Today in Parliament, Abigail contributed to a debate condemning both the Albanese and Minns Labor governments for continuing to cut funding for vital social services and frontline support organisations at a time when people need support most.
Abigail said:
On behalf of The Greens, I indicate we will support the motion and we thank the Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones for moving the motion in the terms in which it has been moved. As we know, Ask Izzy was created for the purpose of making sure every person in our communities can find the help they need, now and nearby. It is free, anonymous, accessible and easy to use. It has more than 500,000 searchable support services. It is Australia's largest and most comprehensive directory of social support. It is powered by Infoxchange, which is a not‑for‑profit social enterprise that has been delivering technology for social justice for over 30 years. If people are on the Telstra or Vodafone mobile networks, they can access Ask Izzy on their phone, even if they do not have credit or access to wi‑fi. It is an incredible service, but in particular Ask Izzy's online Disability Advocacy Finder tool is widely used by people with disability and their families, friends and carers to connect with independent disability advocacy providers and support services in their area at any time of the day.
My office connects people with disability in our community with Ask Izzy on a weekly basis, as well as victim‑survivors of domestic and family violence and other vulnerable people reaching out to us for support. The funding cuts to Ask Izzy do not exist in a vacuum. It comes at a time when the Albanese and Minns Labor governments already have been embarking on a campaign to cut funding and resources for basically anything that helps vulnerable people in this State. It is part of a much broader problem. In the previous debate, I spoke about this. We are seeing these services being cut at a time when people are doing it incredibly tough. I think people have a right to be angry. When we talk about whether we condemn the Albanese Labor Government or not, there is this idea that it is helpful and constructive to just ask nicely. I suggest that people who have that view should speak to people with disability about how that has been working out for them. It does not work.
We are at the point where asking nicely did not achieve anything, so condemning the Albanese Labor Government seems entirely apt to me. We condemn the cruel cuts by the Albanese and Minns Labor governments to every social service they seem to turn their attention to—every wellbeing support and every vital frontline specialist support organisation. We condemn the cruel cuts to the NDIS and the failure to adequately fund frontline services for domestic and family violence. Where do I stop? I absolutely condemn both levels of Labor governments for not only giving people a really good reason to be angry at the government but also for asking people to ask nicely to be given just the smallest crumbs. We condemn them.
Read the full debate in Hansard here.
21 October 2026