The Wire

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has backflipped on another social policy, but this time he’s unlikely to get a high five from Greens Senator Bob Brown. According to media reports in both The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald, Abbott is now prepared to support the Government’s scheme to roll out income management across the country. The new bills will be debated in Parliament tonight, and if the Opposition supports the changes, they will be passed. Welfare groups are outraged at the decision, with St Vincent De Pauls saying it is the lowest point in Australian social policy since the depression.