E&OE TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECTS: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission leadership; NDIS legislation; CFMEU protests; Greens political party
KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: Let's go live to the Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten. Now, Bill Shorten, big news on the NDIS front today. You've announced the new head of the watchdog for the NDIS. Who is it? What do we need to know about her?
BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FOR THE NDIS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: Two good news announcements today for people with disability and Australians generally. We've now got a new Commissioner for the Quality and Safeguards Commission. Her name is Ms Louise Glanville. She's run the Victorian Legal Aid Commission for the last six years as their leader. We're also announcing an Associate Commissioner, leading human rights lawyer Natalie Wade, who has lived experience of disability and has recently done a lot of work for me and making sure that we have a system to register a lot of those unregistered providers. So, I've got two distinguished women leading our Quality and Safeguards Commission, which is another step forward. I'd like to thank very briefly, outgoing Acting Commissioner Mike Phelan, former head of the Australian Crime and Intelligence Commission. We've doubled the workforce in the watchdog and we've got them new powers through this legislation we just got through parliament last week. So, a lot happening to make sure that the dodgy providers are booted out and that we're delivering quality and consistency for people on the Scheme.
GILBERT: We've heard from some loud voices there critiques of your approach. What are you hearing from mums and dads and families who rely so much on the Scheme?
SHORTEN: Quite literally, I've been inundated with emails, text messages, calls in my office. People are relieved that we're getting the NDIS back on track. People on the Scheme, they know me and so do their families and so do service providers. They know that the Scheme couldn't keep growing at 23% per year. That's right, 23%. That was the last annual growth of Liberals in financial year 21/22. 23% growth, adding 15% extra people on the Scheme. Growth this year, probably 18%, number of people joining the Scheme around 8%. We've got reforms in place, which means that we're delivering quality, but we don't see money being wasted on rorts and overpricing. We've still got a long way to go to clean that up. But ordinary mums and dads, people on the Scheme, people who know this Scheme is changing their lives for the better. They're happy when we're going after the people who overcharge them. They're happy when we're going after the people who treat them as human ATM's. They know that this Scheme is necessary for the people who really need it. And the people on the Scheme and their families are the fiercest in saying please make sure that it's not being abused and please make sure there are not service providers out there just getting rich by exploiting people with disability in the taxpayer.
GILBERT: Yeah, well there's no doubt. It's certainly changing lives, that's for sure. And it's got the bipartisan support as we know this Scheme. So, yep, I think many wishing you all the best in trying to put it on a firm footing. Let's talk about this other thing. As a former union official and leader over many years, what did you make of the protests yesterday and the fact that the Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather was there? He says that the CFMEU hasn't been afforded due process. What's your read?
SHORTEN: Oh listen, I think Max Chandler-Mather would turn up at the opening of an envelope if he thought there was a camera. And you know, that's politics, but that doesn't add up to substance. I've got a lot of respect for what construction unions have achieved for their members over the journey. You know, they're well paid, they deserve to be. You need strong unionism. I'm a believer in our pluralist democracy that you need strong, honest trade unions. The reality is it's not the Government who has created some of the furore. The reality is that and indeed you talk to many construction workers, there are some elements of criminal fraternity who've seen an opportunity to use the strength of the union to try and feather their own nest and that's got to be cleared out. As for the protests, that's legitimate. it's a free country. But I also know that when it comes to doing the right thing by the workers of Australia, the Greens are very recent arrivals on that journey and if you actually want to get something done then you call Labor. If you want to have an outrage party, call the Greens. They're like a troop of kabuki actors, you know, they're performative. The reality is though, if you want to get tax cuts through for working class people, call Labor. If you want to make sure that Medicare is intact, call Labor. If you want to make sure that you've got bargaining rights, call Labor. It's core business for us. I understand the upset and parts of the CFMEU, but at the end of the day it's all about making sure that working people have got the ability to access strong, tough and honest representation on the protest.
GILBERT: And I get it, it's a democracy. But don't, it's a bit crook when they're using images of Nazis and so on and portraying the protests?
SHORTEN: Yeah, that's just clearly stupid. That's stupid and offensive. The reality is, in any protest, you know, protests can become magnets for rat bags and rat bag imposters. It is offensive. At the end of the day, I've learned, being a unionist or be it a member of parliament, being an advocate, you've got to persuade people. Don't shout at them. That's where the Greens, for example, on the NDIS, you know, they're just, the Greens will tell you where to go if you don't agree with them. And that's not persuasive. You know, it isn't funny. We defend people's right to protest because we want to have a democracy. But a democracy involves persuading people. If you think a placard with some sort of stupid caricature, offensive cartoon is going to swing people to say, oh, wow, this is, you know, let's find out more about this, this sounds really interesting. It's counterproductive still, you know, you can't, there's no law against stupidity.
GILBERT: Yeah, that's true. Thank you as always, Bill Shorten. Appreciate it. Talk to you soon.
