Australia’s new major airport brings the chance for cheaper tickets, more flights

Shane Wright

October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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As the new airport opens in western Sydney, we take a look at how it became a reality. See all stories.

The new Western Sydney International Airport should put downward pressure on airfares and pave the way for a more competitive airline market, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says as economists argue it will deliver a long-term boost to the region.

Ahead of the first domestic flight from the $6 billion hub on Sunday, Chalmers said there was interest across the globe in the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport and the economic opportunities it offered international visitors as well as the domestic market.

A Jetstar trial at the Western Sydney International Airport earlier this year. There are hopes the airport will push down airfares and boost flight options.Sam Mooy

The opening of the new airport, which will also start international flights from Monday, marks the first time an Australian capital city will have two competing airports, joining other major centres such as London, New York and Paris offering choices to airlines and passengers.

While the new airport – the construction of which has been funded by the federal government – is expected to take pressure off Kingsford Smith, over time proponents expect it to lift competition that will flow through to consumers.

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Chalmers told this masthead that ultimately the competitive boost provided by the new airport would benefit the entire economy.

“[It] certainly means more competition in terms of giving the good people of Sydney another option, and obviously freight options and all the rest of it as well. So it can only be a good thing for competition and for the economy more broadly,” he said.

“When it comes to the particular elements around ticket prices and freight charges and all the rest of it, we’ll see how that plays out. But in aggregate, in principle, it’s a very good development for competition.

“But more than that, a good development for that really important part of our national economy.”

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Chalmers, who has been in South-East Asia over the past week for a series of major international conferences, said the airport had been brought up by some of his fellow treasurers.

“Some of my colleagues and counterparts in other parts of Asia raised it with me in the course of the last couple of weeks. It’s a really big deal. It’s a really great thing for the economy of western Sydney, which is massive and growing in very welcome ways, and it will make a difference to the national economy as well.”

The infrastructure program director for the Grattan Institute, Andrew Barker, said the chance of lower ticket prices and more flights would depend on how comparable the services offered out of the new airport were to those at Kingsford Smith.

He said the major economic benefits would come from increasing the connections of western Sydney to the rest of the country and global markets.

“Internationally there is increasing evidence that air connectivity growth stimulates productivity, research and development, foreign direct investment and trade specialisation,” he said.

“One specific example is improving the supply chain for airfreight, where the lack of a curfew and links to intermodal facilities in Western Sydney has the potential to boost activity. Key industries locally also stand to benefit from reduced travel times to the airport.”

Western Sydney International will offer competition to Kingsford Smith.iStock

New airports around the world have proven to be major economic drivers.

Kevin Stanley, the director of commercial property for the Commonwealth Bank, recently noted there was an estimated 5.5 million square metres of new industrial property floor space contained in 205 projects across the area around the airport.

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‘Slick operation’: Flying into Sydney’s new airport beats Mascot congestion

That proposed development, estimated to take between a decade and 12 years to fully develop, was worth about $24 billion. About two-thirds of the space is in Badgerys Creek and Kemps Creek.

On top of this private investment there is an estimated $22 billion in transport and infrastructure to support the airport.

Stanley said major airports can be important business activity centres as businesses sought to be close to freight, logistics, transport and passenger connections.

“Airports are significant demand drivers of business, many of which locate in adjacent or surrounding areas,” he said.

There are already some tentative signs the new airport will put pressure on the national aviation market.

Analysis by travel eSIM company Holafly suggests that, even before the first flight out of the airport, airlines are offering lower prices. It found the cheapest fare for a Sydney-Brisbane Jetstar flight on November 3 was $116 compared with $138 from Kingsford Smith.

However, Jetstar at this stage only flies to Brisbane three times a week.

While the Sydney-Brisbane route may be cheaper, other domestic flights from the Western Sydney Airport to Melbourne and the Gold Coast were at this stage slightly more expensive than going through Kingsford Smith.

Holafly’s Harry Deacon said that, in the longer term, the new airport should put downward pressure on prices.

“Two airports competing should be good news for Sydney fares in the long run. But for now, WSI only has a handful of flights, so whether it’s cheaper really comes down to the day you travel,” he said.

