed it will conduct a full review of the incident and publish its final findings once the investigation process is completed.

  • North Korea launches a short-range ballistic missile toward sea, South Korea says

    North Korea launches a short-range ballistic missile toward sea, South Korea says

    On Thursday, North Korea carried out another launch of a short-range ballistic missile into waters off its eastern coast, according to statements from South Korea’s top military body, marking the latest in a string of weapons demonstrations Pyongyang has staged this year.

    South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that detection systems picked up the launch originating from the Wonsan region, a coastal area in North Korea’s eastern territory, at approximately 5 p.m. local time (0900 GMT). In response to the provocation, South Korea’s military has raised its surveillance and monitoring alert level, and is maintaining close, coordinated intelligence sharing with both the United States and Japan, the statement added.

    Japan’s defense ministry also corroborated the launch, noting that the projectile fired appeared to be a ballistic missile, but confirmed no damage or impact was recorded in Japanese territory or its surrounding maritime areas.

    The latest test aligns with a consistent pattern of military expansion from North Korea that has continued since 2019, when high-profile diplomatic negotiations between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed without any agreement on denuclearization. Since that breakdown, Kim has prioritized growing and modernizing the country’s nuclear and missile stockpiles. Independent defense analysts widely agree that Kim’s end goal is to secure international recognition of North Korea as a legitimate nuclear-armed state, a status that would allow him to push for the full removal of harsh international economic sanctions that have restricted Pyongyang’s economy for decades.

    Just one month prior to this latest launch, Kim personally oversaw a series of weapons tests, including trials of a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, conducted aboard North Korea’s newly commissioned 5,000-ton destroyer. After years of centering military development on advancing ballistic missile technology, Kim has increasingly shifted his focus to expanding naval capabilities in recent months. Current plans include the construction of the country’s first domestically built nuclear-powered submarine. When outlining his administration’s five-year military development goals at the Workers’ Party Congress in January, Kim specifically called for advancing development of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater platforms.

    Beyond military modernization, Kim has also worked to expand North Korea’s global diplomatic standing in recent years by deepening bilateral ties with Russia. Multiple international intelligence assessments have confirmed that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons and deployed military personnel to support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

  • Air India’s new CEO faces financial and safety turbulence

    Air India’s new CEO faces financial and safety turbulence

    India’s flagship carrier Air India has named former long-serving Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam as its new top leader, tasking the industry veteran with turning around a carrier still mired in operational and financial headwinds three years after its privatization by the Tata Group.

    Gebremariam will step into the role vacated by Campbell Wilson, who announced his planned departure in 2024 and formally stepped down in April this year. Wilson, a former Singapore Airlines executive brought on board shortly after Tata acquired Air India from the Indian government in 2022, had spent the past years leading initial stabilization, organizational integration, and fleet planning, laying groundwork for the carrier’s next era.

    Over his 10-plus year tenure leading Ethiopian Airlines, Gebremariam transformed a small regional carrier into one of Africa’s largest and most commercially successful aviation operators. He oversaw a near threefold expansion of the airline’s fleet and cemented its position as the continent’s most profitable airline. He also earned industry acclaim for steering the carrier through two unprecedented crises: the 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash that killed 157 people, and the global COVID-19 pandemic, where he pivoted quickly to expand cargo operations to offset plummeting passenger revenues, keeping the airline profitable through the crisis.

    Air India’s board of directors announced that Gebremariam was unanimously selected following a months-long global search process. Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran noted that the carrier has completed the early phase of post-privatization restructuring under Wilson’s leadership, and is now entering a critical period of execution and expansion that requires Gebremariam’s proven leadership and deep operational expertise.

    In his first public remarks following the appointment, Gebremariam said he is eager to help build a “world-class global airline” that fully reflects India’s rapidly growing economic potential on the global stage.

    Despite the vote of confidence in the new CEO, the challenges waiting for him at Air India are significant. The carrier currently operates a fleet of 198 aircraft running nearly 5,000 weekly flights to 91 domestic and international destinations, but it has struggled to deliver consistent performance since returning to private ownership. Just last month, Air India reported a record annual net loss of nearly $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion), and Chairman Chandrasekaran has publicly cautioned that a full turnaround could take as long as a decade. The airline has already cut roughly one-third of its international routes in a bid to stem red ink.

