E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
5AA MORNINGS WITH LEON BYNER
FRIDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2020

SUBJECT: NDIS Watchdog issues single fine despite thousands of complaints.

LEON BYNER, HOST: One fine, one fine only has been issued and only one provider banned by the disability watchdog. Despite more than, listen to this, eight thousand complaints being lodged in the past two years. This disability sector, which has had a lot of scandals, is going to get 22 billion from the federal government this financial year. And an independent review found the system left vulnerable people open to harm and neglect. Bill Shorten, Shadow Minister. Good morning. Good to talk to you.

BILL SHORTEN, MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG: Good morning, Leon.

BYNER: What do we do about this?

SHORTEN: Well, first of all, this situation where there's only one fine issued after 8000 plus complaints is unacceptable. We happened across this alarming statistic because we just put in a range of questions to the government and we got this answer. I mean, could you imagine - you get more fines from a speed camera on the main road in half an hour. A fine isn't a symbol of everything, but when you've got 8000 complaints, there's something deeply alarming that this government is neglectful of making sure that it's a watchdog, to make sure people are getting properly looked after.

BYNER: Bill, what would the reason be that they've only issued one banning notice or compliance notice with so many complaints? Why do you think that would be?

SHORTEN: Well, they do have the power, so I think it's a bit of a culture of light touch. I can't fully, adequately, explain it. But these are vulnerable people. We saw the case of Ann-Marie Smith, which you have covered extensively, and your radio station, the lady in South Australia who died of neglect, with one carer not apparently doing the right thing at all. There's been a review. My gut assumption is that whilst the government acknowledges there are vulnerable people, it's just not front of brain to them to do anything about it, I don't know. To be honest, words fail me. This is core business of government, to make sure that people receiving Commonwealth assistance are being properly treated and that the assistance is consistent with what taxpayers would expect.

BYNER: So what happens from now? Because we've got to we've got to protect the interests of those who are vulnerable. How do we do that?

SHORTEN: Well, I thought the review which came out of Ann-Marie Smith’s death, there was some good stuff there. Specifically, where you’ve got people with disability who are vulnerable to harm or neglect, that should be identified at the outset when you're getting government assistance. And what we need to do is make sure that no vulnerable person who's receiving these supports has a sole carer providing services. So if you're someone who has trouble with mobility, with speech, with looking after yourself, there shouldn't just be one person looking after you. There's got to be another set of eyes and ears, just to make sure that everything's going fine. I mean, so many people who work in disability are just fabulous people, generous, not paid what they're worth. You know, they give of themselves emotionally. But what we need to do is have a community based visitor scheme. There's a lot of good people out in the community who are happy to go and have a chat and a cup of tea and just see how people are going. We've had it in the past. This is not rocket science. It doesn't cost billions of dollars. But if we could set up a Commonwealth based visitor scheme, then what you've got is you've got a second pair of eyes and ears. I also think that the watchdog's got to leave the kennel. Simple as that. This idea that you just wait till someone comes to you with a problem, I mean, that doesn't appear to work anyway. But if you're a wrongdoer and you know that you're never going to get caught doing the wrong thing, well, then you're not really worried. I mean, imagine if our police force only ever sat in the police station.

BYNER: So really, what are you asking the Minister or the government to do? And are you saying, well, use your rules more vigorously, that you’re too soft on these organisations who make serious errors?

SHORTEN: I’m telling them to fire up. Give a stuff. It's not enough just to go to conferences and hand out cheques. If you're a Minister in a government that is such a great privilege, you have the chance to change people's lives for the better. Fire up. It's not just, let the market rule and leave it to someone else. We live in a world now where there's a lack of ministerial responsibility. Apparently, no one is responsible. So I would say put resources in the community visitor programs, make the system accountable to the people. And you know, we've had to fight for six months to get data released about the number of people with profound disability who are being infected by COVID or have passed away because of COVID. Disability isn't a second order issue. Now, maybe to some politicians, they think it's an also ran issue. It's not very sexy. It's not very important. You can't meet a lot of famous people or whatever. I think being a Cabinet Minister responsible for this welfare program is a privilege. And so you've got to treat every day as precious, not a moment to be wasted. And there's enough warning signs out there. Tell your agency to leave the office and get out and see the people. There's a lot of good people in these agencies, but leadership starts from the top.

BYNER: Bill Shorten, thank you for coming on today. That's the Shadow Minister for NDIS, Bill Shorten.