'Not necessarily the best time': What the US government shutdown means for Aussies

The US authorities has been unopen down for nan first clip successful much than six years aft Democrats and Republicans grounded to work together connected national backing by midnight connected October 1 (2pm coming AEST).

Democrats voted down a Republican bill to assistance impermanent backing earlier this morning, which would person prevented nan shutdown, arsenic some parties stay successful a deadlock astir wellness benefits.

Federal agencies were ordered to make preparations hours earlier nan deadline, arsenic hundreds and thousands of national workers will person their salary impacted.

Here is precisely what that means. 

What is simply a authorities shutdown?

Federal agencies crossed nan state will beryllium shuttered, pinch non-essential workers, for illustration parkland rangers, put connected time off without pay.

Essential national workers, for illustration nan military, migration and airdrome security, will proceed to activity but will not get paid until aft nan shutdown.

About 750,000 workers will beryllium furloughed each time successful nan shutdown, pinch nan full regular costs of their compensation reaching $US400 cardinal ($600 million), according to Congressional Budget Office estimates released yesterday.

UNSW world relations professor William Clapton said nan shutdown was "more of a pause".

"What usually happens is that there's a halfway group of services that don't stop, and that's things for illustration defence, rule enforcement, societal security, Medicare. Those person mostly continued done each nan erstwhile shutdowns," he said.

Shutdowns usually originate complete disagreements astir nan national budget, but tin besides beryllium utilized arsenic a speech instrumentality and governmental tactic.

"The American group get caught up successful nan middle, because they suffer entree to services that nan authorities usually would provide," Clapton said.

When was nan past US authorities shutdown?

The past shutdown was sparked by US President Donald Trump's multibillion-dollar petition to build a wall connected nan US-Mexico separator during his first term.

It lasted a historical 34 days from December 2018 to January 2019, pinch astir 800,000 of nan 2.1 cardinal national workers furloughed.

"That's evidently a monolithic effect for those people, their expertise to salary their bills, to unrecorded their lives," Clapton said.

Former president Bill Clinton held nan erstwhile grounds of nan longest shutdown successful US history, 21 days successful 1996.

There were 2 different shutdowns during Trump's first term, 1 lasting 3 days and nan different lasting conscionable respective hours.

There person been 21 US authorities shutdowns successful nan past 50 years.

"There's benignant of an inherent instability astatine times pinch regards to authorities backing successful nan US," Clapton said.

"It's not nan first shutdown, and nan truth that it benignant of keeps happening benignant of speaks to, yeah, nan complexities and nan pitfalls, if you will, of America's peculiar and unsocial strategy of government."

Why is nan US authorities heading towards different shutdown?

Democrats are fighting nan Republicans connected healthcare benefits and are making bully connected their threat to unopen down nan authorities if their opponents do not widen taxation credits to subsidise wellness insurance.

Those credits are group to expire by nan extremity of nan year.

Both sides person been astatine an impasse successful nan days starring up to nan commencement of nan caller fiscal twelvemonth connected October 1 — nan day erstwhile nan Senate was group to walk a caller appropriations bill.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans are trying to "bully" Democrats by refusing to discuss nan hold and different priorities.

Trump and his chap Republicans said they would not make immoderate changes, arguing that their measure is simply a stripped-down and "clean" authorities that should beryllium non-controversial.

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans "are not going to beryllium held hostage" by nan Democrats' demands.

This morning, nan Republicans introduced a measure that would support backing nan authorities for 7 weeks while legislators decorativeness moving connected nan appropriations bill, but it was voted down by nan Democrats.

The Republicans clasp nan powerfulness successful nan Senate, but needed 60 votes to walk nan measure to debar a filibuster, meaning immoderate Democrats would person had to support it. 

"It seems that nan Democrats person utilized that arsenic leverage to benignant of effort and get nan Republicans to meet their demands pinch regards to wellness attraction backing successful particular," Clapton said.

It group nan way for nan shutdown. 

Federal agencies are making their preparations up of nan commencement of nan business day.

When does nan shutdown start?

The shutdown started astatine 12.01am coming (2.01pm AEST).

It's difficult to opportunity really agelong nan shutdown will past aliases what nan effects will be, and it will mostly trust connected really quickly Democrats and Republicans tin travel to an agreement.

"I deliberation nan really absorbing mobility now will beryllium really nan negotiations betwixt nan Democrats and nan Republicans play out, and nan ways successful which nan cardinal players benignant of usage this for governmental advantage," Clapton said. 

Previous shutdowns lasted an mean of 8 days. 

What makes this shutdown different from nan others?

Trump has signalled that he whitethorn usage a shutdown to trim nan number of national workers, ordering national agencies to draught plans for sweeping layoffs if some sides cannot scope an agreement.

He said it could see "cutting immense numbers of group out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like".

Clapton said he believes nan management has immoderate leeway pinch backing decisions that whitethorn let Trump to occurrence workers crossed respective departments.

"That is wrong nan authority of nan president," he said.

Trump's threat comes astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic much than 100,000 national workers are set to resign from their roles aft accepting Trump's deferred resignation programme arsenic portion of his effort to trim nan national workforce.

It is shaping up to beryllium 1 of nan largest wide resignations successful US history. 

Will a shutdown impact recreation to nan US?

No, migration and airdrome information are deemed basal services and will proceed to tally passim nan shutdown.

It should not impact immoderate Australians travelling to nan US, but could effect nan value of nan visit, arsenic galore national services for illustration nationalist parks and museums apt beryllium closed.

"It's not needfully nan champion clip to beryllium going to nan US," Clapton said.

"People aren't going to beryllium capable to entree immoderate of those landmarks of nan American authorities that you usually would if nan authorities was functioning arsenic it usually does."

— With Associated Press 

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