    The carrier’s most serious setback to date came in June last year, when an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed, killing all 260 people on board. The official final accident report is scheduled for publication in October, and the disaster has cast a long shadow over the airline’s growth ambitions. Beyond the crash, Air India has faced a string of high-profile operational disruptions: in March, a Delhi-to-Vancouver flight was forced to turn back after eight hours of flight after it was denied entry to Canadian airspace due to administrative errors.

    These internal challenges are compounded by broader pressures facing India’s entire aviation sector: global jet fuel costs remain elevated, international routes have been disrupted by ongoing geopolitical conflict around Iran, global aircraft manufacturers continue to face delivery delays that hold up fleet expansion plans, and national regulators have ramped up safety scrutiny following a series of high-profile incidents.

    Many aviation industry analysts remain optimistic that Gebremariam is the right leader to tackle these issues. Sanjay Lazar, CEO of aviation advisory firm Avialaz Consultants, told the BBC that Gebremariam has a proven track record of steady leadership during crisis, particularly his hands-on support for employees during the 2019 crash and the COVID-19 pandemic, which earned him deep loyalty across Ethiopian Airlines. Experts outline his immediate priorities as rebuilding Air India’s internal workplace culture, boosting low employee morale, accelerating delayed fleet expansion and cabin refurbishment projects, and restructuring the route network to cut ongoing losses.

    Air India has not yet announced an official start date for Gebremariam’s tenure, saying additional details will be released to the public at a later time.

  • Horror moment brutal stabbing at Lalor Park shopping centre unfolds as man arrested

    Horror moment brutal stabbing at Lalor Park shopping centre unfolds as man arrested

    A shocking public attack in suburban Sydney has left one man fighting for recovery, with law enforcement confirming an arrest was made roughly an hour after the incident unfolded. The violent confrontation, which was captured on closed-circuit security footage, played out just before 11:15 a.m. on a public street outside a commercial shopping center located on Commercial Road in Lalor Park, a suburb in western Sydney.

    According to police reports, the 53-year-old victim suffered multiple stab wounds to the back after being attacked by another man. The graphic CCTV footage shows the two men engaged in a physical brawl in the open street before the attacker pulled out a bladed weapon and stabbed the older man multiple times. Emergency medical services quickly responded to the scene and transported the victim to Westmead Hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition as of the latest update.

    Law enforcement launched an immediate manhunt immediately after the attack, tracing the suspect to a nearby unit complex. Approximately 60 minutes after the stabbing, officers took a 38-year-old man into custody. Detectives from the Blacktown Police Area Command have secured the site of the attack as an active crime scene as they work to build their case and determine the motive behind the violence.

    Local law enforcement leaders noted that the incident comes as part of ongoing efforts to crack down on knife-related crime in the Blacktown region and surrounding suburbs. Superintendent Brendan Gorman highlighted that uniformed officers already conduct regular patrols and court-authorized knife searches across the area to prevent similar attacks. “We stop and search people when legally allowed to, we encourage people not to take knives unless they are lawfully allowed,” Gorman stated in a press briefing following the arrest.

    Australian police are now calling on any members of the public who witnessed the attack, have security footage from the area, or hold other relevant information to contact investigators. Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at the hotline 1800 333 000.

  • St Kilda coach Ross Lyon vows support for embattled star Max King, says injury ‘insignificant’

    St Kilda coach Ross Lyon vows support for embattled star Max King, says injury ‘insignificant’

    AFL side St Kilda’s senior coach Ross Lyon has publicly thrown his support behind troubled key forward Max King, saying the young talent is starting to find clarity amid his devastating season-ending injury setback.

    King’s long-awaited return to AFL competition in Round 21, which came after two full seasons sidelined by injury, was cut short dramatically during the third quarter of the match when he suffered a sudden left hamstring strain. Within days of stepping back onto the field for his first game in two years, the club confirmed King would miss the remainder of the 2024 season, dashing his hopes of a fairytale comeback this year.

    Despite the heartbreaking outcome, Lyon says he holds no regrets over clearing King to play his long-awaited return match. Speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, the senior coach put the injury in perspective, framing it as a minor hurdle in the broader context of King’s life and career.

    “We understand the disappointment and the concern around this, but there are countless stories of elite athletes pushing through these setbacks to come out stronger on the other side,” Lyon said. “Max has tremendous mental toughness, he has unwavering support from his family, and the entire St Kilda organization is right behind him. We will get through this together and see the other side of this challenge.”

    Lyon added that he has met one-on-one with King since the season-ending injury diagnosis to offer personal support. “I went around to his place, we had some food, shared a cinnamon scroll, and just had an open chat about life, not just football,” Lyon explained. “He knows we are firmly in his corner, no matter what.”

