An eye-opening viral image of a fish and chip shop selling black market goods has sparked a wider debate around Government policy failures. The post on Twitter/X shows a picture of a chip shop counter - and bizarrely, alongside food products, the advertising appears to be for cigarettes and 'NDIS planning'. The caption reads: "Would you believe my local fish and chip shop not only sells extremely affordable grey market cigarettes, but also helps you for NDIS plan management? Australia truly has it all.".
The shop is selling various brands of cigarettes for around 10 per cent cheaper than tobacconist prices. And the post has since gone viral. One person joked: "Does it do student visa renewals and asylum claims with a side order of chips?", while another said: "Have to work 3 jobs these days to pay a mortgage.".
Another person said: "If you don’t laugh you’ll cry", while another chimed in: Why is this so funny yeah I’ll get a potato cake, uh bond street blues and can I speak to Kevin about the NDIS manager thing?". But one Twitter/X user credited the owner's somewhat 'entrepreneurial" skills, saying: "Pretty efficient when you think of it . Order your fish and chips and knock out your NDIS needs with Kev while your orders cooking.".
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a program in Australia that provides funding to people with disabilities. The NDIS helps people with disabilities gain more independence and improve their quality of life. Following the post going viral, economist Steven Hamilton said the image showed “Australian policy failure in one picture”, adding: “Informal markets, two ways. Tax something into oblivion to create an informal market. Subsidise something into the stratosphere to create an informal market. When are we going to get serious?”.
