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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-04-30 Daily Xml
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Federal Liberal Government

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (15:21): Today, I would like to spend some time shedding light on some of the abject failures of the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison roundabout government over the past six years and how those cascading poor decisions in Canberra have directly affected the quality of life not just for South Australians in general but particularly for the South Australians who live with a disability.

The most obvious example of this mismanagement is, of course, the NDIS, a scheme designed to give choice and control back to those South Australians living with a disability, who for too long have been forgotten. Of course, it promised not to leave anybody worse off. Sadly, the potential of the NDIS has not come to pass through years of mismanagement, infighting and a revolving door of ministers that has included some absolute duds from the federal government benches, including the likes of Kevin Andrews, Scott Morrison himself—now the Prime Minister, rewarded for his failures—and Christian Porter. What had so much potential to deliver so much good to so many—

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the status of the house.

A quorum having been formed:

Ms COOK: What had so much potential to deliver so much good to so many has descended into dysfunction and bureaucracy. The lack of staff with expertise, the constant cost cutting from Canberra and the sheer volume of work have ballooned waiting periods for plan applications and plan reviews and left many NDIS participants short-changed and unhappy with their plan entitlements and inclusions.

Making matters worse is the fact that South Australia has the highest underutilisation rate across the country, meaning that South Australians with access to NDIA funding are not being adequately educated and supported as to how to access—

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the status of the house.

A quorum having been formed:

Ms COOK: What really has made matters worse is that South Australia has the highest underutilisation rate in Australia, meaning that South Australians with access to NDIA funding are not being adequately educated as to how to access and utilise their funding. The provider sector also is not getting the support it needs to increase and grow its capacity. What we see is a Liberal Party with its NDIS, in Treasurer Frydenberg's very first budget, showing a fictitious surplus for the next year—not this year, next year—which is propped up by a $1.6 billion underspend of NDIS funding.

Imagine what that could do in the hands of people living with a disability. While the federal government is cheered on by the South Australian government, which according to the Minister for Human Services does not have a minister responsible for the NDIS, people living with a disability are left underserviced. The government first pledged a full rollout of the NDIS by 1 July 2018, then 1 January 2019, then 1 April 2019, then 1 July 2019, and we are left wondering.

This is a government that by the end of this year will be stopping taxi vouchers for those people on the NDIS. They will be stripping them away from vulnerable South Australians living with a disability, leaving them stranded with no subsidised transport options to attend medical appointments, weekly shops or a social call with their family and friends. I am thrilled that federal Labor has pledged to drop the NDIA staff cap so that when they are elected this will allow the NDIA to get on with its job of assisting vulnerable South Australians as quickly as possible without artificial staff shortages grinding the process to a standstill.

Recently, I spent some time with the Royal Society for the Blind and Guide Dogs SA/NT clients. Firstly, I want to congratulate Guide Dogs SA/NT on a very successful International Guide Dog Day Paws Parade. It featured a huge turnout of both two-legged and four-legged friends with a walk from their office on Morphett Street to Government House followed by some incredible awards. It was a tremendous success, led by their patron, Governor Hieu Van Le.

However, I am concerned that vision-impaired South Australians are being robbed of the use of guide dogs, as the existing NDIS framework does not enable all costs to be covered. Indeed, there are only two being fully funded currently by NDIS-approved funding. That is two guide dogs only that I have been told about.

When questioned, and when this was brought to the attention of the media, the comments from the department were that 19 are funded. This is not true. About 17 guide dogs have ancillary, food, medicine and other costs funded, but only two receive the tens of thousands of dollars of training and support needed to put in place a guide dog to support someone with a vision impairment. I am advised there are at least 10 people who are desperately in need of a guide dog and they are awaiting approval right now. Some of them have been knocked back multiple times.

It is just further evidence that this interface simply is not working and that the Morrison government has mismanaged this social policy. Do not forget that there is $1.6 billion sitting in a fake surplus account waiting for next year, next July, not now. There is no surplus now; it is next year, and $1.6 billion of that is for a surplus that may appear in the ether. South Australians need to think very hard about whom they will support in a couple of weeks' time on 18 May, and it really cannot be the federal Liberal government.

Mr BROWN: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the state of the house.

A quorum having been formed:

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