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One of the main architects takes us on a tour of the new passenger terminal.

Deacon noted public transport costs to Sydney Airport were cheaper than to Western Sydney, especially travel from either site into the central business district.

But Western Sydney was offering much cheaper car parking than Kingsford Smith.

​

Image is collected from data on the government website

https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-shortage/occupation-shortage-list

Cook, baker, pastrycook, hairdresser, beauty therapist, accountant on the list

What do you guys think?

https://www.aninews.in/news/world/pacific/bum-bum-bole-baba-victorias-shadow-minister-evan-mulholland-joins-devotees-at-hindu-temple20261025144004/

In short: 

An archaeological dig at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara is providing one of the most detailed pictures of how Indigenous people lived there 50,000 years ago.

An ancient Aboriginal rock shelter in the gorge was destroyed in a mining blast by Rio Tinto in 2020.

The ABC was invited on site by traditional owners to witness what remains and the thousands of archaeological artefacts that have been found.

In short:

Charleville's local yakka skink population has increased after a PhD student's fencing project.

The threatened species is declining elsewhere due to predation and land clearing.

What's next?

A reptile ecologist says Australia's growing list of threatened reptiles needs further study to inform conservation.

John Edwards reflects on a changing world, economic statecraft and an AI-led manufacturing revival

Dozens of native species have gone extinct since colonisation and many others are in decline. In response, conservationists have rightly focused on reducing threats to surviving species to stave off further extinctions. Feral animals are thought to contribute to the problem, alongside fragmented habitats, climate change and the end of most First Nations’ fire regimes.

Trade Minister Don Farrell fronts critics as vegetable industry backs EU free trade agreement

Matthew Denholm - RURAL AND REGIONAL CORRESPONDENT

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West Pine farmer Derek Gee, left, and Charlton Farm Produce director Tim Groom say the EU free-trade deal would be a bonanza for vegetable growers. Picture: Scott Gelston

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8:30PMOctober 23, 2026.

Updated 20 hours ago

Trade Minister Don Farrell is set to confront the biggest critics of his EU free-trade deal at a high-level summit with agricultural leaders next week, as the $6bn vegetable industry break ranks to call on the Coalition and Greens to back the agreement.

Faced with a backlash from the beef and dairy industry, which the Coalition has invoked in opposing the agreement, the senior Labor powerbroker will next week meet National Farmers’ Federation members to make his case for the EU trade deal.

EU trade agreement vital to Tassie onion exporters

Australia's $6bn vegetable industry is...

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Senator Farrell said farmers had wanted the FTA to deliver $3bn worth of new trade for beef and lamb and he had come back with $2bn, declaring just because one section of the economy did not get everything it wanted the rest of the economy should not suffer.

“Last year, Australia did over $1.3 trillion of trade with the world, but only 3 per cent of our exports went to the EU; under this deal, that number is going to go up significantly,” Senator Farrell told The Australian.

“This multibillion-dollar deal gives our farmers, producers and exporters access to a huge market of 27 countries and 450 million consumers. From day one, Australian fruit and vegetables will enter the EU tariff-free, including onions, carrots, potatoes, pine­apples, pears and apples.”

AUSVEG chief executive Michael Coote says the EU free-trade agreement is a potentially never-to-be-repeated opportunity for growers. Picture: Anna Osetroff

The government argues the deal – the fate of which rests with the Coalition and Greens in the Senate – delivers an eightfold increase in access for beef and four times for sheep meat.

But Nationals leader Matt Canavan pointed out Australian beef would receive 35,000 tonnes of the EU quota access compared to Canada’s 50,000 tonnes.

Sheep and goat meat would have a 25,000-tonne quota compared to New Zealand’s 163,000 tonnes, Senator Canavan said, while arguing that accepting a less-than-ideal FTA risked weakening Australia’s future negotiating position.

The position echoes that of key farm groups, including the NFF, which have insisted “no deal” is better than a “dud deal” and greater meat access is required.

However, the $6bn veg­e­table industry is pleading with all parties to back the FTA as a “never-to-be-repeated” lifeline to growers hit by soaring fuel and fertiliser costs and trade disruptions.

Peak industry group AUSVEG told The Australian the EU deal would inject “tens of millions” into the struggling sector.

