Page 2360 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 12 August 2014
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varied from no change at all to some reduction in rates. I am advised that in most instances any reduction in rates has been less than the figure quoted by the shadow treasurer.
Ultimately, the question would have to be asked: why would Shared Services pay over the odds for contract services, given that contractors are already paid more than their permanent public service counterparts who they often work in partnership with on a number of these projects? That is the market. That is the nature of this sort of work. But I think the important point to stress and to repeat again is that the assertions that were made during question time are not accurate.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
Community Services Directorate—
Schedule 1, Part 1.7—$37,505,689 (net cost of outputs), $10,083 (capital injection), totalling $37,515,772.
Schedule 1A, Part 1.8—$194,585,311 (net cost of outputs), $4,784,917 (capital injection), totalling $199,370,228.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (5.44): I will speak to the budget line item relating to the areas of disability, youth and Indigenous affairs, which fall under the responsibility of the Community Services Directorate. I will start with disability and therapy services. On 1 July this year the national disability insurance scheme commenced its operation here in the ACT. By the end of 2016 the ACT will have ceased providing any services and the financial commitment from the ACT will be heading rapidly towards the 2019-20 total commitment of $342 million as previously outlined by the minister.
I have stated in this place on many occasions that we on this side of the chamber along with all sides of politics welcome the reform to the sector the national disability insurance scheme brings and welcome the challenge of being a trial site for the transition as we move our entire disability community through to the new system over the next couple of years. The NDIS will truly bring choice and control to people with disabilities in the ACT.
What we do not necessarily see eye to eye on is the preparedness of the ACT for such huge transition. The ACT had plenty of time to prepare. However, as I have outlined on many occasions in this place, I am not so sure we are that well prepared. During the estimates process I was fascinated to hear the minister state:
Our community is certainly as prepared as we can be for the NDIS following the preparation that we have put in place and the conversations we have had with families.
I have complete faith in the NDIA and the work they are doing and have done since the starter’s gun fired on 1 July. However, I remain sceptical about the situation as it has been handed over to them by the ACT government. Many questions are still being asked and there is a lot of uncertainty in the sector. I am pleased, however, to see that conversations are being had on individual bases with some organisations and also individuals and that the one-size-fits-all model is not holding true in this case and there are some flexibilities in the transition to accommodate individual needs.
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