Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Hansard source

I commend Senator Steele-John for putting forward this motion. It's NDIS Tuesday. Normally, it's NDIS Monday, but, of course, it's budget week, so it's NDIS Tuesday. For those that play along at home, transmission Tuesday is also coming up, so there are a few things on today.

Yesterday I went to my son's school. He attends a special school. We had a very, very early morning Mother's Day breakfast. I somehow feel early morning breakfast on Mother's Day is an anathema! But, anyway, there we were, in the morning. I looked around at this beautiful school and these beautiful kids, and every single one of those kids is going to need lifelong supports. They don't have a speech delay. They don't have a minor global developmental delay. They haven't stubbed their toe. These kids have significant disabilities and are going to require supports for the rest of their lives.

As I stood around talking to the other mums who were there, those of us that have got kids a little bit older—we all started our journey before the NDIS, so we remember what it was like when we did have to rely on the states, if there was anything available. I can tell you, in rural and regional New South Wales, that was not the case where we lived at the time. So the NDIS has been an absolutely life-changing scheme for my family and for the families of these kids. It certainly will be for younger kids coming through. The government is saying to families that are going to come through on the back of this new legislation, 'Don't worry; there'll be foundational supports. We're going to push you all back into the state system,' when we know that there are no supports in the school system. The school system vacated the field. The states left disability well alone as soon as the NDIS came into play. In fact, in any single allied health community program that they were delivering, they couldn't run away fast enough.

You can't just stand this stuff up again overnight. The problem we've got on top of that is the NDIS price guide, which is just an abomination. This price guide has put the fees so high for NDIS participants—more than if you're on a healthcare card; more than if you're a veteran; more than if on aged care—that the NDIS is the best-paying gig in town. So there's no way someone who's gone into private practice as an occupational therapist or a speech therapist is going back to work for a state funded salary in community health. They're just not, because they can charge NDIS participants at the most ludicrous rate. Do we hear anyone talk about the price guide? Do we hear anyone talk about what the providers are doing in gouging this sector? That is absolutely what is happening.

We don't know where these cuts are going to come from, but I can tell you where you could save a lot of money—by getting rid of that price guide. Let the market decide the price. People would pay what a normal person would pay. When I say 'normal person', I mean someone who walks in off the street—before I am verballed on that—rather than someone who's an NDIS participant.

The point has been made by both of my colleagues here in the Senate that this is in the budget already. It's already in the budget from last year, so we don't know what's coming tonight. There could be another almighty whack tonight, and we don't know what that's going to be. The thing is, the Labor government have an almost golden opportunity, if they want to bring the states back to the table and change the funding arrangement, because aside from Tasmania there are wall-to-wall Labor state governments. They have a sea of red—and look how well the country is going with that! It's going really well for everybody; that cost-of-living crisis is awesome! Wall-to-wall red governments and—

I'm sorry, Senator Farrell, your turn to speak was to actually provide the figures you were asked to provide. So, rather than interjecting on me, provide the documents you've been required to provide by order of this Senate. Stop interjecting over me and do your job.

The people of Australia deserve more than this government. The people on the NDIS deserve more than this government. What they are getting from you is opacity. What they are getting from you is deceit. What they are getting from you is contempt and this behaviour that continues when you have an opportunity. Bill Shorten referred to Senator Reynolds and others, when they were in opposition, as a 'pearl-clutching kabuki theatre', because there was no sustainability issue according to him. He told every disability provider, every participant in this country—the whole sector—'There is no sustainability issue.' This lot don't know what they're talking about.

Day 1, he comes in saying, 'Oh, the NDIS isn't sustainable. Hey, come and help me try and fix it—but we're not going to tell you how.' He is frightening families. He is frightening participants. And we know that the next generation of kids with a disability coming through are going to be hung out to dry by you.

Question agreed to.