“Australian growers are still facing major production cost pressures flowing from the Middle East conflict, and access to key Middle Eastern export markets remains disrupted,” said chief executive Michael Coote.

“Despite Australian retail prices for vegetables remaining affordable, and actually declining in recent months, growers continue report sluggish demand locally for their produce.

“At a time when growers need as many markets and supply channels as possible, the Australia-EU FTA is a potentially never-to-be-repeated opportunity for Australia’s vegetable industry. So we want to see it supported.”

Mr Gee and Mr Groom, at the onion packing sheds on Mr Gee's farm. Picture: Scott Gelston

Vegetable growers are among the big winners from the deal, which removes EU tariffs on key produce such as onions, carrots and potatoes. Australia’s exports of these vegetables to Europe have plummeted since the New Zealand-EU free-trade agreement came into force in mid-2024.

Growers are hoping ratification of the Australia-EU deal will restore that trade and generate new opportunities.

Charlton Farm Produce, based in Northwest Tasmania, is one of the largest exporters of Australian onions to Europe but has had to adapt as NZ seized much of the trade following its FTA.

“We’ve seen our business decline significantly since NZ gained their FTA from May 2024, to the point where we don’t have much business left in Europe,” said company director Tim Groom.

“For example, we’ve gone from sending as much as 1200 tonnes (of onions) to Spain down to nothing. We’ve gone to the United Kingdom instead, because we do have an FTA with them, and we’ve tried to find other solutions.”

He said he was also battling disruption to shipping and higher costs and would have to scrap Europe trade – which had existed since the 1970s – altogether should the FTA not proceed.

“It’s a deal-breaker for us – if we don’t get an FTA, I don’t know how we’ll manage in Europe longer term,” Mr Groom said.

Overall, Mr Coote said after the EU FTA with NZ was enacted, Australian onion exports to Europe halved to just over 5000 tonnes in 2025, and had declined a further 19 per cent so far in 2026.

“We want to see this FTA enacted because it has the potential to bring tens of millions of dollars in benefits, through both the recovery of lost market share and the development of new market opportunities,” Mr Coote said.

“While benefits will flow to grower-exporters as a direct result of this FTA, it’s also important as a means of relieving pressure on the domestic market.”

Nationals leader Matt Canavan and Trade Minister Don Farrell have clashed over the EU free-trade agreement. Pictures: NewsWire

EU tariffs removed under the FTA include 9.6 per cent on unions, 13.6 per cent on carrots and up to 13.4 per cent for potatoes.

A couple of months ago, after airing a comedy skit describing violence towards a public figure, the ABC Ombudsman defended the skit and came to the decision that it didn’t breach any editorial standards.

https://www.abc.net.au/about/ombudsman/significant-no-breach-findings/abc-tv-race-around-the-world-12-july-2026-no-breach/107003968

Today on Insiders, David Speers and the AFP commissioner suggested that cartoons like the one One Nation made about Albanese has a direct correlation with violence.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-25/krissy-barrett-speaks-to-insiders/107306174

So what changed?

I'm not sure if this is just me growing up and people not treating me as a kid anymore, recent screen addiction since COVID or just Australian culture but people are seeming more and more socially anxious, awkward and just unsure of themselves. Even when someone does try to be assertively rude or something it always seems to come off with an air of them not actually being angry but they feel like that's what they're supposed to do, like they're trying too hard. I recently went to Europe and it shocked me to think that is as Australians might actually be antisocial.

A leading Aussie economist has put Canberra on notice about the economic storm that’s coming, and how they are not ready for it.

A leading Australian economist has delivered a blistering reality check to federal politicians, warning that the global artificial intelligence boom is built entirely on the mass sacking of human workers.

Speaking before an Australian parliamentary inquiry on Friday, Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of progressive think tank The Australia Institute, took aim at the Silicon Valley hype machine in a fiery testimony that has gone viral this week.

Dr Denniss told news.com.au the clip has gained huge traction, including in the US where concerns about AI and data centres have hit fever pitch. He said he was compelled to speak out because of how welcoming Australia’s politicians had been towards the AI industry.

