This week Q+A hits the road, broadcasting live from Newcastle. The Hunter Valley community is NSW's second largest city and is at a pivotal moment in its history – transforming from a fossil fuel hub to a clean energy superpower. How do people who've built lives, families and careers around the coal industry feel about this brave new world? And are our leaders up to the challenge?

The housing crisis being felt around Australia is particularly acute in the Hunter, now home to five of the 10 local government areas in NSW with the highest housing need. As residents struggle to find safe and affordable accommodation, what more can be done right now to help the most vulnerable? The head of the Reserve Bank says we need more people living in each house – but is that really a solution? And with another rate rise looming, how can households absorb another hit to the budget?

Health and aged care services are also under pressure, and the national GP shortage hasn't bypassed the city. As politicians debate the best way to encourage more doctors to regional areas and fill crucial nursing roles in aged care, is there too much talk and not enough action?

And Newcastle is a city synonymous with sport. Former NRL star Alex McKinnon knows all too well the risks of playing at the highest level – now with concussion and its long-term effects in the spotlight, what will policymakers do to keep players safe and fans happy?

Joining David Speers on the panel live in Newcastle:

Alex McKinnon, Former Newcastle Knights player
Anika Wells, Minister for Aged Care & Sport
Ted O'Brien, Shadow Minister for Climate Change & Energy
Nuatali Nelmes, Lord Mayor of Newcastle
Nathan Towney, University of Newcastle Pro-Vice Chancellor, Indigenous Strategy & Leadership

This week on Q+A… a grubby week in politics as parliament's toxic environment is again in the spotlight. Amid fresh abuse claims, a party room banishment and relentless questions in the senate about transparency and whether a minister misled parliament – it seems the much-vaunted culture change in Canberra is little but a distant memory. Is this just the new political normal?

Meanwhile… the NDIS, 10 years on. The revolutionary scheme changed the lives of millions of Australians living with disability – but a decade later, how well is it working for those who need it most? Amid criticisms of cost blowouts and dodgy providers, what will it take to make the program sustainable for the long term – and ensure it provides the critical support participants rely on?

The government insists it can find $74 billion in savings from the NDIS over the next 10 years while "improving the participant experience", but with a major review of the scheme not due to hand down its findings until October – is Labor acting too hastily?

And just what is the issue with drag storytime? Councils are being forced to shut down the reading events at libraries amid fears they'll be targeted by far-right activists. Drag artist Reuben Kaye – who faced a public backlash over a controversial joke earlier this year – says the increasingly vitriolic debate is a distraction, but a negative one that has real-life impacts. So where to from here?

Joining Patricia Karvelas on the panel live in Melbourne:

Bill Shorten, Minister for NDIS and Government Services
Bridget McKenzie, Nationals Senate Leader
Reuben Kaye, Comedian, singer and writer 
Monique Ryan, Independent member for Kooyong
Sam Connor, Disability Rights Advocate