Practice English with NewsPractice with News
Politics149 words1 min read

Labor Reverses Cap on Health Support for Veterans

Healthcare professional adjusting a blue surgical mask
Photo by Navy Medicine on Unsplash
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Listen to the story

Australia's government has changed a plan about health help for veterans. Veterans are people who worked in the army, navy, or air force. The government wanted to put a cap on allied health services for veterans. A cap means a limit on something. Allied health includes things like physiotherapy and mental health help.

Senator Jacqui Lambie is a member of the Australian parliament. A parliament is a group of people who make laws for a country. Lambie gave an emotional speech about the cap. She said it was not fair to veterans.

After her speech, the Labor government changed its mind. This is called a backdown. A backdown means stopping a plan after saying no at first. Lambie said she was happy about the backdown.

The news came from a live political update from Australia. Many other political stories were also part of the same day's news.

Vocabulary15 words

veterans
people who used to work in the army, navy, or air force
cap
a limit on something
allied health
health help like physiotherapy or mental health care
parliament
a group of people who make laws for a country
backdown
stopping a plan after first saying no
emotional
showing strong feelings
senator
a person who works in parliament
government
the group of people who run a country
policy
a plan or rule from the government
speech
talking to a group of people about one topic
welcomed
was happy about something
changed its mind
decided something different
fair
right and equal for everyone
help
support for someone
limit
the most or least you can have

Quiz

1. What did the Labor government plan to do?
2. Who gave the emotional speech?
3. What is a 'backdown'?

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

Australia's government has changed a plan about health help for _____. Veterans are people who worked in the army, navy, or air force. The government wanted to put a _____ on allied health services for veterans. A cap means a _____ on something. Allied health includes things like physiotherapy and mental health help.

Senator Jacqui Lambie is a member of the Australian _____. A parliament is a group of people who make laws for a country. Lambie gave an _____ speech about the cap. She said it was not _____ to veterans.

After her speech, the Labor government changed its mind. This is called a _____. A backdown means stopping a plan after saying no at first. Lambie said she was happy about the _____.

The news came from a live _____ update from Australia. Many other political stories were also part of the same day's news.

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