Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would be happy to continue with the report from the point at which Senator Brown has left off, given the time limits that she had, and I will make sure that I seek leave to continue my remarks at the end. Just so those listening to the broadcast, and the sole individual who is here representing the Australian people at the moment and watching the work of the Senate, understand what we're talking about, this report that was tabled has been with the government, and we have the response from the government right now. The scale of the problem that we're talking about is people with a disability who have a need for accommodation assistance.

The data that informed this report to which the government's response is tabled today is from the 2011 report Disability care and support. The calculations then were that there were 15,700 people in state government managed supported accommodation and a further 6,500 in residential aged care. The estimated waiting lists at that time indicated that there might be 25 per cent more of the population who needed specialist disability accommodation. It went on to say that, with population increases, the Productivity Commission working figure was now around 28,000 people, or 6.8 per cent of the projected participants who might require direct assistance under the scheme. The NDIA estimates that up to 193,000 participants are on low to very low incomes and may need housing assistance from some source, including those with assistance.

There are a range of people that we're talking about that need to be considered in the way in which the government has chosen to respond. The groups that were identified were 6,200 people under 65 in residential aged care, 17,000 people in specialist disability accommodation—3,000 of those in institutions and 14,000 in group homes—and 57,000 people living in social and public housing. At the commencement of this process, the estimated unmet need for affordable housing is roughly 127,000 NDIS participants. That's a lot of people. People with a disability are overrepresented in housing assistance programs and are reporting on many occasions multiple barriers to accessing suitable housing, including barriers in the housing system itself, as well as barriers with the disability support system. The government's response really matters. It matters to at least those 127,000 people, plus all of their families, friends and co-workers who want to know that people with disability are being looked after in this wealthy, generous nation that we are.

Senator Brown indicated in her remarks the government's responses to the report. Let's look at them. The first recommendation is that the:

… Commonwealth and state and territory governments work with national disability peak organisations and the Australian Building Codes Board to examine updating the Building Code of Australia …

The government agreed with that. That all sounds very good. The second recommendation is that:

… accommodation for people with disability be integral in the development of affordable and social housing policy proposals.

The government have agreed with that. But, as Senator Brown pointed out in her remarks, they're pretty light on detail. So, if you're one of those 127,000 people or one of them is somebody you love and care about or somebody you look after in your community, I wouldn't be holding out too much hope for what the government have agreed to here. We're seeing a lot of comments that, to me, indicate a general waving at the problem but no detailed policy work, no careful planning and no allocation of required funding to make this happen. In fact, there are some very concerning lines I'll hopefully get to in the time I have remaining.

I believe that Senator Brown left off in her remarks discussing recommendation No. 3, which is:

The committee recommends the Commonwealth government explore all possible proposals for disability accommodation, and the ways it can assist in bringing them to fruition.

In the government's responses we get sentences like:

The Australian Government is committed to improving the housing experiences of Australians living with disability. The provision and regulation of affordable housing is primarily the responsibility of—

and this is where it starts to get dangerous—

the individual state and territory governments.

Let me tell you, I have heard this too many times from this Commonwealth government. Just remember that when John Howard came into power we started paying our taxes through the BAS forms. They are being filled in by businesses across this country to this day. Every three months, their tax comes to Canberra. There is a responsibility for us to make sure that the money that's required for basic services gets back into the communities where it's needed. The problem we're seeing with this government is that it's getting the money but abrogating the responsibility. I get very concerned when I hear this government saying things like, 'This problem'—the provision of affordable housing—'is the responsibility of the individual state and territory governments.' It refers us in point 3, where the government agrees with the report, to point 2. But in point 2 I really couldn't see any significant commitment that is going to go anywhere near addressing the needs of the 127,000 people who are identified as people with disability who have a significant housing need.

Some of the suggestions in the government's response make me even more concerned. One says:

NDIS participants will receive individualised planning to identify the supports needed to enable their goals to be met. This can include home modifications, personal care and domestic assistance in the home that helps a participant with activities of daily living …

Yes, that's the case. We know that. But what is the government doing about creating accommodation for people with disabilities? This response from the government is strewn with these sorts of general comments about what is going on in the NDIS space but absolutely not sufficient detail to give anyone confidence that it's actually prepared to deal with this significant problem, this significant reality, that is impacting on the lives of, I'd say, by association, millions of Australians.

The fourth recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme states:

As part of the analysis of proposals, the committee recommends the Commonwealth should assess how financially accessible they are for people with disability and their families.

Once again, instead of this government coming up with a scale to indicate what affordability factors need to be considered and what the reality is—instead of something detailed and careful like that—the opening comment of the response to that recommendation is:

The provision of affordable housing is primarily the responsibility of the individual state and territory governments.