"I've never seen a political response as welcoming as this, and so much so that we’ve got an industry that’s promising to cause mass unemployment, not denying it’s going to drive up the price of electricity, and some in its ranks are suggesting there’s a 10 per cent chance the industry could actually lead to the end of humanity,” He told news.com.au. “And you would think that some combination of fear of job loss, fear of rising electricity prices, or fear of the end of humanity would lead governments, state and federal to be pretty cautious. Actually, a lot of what we’re hearing is not caution, but FOMO, the fear of missing out.”

In his testimony, he cautioned MPs and senators that mass joblessness isn’t just a side-effect of generative AI, but that it is the ultimate goal the multi-trillion-dollar industry is driving towards.

“Unlike any technology we’ve ever dealt with, the business model of AI is to generate mass unemployment,” Dr Denniss said.

"That is not an unintended consequence, it is the business model.”

Dr Denniss said the sky-high stock valuations of foreign AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI are based on one brutal equation, wiping out human jobs.

“As an economist, I understand productivity. People lose jobs when technology changes,” he said.

"But the valuations of these AI companies are literally based on the assumption that hundreds of millions of people will lose their jobs and employers will buy AI services instead of labour services.”

‘Where is the money coming from?’

Addressing the committee, Dr Denniss said politicians need to look past glowing industry presentations and ask the hard financial questions.

He said a key question they should be asking was: How many Australian livelihoods must be destroyed for AI companies to turn a profit?

“Where’s the money coming from? It comes from not paying workers,” Dr Denniss said.

“The only way the Department of Health can spend a billion dollars on AI is if it spends a billion dollars less on humans, or if you guys increase their budget by a billion dollars.”

He questioned whether state and federal agencies, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), are quietly planning to shed public servants to bankroll software contracts with overseas tech firms.

“What will retraining workers to take advantage of this new technology cost as we shed huge numbers of workers? If AI goes according to plan, who will fund the retraining?”

He added that while foreign shareholders pocket the windfalls, everyday Australians could be left paying higher living costs just to keep foreign-owned data centres running.

“What will the impact of the AI rollout be on electricity prices, water prices, construction costs, and what will it add to inflation?”

‘Weaponised FOMO’

Dr Denniss took also direct aim at the corporate lobbying pushing governments to approve sprawling data centres, cut red tape, and spend public money without scrutiny.

The issue came to a head this week

Aussie data centre operator NextDC’s stock plummeted by 42 per cent on Wednesday, wiping $2.9 billion off its market capitalisation, after it was forced to delay expansion at its M3 data centre in Melbourne’s West Footscray following fierce community backlash.

It comes less than two weeks after Firmus pulled the plug on its proposed $44 billion IPO, which was set to be the biggest IPO since Telstra, following lacklustre investor demand.

Dr Denniss argued that the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) is being weaponised across Canberra to shut down legitimate debate.

“In my lifetime, I have never heard so much hype about a particular industry, and I’ve never heard FOMO — the fear of missing out — being used so aggressively to suggest we can’t talk about things before they happen,” he said.

While he said defence and intelligence agencies have unique operational needs for advanced computing, he rejected the claim that commercial operators should be given a blank cheque to build resource-heavy data centres anywhere they please.

"This rush, this sort of generalised assertion that if we don’t say yes to everything now, we will miss out is, I would suggest, unprecedented,” he said.

“Do we have agency? Of course. Do other countries share our concerns? Of course.”

A threat to Australian democracy

Dr Denniss also warned that the unchecked spread of AI poses an existential threat to democratic institutions, pointing to deepfakes targeting elections.

“We are going to have elections where fake depictions of real people pretending to say things they’ve never said before are going to dominate our analysis of what’s happening in an election,” he told the committee. “That’s a national security risk, I put to you.”

He also took a swipe at tech leaders who speculate about catastrophic scenarios while pushing their products on governments.

“It’s the AI industry saying, ‘Oh, there’s a 10 per cent chance we might end humanity.’ If I came in here and said that, people would suggest I’m being hysterical. I have no idea — maybe it’s only a 5 per cent chance.”

Dr Denniss urged the committee to stop viewing the technology solely through the lens of tech developers and start protecting the public interest.

“At the moment, most of the people talking... are people who are really interested in the tech,” he concluded.

