Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the chamber. This short statement is essentially on behalf of Senator Siewert, who is on leave of absence this week and who has carriage of this matter. The Australian Greens do support the obvious need for cross-party support for the NDIS and increased transparency for the rollout process, so this is a measure brought forward by the coalition that we support in intent but not in effect. We do not believe that establishing a joint select committee is the best way of achieving the kinds of transparency and broad cross-parliamentary support that this measure is going to required. We have spoken to a broad range of stakeholders who have voiced concerns about today's attempt by the coalition to form a joint committee. They are wary of action which adds further unnecessary oversight to an already very complex process. Other mechanisms, such as an improved Senate estimates process, would help ensure that the NDIS rollout can be examined closely without adding an additional layer of bureaucracy to the process. We have reached an agreement with the government that additional information on the rollout will be provided through regular briefings to the parliamentary friends of people with disability group, which, of course, has coalition members.

Senator Fifield interjecting—

We believe that this is an effective first step, Senator Fifield, in improving transparency. What we clearly need is an improved flow of information to stakeholders and to the community and we believe a clearer estimates process and improved briefings from the government is the best way to achieve this. I thank the chamber.