Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024. As my colleagues have already indicated, the coalition will support sensible measures in this bill—measures the coalition sought to implement but Labor actively campaigned against—but we will work constructively with the government.

Before I go on, may I commend you, Madam Acting Deputy President Hughes, for the work that you have done in this space. Of course, the NDIS and the broader issues are something that you have extensive personal experience in. Your contribution earlier in this debate was outstanding. I want to acknowledge that tonight and thank you very much indeed for the work that you do. I appreciate it very much.

At an appropriate stage, the coalition is going to move some sensible amendments that will be necessary to improve this bill. We need to ensure that the integrity of this system is preserved. We all—I'm sure there's unanimity in this place—recognise and value the importance of the NDIS, and we need to preserve the scheme's integrity, so our amendments will seek to ensure the sustainability of the scheme to allow it to continue improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable people within our community.

But what we have seen—Senator Shoebridge was remarking on this throughout his contribution—is that the government is rushing this through. This is true to form with this government. They do this pretty much across every area of policy, whether it's industrial relations, matters of education, matters of energy or insurance related matters. And certainly, when it comes the NDIS, here they are again, rushing through legislation. The stakeholders have said, 'Just pause, suspend this for a moment, engage more with us, put in place the recommendations and the amendments that are necessary to ensure the sustainability of the system to ensure that it's actively and properly meeting its needs.' But, yet again, the government is rushing this through.

It is disappointing to see that, yet again, they're doing this—for them to be rushing on a matter as important as the NDIS is doubly disappointing and is something that should be addressed. They have an opportunity to address that. They could and should send it back to the committee to get feedback and advice from the people who actually understand it and have skin in the game. They'll be able to make a solid contribution in recommending changes to improve the system and make it more sustainable. However, there has been insufficient time provided for proper consultation with the sector, and we have to make sure that we're addressing those concerns. There are widespread misgivings when it comes to this current legislation. It's important that we get it.

The opportunity for thorough consultation is absolutely vital, as I've been saying. Its vital that we get direct feedback from people that understand the system and understand the complexity of it. I met with a provider just last week who was expressing the frustration they find as a registered provider in the system working alongside all these unregistered providers. Matters like that need to be properly considered and addressed so that we can ensure sustainability.

The coalition notes that legislative instruments and rules are still under development, and the Senate and the disability committee have not been provided with substantial detail on this to date. The two-and-a-half days of hearings conducted by the committee pointed to significant concerns from the disability community about the 'lack of detail and the potential unintended consequences of the current legislation without significant amendment'. There is broad consensus. We can all agree in this place that there needs to be changes to improve the effectiveness of the NDIS and, importantly, to ensure its sustainability.

There is a unanimity when it comes to that first point of effectiveness. I would hope that there is unanimity when it comes to its sustainability, although some seem to advocate for a free-for-all, which, of course, would mean that it's not sustainable. We have to address these matters. Unfortunately, this bill has some deficiencies, which stem from a lack of real understanding of the impact. By pausing and allowing more time to look at it, the government can be confident, and this parliament can be more confident that the changes that are needed are, in fact, being put in place.

The coalition has always been fully committed to ensuring that the NDIS is fully funded and sustainable. Fully funded is a demand-driven scheme. It's always been clear that the NDIS has to be sustainable to ensure that it delivers not just for now but for many generations to come. It is quickly becoming unsustainable. It pretty much is now, but certainly, in years to come, it will become even more so. That puts the care and the need for that care at risk for all participants, particularly those most vulnerable. That would be an absolute travesty.

When Labor were last in power, they quite significantly underinvested in the NDIS. It was very poorly designed. We were able to make many changes in our time in government, but there was a lot that we wanted to do, but we couldn't get the support of the Labor opposition for the necessary changes, some of which are actually here in this bill. It's disappointing. I heard the Leader of the Opposition—I think it was in his first budget reply—offer to work constructively, in a bipartisan way, with the Minister for the NDIS, Mr Shorten, to reform the system to make it more sustainable. To date, there has been a stonewalling and a tin ear. It's unacceptable, because this matters to all Australians, and of course it matters most to those who are in receipt of and need the support of the NDIS—not just the individuals but their families. Those that care and those that are involved in the system need the changes. Labor stood in the way. I don't know why. Maybe they just like to play politics. This should not be a thing that you play politics with. As I said, Mr Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, has offered to work constructively, in a bipartisan way, to take the politics out of it, to ensure that the system is sustainable, that it's able to be worked out.

Labor underinvested, as I said, in the NDIS. We in government continued to fund it, yet we heard in the election campaign complaints and campaigning slogans saying that the government at the time was not investing fully in the NDIS, was not providing the full funding. Well, that is ridiculous, because the budgets year after year increased funding into the scheme. The Labor mistruths that come out throughout their campaigns were certainly not missing when it comes to this program.

We heard lots of other mistruths throughout the campaign—things that they also said that they would do that we know that they haven't done, and we keep debating those points, particularly around matters of cost of living. They say one thing but don't actually deliver. When it comes to the NDIS, they claimed that we were underspending on the NDIS, but we continued to put money into it, significant investment—because we do see it as an investment— into the lives of people who are most vulnerable, people who need, who rely on, the system. We invested a record $157.8 billion over four years to support more than 550,000 Australians living with a disability.

The then shadow minister for the NDIS, the member for Maribyrnong, said:

…You can't move around the corridors of Parliament in Canberra without tripping over a Coalition Minister whispering the Scheme is unsustainable.

I'm here to tell you today that is a lie.

That's what Mr Shorten said in opposition.