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Thursday, 15 March 2012
Page: 1897

Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (15:32): I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research (Senator Evans) to a question without notice asked by Senator Siewert today relating to disability reform.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in article 4.3 points out:

In the development and implementation of legislation and policies to implement the present Convention, and in other decision-making processes concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities, States Parties shall closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations.

Everybody in this place supports the principles of the NDIS and we for one congratulate the government for progressing this issue. We have no truck with that particular issue. What we do have some concerns about, and what has been raised with me, is the level of involvement of people with disabilities from the very beginning in discussions on the NDIS.

We are aware that there has been an advisory panel put in place, and I am not casting any aspersions on that panel but the increasing trend of governments, not just this government, is for panels of this nature not to be representative of organisations. The representatives are there for their expertise. While we recognise the need for expertise on these bodies, it does somewhat limit their ability to then go and consult, because very often they are bound by issues of confidentiality. It has been raised with me that people with disabilities and their organisations are feeling that they are not being adequately consulted. While the building blocks of the NDIS are being put in place, they feel that they do not know what is going on with the very scheme that is supposed to be about meeting their needs.

It is generally recognised and agreed that people living with a disability have not been adequately supported in this country. There is universal support for additional resources for people living with a disability. There is also very strong support for the provision of client-directed disability services—in other words, that people get to make decisions about their own lives from woe to go. This is why a national disability insurance scheme is so important, but unless we include people with a disability in the decision-making process from the very beginning we are not, firstly, meeting our responsibilities under the convention but, secondly and most importantly, keeping true to what an NDIS is supposed to be about.

I do understand—and I have been involved in estimates questions about this—that the government has in fact put over $10 million into the establishment of the NDIS. I also recognise that it needs to consult very carefully with the states and territories. I further understand that the states and territories have been reluctant to put in place an engagement strategy to enable the Commonwealth and the states and territories to go and talk to people with a disability to ensure that they are included from the beginning. While we have a process where the government is investing in and building up the service providers—because they are going to be essential in delivering an NDIS—they are not the first people that we are responsible to in an NDIS. The first people we are responsible to in implementing an NDIS are those very people living with a disability. Surely, they need to be as included and supported as care providers.

That is why I was asking the minister today, before this process gets too far down the track, how people with a disability are being included in this planning process so that they get a say from the beginning about what works and what does not work. We the Greens fully recognise the need to include service providers, because if we start this scheme and those services are not up to scratch we are not going to succeed. I get that, but what I do not get is why the states and territories are reluctant to include people with disabilities and why they are putting up barriers for their inclusion. While this continues, you are not going to get the support of people with a disability for such a scheme. I will say again: the Greens strongly support an NDIS and we want to make sure it is the best possible scheme so we can claim it as the world's best.

Question agreed to.