Michael Sukkar MP

Interview with Chris Kenny – Sky News Australia

HE HON MICHAEL SUKKAR MP – SHADOW MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, NDIS, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS KENNY – SKY NEWS

Wednesday, 29 March 2023

TOPICS: NDIS BUDGET BLOWOUT, AUTISM DIAGNOSIS

Michael Sukkar

Well, Chris, we’re seeing two very stark and different messages come out of the Government on one hand. Bill Shorten before the election said there was no sustainability issues with the NDIS. No plan would go backwards under his watch. And yet, since the election, we see a concerted effort from the Government to continue to highlight the lack of sustainability in their view of the NDIS.

And we saw the budget blown on the NDIS in October of $8.8 billion. Yesterday we see reports in the papers that we’re now seeing an additional $5.7 billion blowout in the scheme. That’s a huge number to have blown out since October. We’re seeing the Government trying to walk back the assurances that they gave Australians before the election, so it’s very hard to tell is the answer, Chris, because on one hand you’ve got a minister saying one thing, a Treasurer and a Prime Minister saying something else.

And quite frankly, the numbers which pipe a different picture as well. I think what we do know, though, Chris, is we’ve got a minister hopelessly out of his depth. He was good in opposition in highlighting problems, but he’s been unable to fix any of them in Government. In fact, those problems are getting worse.

Chris Kenny

Well, there can be funding problems or financial problems in really two main ways. With the NDIS. This talk about service providers, are they rorting the system?

Michael Sukkar

Well, the Minister has made that point. I think there’s always going to be examples in a scheme of this size of areas where you need to have compliance and certainly under the former Coalition government we put in place compliance processes to make sure that the system wasn’t being rorted. But that’s a job that you always have to continue with this.

You could never declare victory on those sorts of issues, particularly in a scheme of this size. I mean, what we’ve seen since the election and I’ve highlighted these on your program, Chris, we’ve seen areas where people are now using NDIS plans for prostitutes and sexual services and we’re also seeing them now people utilising psychic services under their plans.

These are things that had never been seen before. And now with the Labor Government and Bill Shorten in charge, there are certainly a number of areas where people say, is that a really good use of taxpayers money? Because in the end, for every dollar that’s used for a prostitute or for sexual services or for a psychic, is a dollar that’s not going where it needs to and that’s helping Australians with a disability.

Chris Kenny

Yeah, it’s just extraordinary to think taxpayers money is being spent on some of these services. For want of a better word. Let’s look at the other side of this, though, and clients and the possibility that clients are being over serviced. There’s a big focus on autism, the number of kids being diagnosed with autism, and none of them being diagnosed with level one autism because that doesn’t get any funding.

All the diagnoses now for level two and three said they get NDIS funding. Does this need to be tidied up?

Michael Sukkar

Well, the Government needs to come clean. I mean, I’ve asked these questions. Does the Government assert that children with autism are being overdiagnosed or being misdiagnosed? Is that their assertion? If it is, they should come out publicly and make that case. I mean, the point I’d make, Chris, is that those families who just want the best for their children, who want their children to get the assistance, that early developmental assistance, which we know will set them up for life.

Those parents were given assurances by Bill Shorten before the election that no plan would go backwards, that the same scheme was sustainable. And now we see this drip feed of information presumably coming from the Government trying to lay the groundwork for this. In my view, I’m very sympathetic to parents who have a child with an autism diagnosis and them wanting to get access to the best possible services that are going to set them up for life.

Now, if Bill Shorten’s changed his mind on that, he should come out and make it very clear and explain why he said one thing before an election and he’s trying to lay the groundwork for something quite different after the election.

Chris Kenny

Yeah, look, everybody wants kids and families to get the best attention. Look, it might be a case of having some assistance for level one, so we get medically led diagnosis rather than having the funding system drive those assessments. We shall see. No doubt Michael Sukkar will come back to this issue time and time again. Thanks for joining us.

Michael Sukkar

Good on you, Chris. Thanks so much.