E&OE TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECTS: Recommendations on JobSeeker; NDIS reboot
PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: Let's get back to Canberra now. Joining us is the NDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten. Minister, good to see you. Thanks for your time this morning. I do want to start off with this Government report that emerged yesterday afternoon. The first recommendation of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee is for a substantial increase to the base rate of JobSeeker as a first priority. Will they get that increase?
BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FOR THE NDIS AND GOVERNEMNT SERVICES: That'll be up for the Government to decide, not me. I know that Jim Chalmers, the Prime Minister, everyone is aware of how tough people are doing it, and Jim has said there will be some measures in the Budget to help people, but we can only do what is responsible and sustainable. And unfortunately, the Budget that we inherited from the previous government is heaving with $1 trillion of liberal debt. So, can't do everything.
STEFANOVIC: Sure. And I get this is a question for the Treasurer and he will ask he will answer will they get it? But do you think, should they?
SHORTEN: It's very tough at the moment when you're on the breadline or below it. I'm not going to insult anyone and say that it's easy. I know that the government's been putting measures in place, other measures other than the specific one asked by this economic committee. So Labor is doing what it can and that's what we always try to do.
STEFANOVIC: What about the current level? $700 bucks or thereabouts a fortnight for a single? Is that enough in the current cost of living standards?
SHORTEN: Well, I couldn't live on it, so I'm not going to say that it's easy for people, but the decision about raising any rate is going to be one for the Government and our economic team. Sure. And I do have to put it in the context that this is not - it's not the only issue out there. There's a lot of people doing it tough in a whole range of areas. Thank goodness we've put in some of our places to help put downward pressure on energy prices last year. I mean, the reality is that all of this comes from within how Australia is going. And we've inherited a system where we've got skills shortages. Our energy market's not strong. I know that in my area of the NDIS, people who are profoundly disabled, we're doing pretty good things for them at the moment. We want to do some more good things. So, we do what we can, where we can and that's what motivates us.
STEFANOVIC: Yeah, and I will get you on that. Just one more question on this report and if the reporting is correct this morning that the Treasurer will say no to this increase in JobSeeker payments, why commission a report if a main or top recommendation is not accepted?
SHORTEN: Well, I think that the economic committee that you're talking about has made a lot of recommendations. And I think it is an important addition, both in terms of evidence and in terms of propositions and policies. So, I don't think it's as simple ‘unless you do everything we said, then the committee is not having an impact’. I don't think that's right. I think it's a lot more complex and a lot broader than just one issue.
STEFANOVIC: Okay. To the NDIS. Now, given the changes that you announced yesterday, and you just mentioned some of them just then briefly, but will the overall cost of the scheme now reduce or increase?
SHORTEN: No, the scheme will still be supporting people. It's not about cutting. But I do think that what we can do is make sure that every dollar in the scheme gets through to the people for whom it was designed. And I think when we do that, that will actually help deflate some of the inflationary cost growth. I want to say, though, through you to people on the scheme and to their families and to people who support people with disability in this country, the NDIS is here to stay. We helped create it. It has had, though, a fair bit of neglect in the last nine years in terms of its increasing costs. That's not all going to be sorted out tomorrow. What we need to do is make sure that when people on the scheme are dealing with the government, that they get humane, empathetic treatment by people who understand disability. I think if we move to longer term decision making, that'll help. What I mean by that is did you know, Pete, that most people on the scheme every year have to go through their package again and check again? That's pretty expensive. It's pretty stupid as well because when you've got a permanent disability, if you're blind, you can't see, and your sight isn't returned or if you're in a wheelchair. So, with longer term planning it will take out some of the inhumane bureaucracy. We do want to clamp down on unethical conduct. By that I mean everything from crooks who are scamming the scheme to some providers overcharging or over-servicing participants. We also need to tackle the system beyond the NDIS. The NDIS in itself can't deliver independence for people with disability. We've got to make sure that the school system is working, that the mental health system is working, that kids who might have a developmental delay in their very early years are getting support early enough that they don't need to be on the scheme for a long time.
STEFANOVIC: You're looking at costs exceeding $50 billion by 2026, though. I mean, that is a huge weight on the Budget. It sounds to me from your explanation just then that there will not be any cuts coming up in this budget.
SHORTEN: Well, it's not as simple as saying just cut something. The point about it is - well, there's a couple of points there. Let's be really straight. Sometimes journalists go to the headline cost of the programme in isolation. If the scheme wasn't there, the cost wouldn't disappear miraculously, you'd just have a crisis ridden scheme. It's not an exaggeration to say that before the NDIS it was a catastrophe system where you had to be in worse trouble tomorrow than today to get funding. And if you're in a crisis by next week under the old scheme, that's when you'd finally get funding. So, the other thing is that it is making a life changing difference for a lot of people. But do I think that we can help make the scheme spend smarter rather than spend more? Yes. But this isn't about just saying to people in wheelchairs or people with white canes or kids with developmental delays that we're walking away. We're not. The scheme is here to stay, but I do think it can be run better. And I know that people with disabilities and the broader community by and large agree with me on that. We want to get the over-chargers out. We want to get the bureaucratic stupidities out of the system. We want to step up and make sure that, for instance, when people with severe needs have housing, that that housing service is the right service for them and it's not the wrong service.
STEFANOVIC: Okay. Bill Shorten, appreciate your time, as always. Thank you. We'll talk to you soon.
