Rick Morton is an award-winning journalist and social affairs writer for The Australian. He has covered social policy for The Australian since 2013 with a particular focus on large government programs such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, aged care, child care and the employment services system. He also reports on the broader welfare system, youth unemployment and politics. He is a country kid from Outback Queensland, based in Canberra via Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, and now author of his memoir One Hundred Years of Dirt.