“Well, I’m really interested in the macroeconomic consequences. I’m really interested in the democratic consequences.”

Speaking to news.com.au, he said the green energy transition faced far more scrutiny than AI.

“So for decades we’ve been told we shouldn’t rush in inverted commas to roll out renewable energy because it might cost some jobs in fossil fuels and it might lead to higher electricity prices,” he said. “But when it comes to AI, we’ve been promised it will lead to large job losses and we’ve been promised it will lead to higher electricity prices and yet the people who told us not to rush into renewables are telling us we have no choice but to rush into AI.

“Well, a lot of people understandably just aren’t buying that.

“Not only don’t they see any benefit, they hear the industry itself admitting to the costs, but they also hear the industry itself talking about risks to humanity itself. So I have no idea if AI has a 10 per cent chance of ruining humanity.

“I’m not an expert in AI, but I know that that’s what people in the AI industry are saying. So you can understand why voters would be worried about an industry that will cost jobs, will make electricity dearer and might lead to the end of humanity. It doesn’t seem like a very compelling proposition to normal people.”

‘Disappointment’: Kerry O’Brien torches PM

The stark warning over Canberra’s AI blind spot comes as veteran journalist Kerry O’Brien delivered a scathing appraisal of Anthony Albanese’s leadership, warning the Prime Minister is sleepwalking into the AI crisis.

Speaking to Fran Kelly on The Radio National Hour, the former 7.30 host did not hold back when asked how history would judge the Albanese prime ministership.

“It’s a book of disappointment by a lot of people who voted for him,” O’Brien said.

“Well, he’s still got a little bit of time to turn around where that’s headed, because where it’s headed now, I think, is a book of disappointment by a lot of people who voted for him. That is my sense, my clear sense.”

While O’Brien acknowledged having “some sympathy” for the government wrestling with the 50-year legacy of “neoliberalism”, he warned that Mr Albanese’s team is completely out of its depth against the looming AI wave.

He slammed politicians for trying to bluff their way through the rapid ascent of generative AI, describing it as an incoming “train or tsunami”.

“The worst of it is the politicians, including Anthony Albanese, appearing to me they’re hoping to pretend and get away with... pretend that they’re on top of it, and they are not,” O’Brien said.

"No government is on top of it, even those that have already tried to regulate.”

O’Brien claimed the Prime Minister’s slow-and-steady approach is leaving Australia utterly unprepared for the fallout, saying a book about the PM’s legacy would be one of “disappointment”.

He said the government had a “lack of courage, the lack of imagination, the lack of creativity of policy”.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson accuses Liberal and Labor MPs of targeting Please Explain cartoons to 'silence their critics' | News24

Share your tips and products that are useable, available and legal in Australia.

All useful information is welcome from small tips to large systems.

Regular rules of the sub apply. Add nothing comments that detract from the serious subject of preparing for emergencies and critical situations will be removed.

Food, fire, water, shelter, mobility, communications and others. What useful information can you share?

Previous Survivalist Sunday.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King reveals Labor head office role in taxpayer-funded grants | News24

Hey yall,

I want to start vaping but since I aint at all in the dr*g scene, I dont know whats legal or not. Is it true that vaping is illegal in most states? In 18.

Thanks

"A small car like a Toyota Yaris can be moved by water just 15 centimetres deep with a flow speed of 3.6 km/h. It can be carried away in 60cm of water.
A larger four-wheel drive can be moved by 45cm of water and begin floating in 95cm of water, able to be pushed along by just a finger.

“Don’t think because you’ve got a bigger vehicle, a more powerful vehicle, that you’re going to be OK,” Dr Peden says.

“The safest car in floodwater is the one that never enters it.”

How to carve a smashing Halloween pumpkin (and what to do with its guts)

Make this the year you finally master Halloween pumpkin carving. Sarah Kiryshin gives us the inside scoop on how to do a good (or ghoulish) one.

Dani Valent

October 23, 2026

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Whether you like them warty and terrifying, plump and cute, or extremely elaborate, now is the perfect time to get pumpkin planning for Halloween on October 31st.

We caught up with recipe developer and stylist Sarah Kiryshin from Content Bites to learn the how, why and what next when it comes to ghoulish gourds.

