Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will make a very short contribution on this report. I came into this inquiry when it was already underway. Obviously it's an area where there is an extraordinary amount of activity happening at the moment with the implementation and full rollout of the NDIS.

While obviously the National Disability Strategy, as the report demonstrates, is a very important part of what governments are trying to do in this space, I do think it is unsurprising that with the extraordinary focus of the sector on the NDIS rollout that perhaps attention has been distracted from other areas of disability strategy for some time. That wasn't wrong. The NDIS is a very large, very complex change to the sector. It definitely is the most significant reform to the disability sector since Federation, and possibly in the history of western society. We've got a very significant change happening. The rollout is progressing; it's progressing well. That doesn't mean there aren't speed bumps. That doesn't mean there aren't problems. There are things that need to be addressed and fixed.

As well as being deputy chair of the community affairs references committee, I'm also on the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS. That also certainly takes a very collegiate approach to trying to identify issues, where there are problems with the rollout of the NDIS, and seeking to address them. It was very important in this space, where we do have broad support across the society, across the parliament, for the NDIS and for people with disabilities, that we do try to stay on a consensus ticket on this issue. I also think it's very important that we were able to deliver a consensus report, and I thank all members of the committee for their work in that regard.

I'd also like to extend my thanks to the secretariat. The work they do is extraordinary; the demands of both the community affairs reference and legislation committees are quite extraordinary. Again, I think they have helped to deliver a very high-quality product, a good report—one the committee can be proud of—and that should be noted. Thank you very much.