    Off the conversation around King’s injury, Lyon’s attention is now turning to this weekend’s make-or-break clash against Carlton. The Sunday evening match, scheduled for a 7:20pm kickoff at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, pitches 10th-placed St Kilda against 11th-placed Carlton, with the winner set to claim the final spot in the top eight and secure a spot in this year’s finals series.

    Historically, St Kilda has had the upper hand in recent matchups against the Blues, claiming victory in two of their last three encounters. Their most recent meeting in May ended in a comfortable 39-point win for the Saints. For Lyon, the stakes of this weekend’s game do not need to be spelled out to his playing group. “Everyone around the league is talking about it, I know what’s on the line, and every single one of my players knows too,” he said. “Every guy in the squad is hungry to earn the right to compete in September.”

    This return to finals football would mark a major milestone for Lyon, who is currently chasing his first finals appearance since returning to the head coaching role at St Kilda.

  • Australian Human Rights Commission calls on Labor to ‘hit pause’ on NDIS reforms

    Australian Human Rights Commission calls on Labor to ‘hit pause’ on NDIS reforms

    Australia’s national, government-funded Human Rights Commission has made an uncommon public call for the federal Labor government to halt progress on its high-stakes National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) reform legislation, warning that the proposed changes risk stripping the scheme of critical accountability mechanisms and concentrating unchecked power in the hands of government ministers.

    In a rare joint public statement released Thursday, Commission president Hugh de Krester and all seven of the body’s commissioners joined growing cross-sector calls to slow the reform push, which is already the subject of an ongoing extended Senate committee inquiry. While the Commission formally acknowledges that long-term adjustments to the NDIS are necessary to secure its future, senior officials argue the government has brushed off widespread, evidence-based concerns that the reforms will severely undermine the scheme’s core life-changing mission for disabled Australians.

    Rosemary Keyes, the Commission’s Disability Discrimination co-ordinator, outlined the body’s deep reservations about the government’s entire approach to developing the policy. “There has been no formal official response from the government to the independent NDIS Review, and there has been no meaningful involvement of people with disability in the design of the proposed changes,” Keyes said.

    The reforms, which the Labor government says are needed to cut rampant rorting and put the multi-billion-dollar scheme on a sustainable long-term footing, are projected to move as many as 160,000 current participants off the NDIS and onto state and territory-run support programs. Keyes warned the legislation also removes key accountability pathways, grants unusually broad executive power to the relevant minister, and enshrines automated eligibility decision-making without a clear, protective legislative framework to guard against unfair outcomes.

    She added that policymakers have failed to account for the downstream impact of cutting community participation funding, which will shift unmet support needs to already overstretched public systems including public hospitals and schools. Keyes also noted that every state and territory disability minister has already joined calls to slow the reform process, to allow time to develop alternative support arrangements for people set to lose their NDIS access.

    “With so many people and organisations across the government and disability sectors raising serious concerns, the Australian government must hit pause on the passage of this Bill and undertake a much more considered and consultative approach to reforming the NDIS,” Keyes said.

    De Krester echoed the call, emphasizing that the scale of the proposed changes demands full transparency, broad consultation, and respect for the rights of disabled people. He noted that the Australian parliament’s own standing committee on human rights has already flagged that the reforms “constitute a significant interference with the rights of persons with disability, the rights of the child and the rights to an adequate standard of living, equality and non-discrimination, health, privacy and social security.”

    First announced by Health Minister Mark Butler at the National Press Club in April, the government’s reform plan frames the planned participant cull as a necessary measure to eliminate fraud and misallocation of funds. State and territory governments, which are expected to take over the support for people moved off the scheme, have so far declined to guarantee the same level of support participants currently receive through the NDIS. Disability rights advocates have repeatedly condemned the proposal, citing a total lack of meaningful consultation with disabled communities and representative groups ahead of the policy’s unveiling.

    After striking a parliamentary deal with the Australian Greens to pass the government’s signature tax reform legislation, Labor agreed to refer the NDIS reform bill to an extended Senate inquiry. While opposition Coalition parties agree that the NDIS requires reform to remain sustainable, they have also criticized the government’s rushed approach to the legislative process. An initial interim inquiry report was scheduled for June, but the committee has voted to push the final report deadline back to August 14. A public hearing for the inquiry was held Thursday in Perth, with testimony from major sector groups including Life Without Barriers, Carers Australia and ADHD Australia.