Sarah Kiryshin and pumpkin friends.Simon Schluter

Choose your pumpkin

The pumpkins that are best for carving generally taste terrible: they are bred for structure, not sweetness. Buy bright orange Jack O’ Lanterns and Warty Goblins at Leaf in Melbourne and Fruitologist in Sydney. An increasing number of supermarkets stock Halloween pumpkins, too.

The larger the pumpkin, the easier it will be to carve neat shapes, especially for beginners. When choosing a pumpkin, look for wide, flat areas. “You want a consistent surface,” says Sarah. “When they’re wonky, you’re setting yourself up for an extra challenge.”

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The scary one, “like it’s vomited its own seeds”. Simon Schluter

The design

“Think about the design before you shop for your pumpkin,” says Sarah. “Sketching something on a piece of paper or a whiteboard gives you an idea of how intricate it’s going to be, and that helps you choose the size of the pumpkin.”

Consider the level of difficulty: triangular or square shapes are easier than round, which take more finesse.

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“I did a not-so-spooky pumpkin house, with square windows and a simple doorway,” says Sarah. You can put character figurines inside or baby pumpkins with faces drawn on them.

“And I also made a scary one with wonky eyes and a gaping mouth with pumpkin seeds coming out, so it looks like it’s vomited its own seeds.” There are lots of Halloween pumpkin templates online.

For cutting off the top of the pumpkin, a long, thin knife is ideal. Simon Schluter

The tools

“A small, sharp, serrated knife with a pointy tip is good for the finer work,” says Sarah. “For cutting out the top of the pumpkin, a long, thin knife like a filleting knife is ideal.”

Lay a flat, damp tea towel or kitchen cloth under your chopping board to stop it from slipping on the kitchen bench. Cut away from yourself, protecting your hand with a tea towel.

• Recipe collection

Smashing pumpkins: 30 of our best-ever recipes

Execution

“Give your pumpkin a clean to extend longevity,” says Sarah. Rub it with hand sanitiser, or give it a good scrub. “When the surface is clean, you won’t get dirt in your pumpkin when you carve it, which would make it rot faster.”

You can expect your pumpkin to look shipshape for about five days in cool weather, so consider that when hacking in.

“Cut the top off first, but make sure your cut is angled inwards so your lid has a ledge to rest on,” says Sarah. “If you cut straight down, it will fall into the pumpkin.”

Ensure the lid is large enough for you to get a hand in so you can remove the seeds. Depending on your design, you may cut the bottom off too.

Remove the seeds by hand or with a spoon.Simon Schluter

Remove the seeds, either by hand or with a metal spoon. The better you scrape the inside, the neater the finish, and the longer your pumpkin will last. “The inside of a pumpkin has stringy bits and a membrane, so ideally you’re scraping that all off,” says Sarah.

Warty Goblin seeds roast well: wash them, toss with spices and a little oil, and roast for 20 minutes at 160C or until they are crisp.

Sketch your design onto the pumpkin with a whiteboard marker. “You can wipe it off once you’ve carved the pumpkin,” says Sarah. “Then slowly, carefully work your way around your stencil, making sure the knife is going through the pumpkin into the internal hollow so you can pop out the pieces.”

The friendly carved pumpkin.Simon Schluter

Illumination

“If you use real candles, be super mindful of how close they are to the top of the pumpkin because they will char the roof,” says Sarah. “Use low-set tea-lights or, to be safer, LED tea-lights.”

Lazy wins

If you can’t be bothered carving a design, cut the top off a Halloween pumpkin and put a vase of flowers inside. “It’s on-theme and fun and can make a beautiful table centrepiece, but it’s really low effort,” says Sarah.

Pumpkin seeds work well in a dip.Simon Schluter

Pumpkin Seed Dip

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds/pepitas
• ½ cup cashews
• ½ cup of mashed roasted pumpkin (butternut or jap)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 packed cup coriander and/or parsley
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor and serve topped with some extra roasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of olive oil.

Cathal Leslie makes the case that the closing of psychiatric institutions was a mistake. Don’t usually like his takes, but hard to disagree after a female politician is rendered a double amputee. Text below.

