David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. What benefits will NDIS workers begin to receive this week? What are the risks of delaying the passage of Labor's legislation to reform the NDIS and ensure its ongoing sustainability? What will be the cost to the Australian taxpayer?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bean for his question. There are five bits of good news for disability workers, the 400,000 people who work in the NDIS, and I'd like to acknowledge their great work. First of all, all 400,000 are getting a tax cut—great! For all of those on the award, which is most of them, they've had a 15 per cent increase in wages since Labor was elected—that's good! They're going to access cheaper medicines. That has got to be a plus. Their superannuation has gone up—great! And, of course, they're getting energy relief. So that's five bits of good news for people who do a brilliant job.

But there are problems. There are problems with the sustainability of the scheme which undermine all the good work all these good people do.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Maybe the design of the scheme is the reason for the problems.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting. She was removed yesterday; I'll do it again today.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we see is that the NDIS is growing but it's growing too fast. I know members of the opposition understand that. They just couldn't do anything about it. But they know that problem. Now, the issue is it is growing too fast. So Labor has some propositions to help restrain the rate of growth. We've got a bill in the parliament. The Senate has had it for 12 weeks. They've had it for 12 weeks. The problem is that they want to now delay it for another eight weeks. This is the problem. Sometimes, you can delay things in the Senate and, really, the sun comes up the next day and the chicken still lays eggs. But sometimes things get delayed in the Senate which have a cost. This legislation, if it's delayed, is, according to the actuary, going to cost people on the scheme and it's going to cost taxpayers a billion dollars in waste—a billion dollars. The reason it's going to cost a billion dollars is that the Liberals need more time to ask questions.

But I want to put this to the House and the backbench of the coalition, who don't always get to hear what's going on—these are the questions which your senators need eight weeks to answer, but I think even the group opposite could answer this quicker than in eight weeks: do you think it is right that people can claim tarot cards and clairvoyance on the scheme? You don't need eight weeks to work that out. Do you think that it should take eight weeks to work out if people should be able to get cuddle therapy? Of course you don't. But, for whatever reason, you are taking eight weeks and a billion dollars to answer obvious questions.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Defender of cuddles!

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Assistant Treasurer is warned.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: it's on relevance. It's an obvious point of order because don't forget that this minister is the architect of the scheme—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Resume your seat. The problem with that, Leader of the Opposition, is it's an abuse of the process of a point of order. If it was anyone else, action would be taken. To abuse the point of order process goes down a very bad path, and I don't want that to happen in question time or for it to continue.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To be fair, I don't think cuddle therapy should be on the NDIS, but I think someone should give the Leader of the Opposition a cuddle after the week he's had! The fact of the matter is—and I'll just say this once—there's a billion dollars being wasted; 60,000 child participants could get a year's support. Why are you so oxygen-stealingly dumb to waste time on a billion dollars! Shame on all of you! (Time expired)