Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution in this debate. From the outset, how ruthless, shonky and dishonest is this government? That's what the Australian people have come to realise since the election. They have been taken for a ride by this government. In the last two days, the people of Northern Tasmania, my home state, have learnt that this government has denied NDIS grant funding to a disability support and recreation organisation, New Horizons. We know the track record of how shonky the grants programs of those on the opposite side are, but the fact that the Morrison government is unwilling to support New Horizons, who actually change people's lives and improve people's wellbeing, beggars belief. It really does.

I question the humanity of this government, which will not be assisting—will not be funding—an organisation that helps people to live a respectful and better life. Under the NDIS Information, Linkages and Capacity Building grant scheme, 28 grants were issued. You might ask, how many of those went to Tasmania? Well, I can tell you: it was zero. That's what it was: zero, to my home state of Tasmania. This news has gutted New Horizons. It's also gutted the northern Tasmanian community, because this funding black hole will not disappear unless the federal government does the right thing by the people of northern Tasmania.

I would expect—and I know people of northern Tasmania would expect—that the federal member for Bass would do more than just write a letter to Minister Stuart Robert. With all due respect, she's a member of the government. She should be banging on the Prime Minister's door. She should be banging on Stuart Robert's door, demanding a better outcome for her electorate. What we've seen from the local member is a report, as we've read in the local newspaper, that she has written to the minister. New Horizons—just in case she's not aware of what New Horizons does in northern Tasmania—provides meaningful physical and social activities for over 462 people in northern Tasmania who have a disability.

Well, Bass is a marginal seat. You would think that, as a member of the House of Representatives in a marginal seat, she would be in there fighting to retain her seat. Those votes alone will change the member for Bass at the next federal election. New Horizons, based in Mowbray, has existed since 1986. I've had a long association with them in the various roles that I had before I came to this place. People with a disability deserve the support of their federal government. But the funding that New Horizons gets and how they use it goes beyond just physical and social activities. Their work actually prevents social isolation associated with disability. And there is a crucial need for this important work to continue. It also plays a crucial role in building more-inclusive communities.

As I said, we've read in the local paper that the Liberal state government is going to contact the federal government over this decision. Well, whoopee-doo! It's a marginal seat. I can't believe that the federal member hasn't already been banging on the Prime Minister's door. We have a federal and a state Liberal government that aren't even talking to each other. So, I call on the federal member for Bass—who doesn't like to be accountable for the decisions of the federal government—to actually be a strong voice for those people from the disability sector and from our local community who need her to be that voice. I'd have to question, yet again: of 28 grants, I find it hard to believe—and I'm speaking about only one organisation in Tasmania, New Horizons; but what about the other organisations in Tasmania that have missed out? I wonder, is this another sports rort? How were the grants actually determined? Was it also done on the basis of marginal seats or target seats? Was it colour coded? I would really like those sorts of details to come before us. But the important thing is that we know that this government has never really been fair dinkum when it comes to the NDIS and funding it. We know that they've used it to prop up their budgets.

The Australian people and people with disabilities in my home state deserve so much better. We know that this government ripped $4.6 billion out of the NDIS to prop up their Claytons surplus while agency executives were being given huge bonuses. How was that fair? Massive delays and institutional malaise have seen more than 1,200 Australians with disabilities die while waiting for an NDIS package. It's a bit like the home care packages: 30,000 older Australians have died in the past two years. It's not a very good track record, and you cannot be trusted with the NDIS. (Time expired)