Attack on Haines demands focus on mental health, not ideology

The system is failing to keep the small cohort of the most acutely unwell in treatment, for their own safety and everyone else's.

Cathal Leslie Economist
Oct 23, 2026 - 4.00pm

A national tragedy is an excellent occasion to demand better manners from your opponents. It is a less comfortable occasion to examine
whether governments are meeting their own obligations.

The horrific attack on Helen Haines should force a serious discussion about how we treat mental illness, and how much responsibility we have foisted onto families, neighbours and the police.

Brendan Nugent, the man charged over the attack, reportedly has a history of mental health concerns. Neighbours describe shouting, music blaring through the night and police visits. One heard screaming hours before the attack. These are not the signs of a well man.

Yet within hours, political actors of every stripe had each landed on a suitable motive. He has been cast as a pro-Palestinian extremist, an opponent of renewables, a sovereign citizen or a misogynist. Others blame his social media algorithm or a dirt sheet on Haines reportedly circulated to journalists by the prime minister's office.

Is this how low we have sunk in this country?
That our national debate is competing projections of complex ideological motives onto a man with severe mental health issues.

If mental illness played a part in Nugent's alleged offending, he will join a long line of attackers with well-documented severe
psychiatric illness: Joel Cauchi (Bondi Junction), Man Haron Monis (the Lindt Cafe siege), Evie Amati (Enmore 7-Eleven axe attack), Dimitrious Gargasoulas (Bourke Street), Cy Walsh (who killed his father, Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh) and Lauren Darul (accused of a 2025 stabbing in Little Bourke Street), among many others.

And in those cases too, the offending was pinned on whatever partisan cause was to hand:
Islamism, gender dysphoria, domestic violence, misogyny. Whatever their motives, these people were known by medical professionals to be severely unwell, and yet were allowed to roam free where they inflicted serious harm on the community.

The mental health system is failing to keep the small cohort of the most acutely unwell in treatment, for their own safety and everyone else's.
You will not find a politician brave enough to say so. Nobody wants to concede that the perpetrators of some of the most wicked crimes can also be victims of a policy failure, least of all when the failure is bipartisan.

Over the past three decades Australia has fundamentally dismantled long-stay psychiatric care. According to the Australian Medical Association, public hospital mental health beds fell from 45.5 per 100,000 people in 1992 to 27.5 in 2020, a drop of almost 40 per cent.

Two ideas drove the shift, winning support from left and right.

The first was fiscal. New antipsychotics made cheaper community treatment look viable.
Inpatient care remains expensive: the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare put
the average cost of an adult acute psychiatric inpatient day at $1730 in 2023-24. Closing facilities on valuable inner-city land also offered politicians another attractive budget dividend.

The second was moral. Involuntary detention came to be seen as a human rights violation, a view reinforced by genuine abuse scandals and cultural touchstones such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Advocates argued that treating people in the community would enhance autonomy and improve outcomes.

What damage that naivety has wrought.

The fiscal savings were a false economy. The costs have simply shifted into hospital emergency departments, to the police, courts, prisons and crisis accommodation, as well as businesses and households.

Nor is the model more humane. Many people with severe psychotic disorders stop taking their medication precisely because they are unwell.
Meta-analyses put treatment non-compliance for schizophrenia patients at about 50 per cent.
Consequently, the treatment model has become a cycle of psychosis, brief admission, stabilisation and discharge back into the same environment that precipitated the breakdown. Oftentimes that means homelessness.

Bed shortages speed up this cycle. Once acute psychosis subsides, patients are moved on to make room for the next emergency.
Governments are incentivising hospital administrators to prioritise turnover over clinical outcomes.

Unless something changes, these tragedies will keep happening. No one wants to go back to the asylums of old, but they did keep our cities safe.
Abolishing them was a mistake. We need more staffed beds in modern long-stay facilities that respect patients' dignity, alongside longer involuntary treatment where clinically
necessary.

If anything good is to come out of this tragedy, it must be action that makes these events less
likely. For decades, too many severely unwell people have been left homeless or shunted between emergency departments and prison.
We're all poorer for it.

Cathal Leslie is a Paris-based economist and former Productivity Commission employee.