Transport Subsidy Scheme

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding the SA taxi subsidy scheme.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: In March 2019, the Minister for Human Services stated in this place in relation to the SA taxi subsidy scheme:

There's been numerous exchanges of letters between the federal minister and myself.

Freedom of information documents obtained by the opposition from her office, the Minister for Transport's office and the federal NDIS minister's office reveal that there have been no letters exchanged between her office and the federal minister since she became minister. My questions to the minister are the following: has the minister misled the parliament; will she make a personal explanation; and what has she actually done to advocate for people living with disabilities in South Australia to the commonwealth?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for her question. The answer to her question is that there are numerous letters between myself and whichever minister is responsible for the NDIA, which the Hon. Stuart Robert has been since the May election last year. Usually in those letters there are a range of issues. Some are quite technical, that relate to regulations and the like and other decisions that might be made at the Disability Reform Council level—agreements with rule changes and the like.

The nature of other communications we have is that there are communications which will contain a number of issues in those. I think I tabled a letter co-signed by the Hon. Stephan Knoll last year which we sent to the NDIA, so we have had exchanges. That might have been during the caretaker period, which might have been what I was specifically referring to to the honourable member in that during the caretaker period we exchanged letters with the NDIA in preference to the minister on this specific topic.

There are also other means by which I communicate with minister Robert—clearly by telephone call and a range of other areas. We have very regular Disability Reform Council meetings, and I can assure honourable members that this issue has been raised by South Australia on very regular occasions, probably more than other jurisdictions.

The current status of the transport issue is, as I think I have previously reported, that the NDIA was undertaking a review of transport. It might have actually been the October Disability Reform Council meeting that it was agreed nationally that there would be a review of the transport scheme given that I think the commonwealth had heard that a number of transport users had not received adequate funding in their transport plans.

So there is a series of different levels at which recipients—or participants, as they are referred to—could have that included in their plan as well as in other components of their plan. My understanding is that those reviews are in place and that my department, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure and the NDIA are all engaged with overseeing that review so that individual participants are beginning to see that funding flow through into their plans in an increased manner.