Interview with Leon Byner, 5AA Mornings
E&OE…
Leon Byner:
Now, let’s welcome Stuart Robert. Stuart, thank you for coming in this morning.
Minister Robert:
Leon, great pleasure.
Leon Byner:
Now, you’re the NDIS Minister and I want to start at the very pointy end of your portfolio. There is a push that the taxpayer should fund sexual relaxation.
Minister Robert:
You mean prostitutes, Leon?
Leon Byner:
Yes. For clients. Where do you stand on this?
Minister Robert:
The Commonwealth is absolutely against it. For your listeners, understanding there was a case that went to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to fund prostitution services and the Commonwealth lost. I asked the agency to take it to the Federal Court and the Federal Court ruled that because the legislation doesn’t exclude prostitutes, therefore it includes anything. So I asked my state and territory colleagues to assist me in excluding it. None of the states and territories have come back supporting me. Indeed, the ACT have said: no, we must fund prostitutes even though no state and territory has ever funded prostitutes before.
So, I have no choice now but to legislate, to protect taxpayers from actually paying, for the first time in the Commonwealth’s history, services for prostitutes.
Leon Byner:
Will that get through the Senate?
Minister Robert:
I believe it will because I don’t believe Australians think that it’s reasonable, that they should be coughing up for the services of prostitutes, Leon. That’s that simple.
Leon Byner:
Do you find it odd that there’s even a public debate about whether this should happen or not?
Minister Robert:
There’s actually not a public debate. That’s what’s odd. No one is actually saying to me, you need to fund prostitutes. Indeed, the general public is saying the opposite.
Leon Byner:
Well, what’s- what’s happened – yeah. But you see, this is an inside job, again, I call it, where you’ve got various people, some of them activists who are pushing like hell, but they don’t talk publicly, probably because they may suspect that it’s not a popular move.
Minister Robert:
Well, the average Australian I speak to is aghast that we’d be paying billions of dollars for the services of prostitutes. Now, if people wish to use any services that are lawful in this country, they can do so with their own money. But you can’t bill it to the Commonwealth.
Leon Byner:
God. The fact that there’s even a discussion on this is extraordinary.
Minister Robert:
It’s insane. And the current law means I need to get 100 per cent of the states to agree with me. ACT has said: no, you need to fund prostitutes. And the other states and territories have been silent. So, I have no choice now but to move through, in the coming weeks, to legislate to solve the issue.
Leon Byner:
What do you think the other states are afraid of on this?
Minister Robert:
I don’t – I don’t know.
Leon Byner:
You’d think on the surface it would be a no brainer, but apparently not. So, what’s going on here?
Minister Robert:
It’s- it’s a no brainer. It is such a no brainer. And I can’t understand why the states and territories aren’t backing the Commonwealth on this one. I understand that they want greater dialogue with advocates and participants and their support workers. And that’s fine to a point except where the point is where the Australian people won’t accept it.
And the NDIS is an amazing, an amazing service, world-leading, providing incredible supports for over 432,000 people. And it’s beautiful seeing people get so many supports, but we can’t risk that and risk the public’s good graces.
Leon Byner:
What’s the NDIS bill right now approximately?
Minister Robert:
Over the next four years, $113 billion is what’s in the forward estimates.
Leon Byner:
Boy. So, anybody that needs NDIS support and there are a lot of people who do. Are you satisfied that through their service provider, they’re getting what they need? Because I know – the reason I ask you that is because hidden in that question is an obvious point that many people are telling us that: oh, yes, I’m getting NDIS, but not at the level I would require.
Minister Robert:
Well $113 billion, 423,000 Australians is a lot of investment the taxpayers putting into it. The NDIS is all about choice and control. So, it’s about recognising someone’s disability and the function that comes with that and then providing reasonable and necessary supports.
But it’s also a compact. It’s about formal support to the Commonwealth that line up with informal supports with family and friends and community supports. It’s not about the Commonwealth providing everything, it’s about those three working in tandem together.
Leon Byner:
So, if you are in receipt of NDIS benefits and it’s a good system we’ve got, but it might be on a level that’s somewhat deficient of what you really need. What do you do?
Minister Robert:
Well, it’s a National Disability Insurance Scheme, Leon. So, it’s not about benefits or welfare; it’s about insurance. So, it’s about a social insurance for all Australians.
Now, if there’s an Australian who was part of the NDIS and they believe their circumstances have changed, they may be getting a job which is wonderful, or moving out of home might be getting married, so a change. They can simply ask for a plan review through the agency to look at the support they need at this …
Leon Byner:
[Interrupts] How long does that normally take?
Minister Robert:
Quite – quite quickly. So, if you think about access to the scheme, 100 per cent of all access decisions in 21 days. So, plan reviews will take a little longer than that, but it won’t be that long.
Leon Byner:
Alright. So again, if you’ve got an issue with NDIS, go to your service provider, of whom there are many, and you shouldn’t have to wait too long.
Minister Robert:
Correct. And you can request a review of your plan because your circumstances have changed and that’s entirely appropriate.
Leon Byner:
Tell me, have you done anything to tweak the NDIS service?
Minister Robert:
Goodness. Leon, the list of reforms we’ve done in the last 18 months is as long as your arm and the list coming forward is probably half the length of your arm. If you think now that 18 months ago it took 42 days for access for children; today, it’s three days. 100 per cent of all access decisions were done in 21 days. Moving forward, of course, we’ll move into independent assessments to ensure it’s fair and reasonable. We’ll start looking at- well, knocking out the issue of prostitution; we’ll start looking at flexibility. There’s a whole bunch of reforms coming through to finalise the build of the scheme.
Leon Byner:
Have you, yourself as Minister, cottoned onto something that has been omission that you want to fix with regards to people who get NDIS?
Minister Robert:
Lots of things. The- for example, one of them is we don’t pay all invoices. Something like half the scheme is paid to self-managed and we, the Commonwealth, there’s no visibility at all about where payments have gone and we’ve noticed some terrible anomalies – people paying for holidays and for yachts.
Leon Byner:
For yachts?
Minister Robert:
For yachts.
Leon Byner:
Are you telling me that people have been getting some assistance form the taxpayer and they’ve used it to buy a boat?
Minister Robert:
Yes, yes. And this is what our fraud crackdown has noticed. And one of the easiest ways to get on top of this is for Commonwealth to pay every single invoice. It removes a lot of administrative impediment away from participants anyway and gives full visibility to the Commonwealth. So all that’s happening this year. We’ve had two requests for information and we’re about to go for tender for the provider to do that.
Leon Byner:
Yeah. So, in view of the fact that there are people who’ve tried to rort the system. As you will get no matter what you do…
Minister Robert:
Of course.
Leon Byner:
…are we saying here that if you are in need you will be heard and your situation looked at with greater alacrity, with a degree of speed?
Minister Robert:
Absolutely. There is nothing more important than providing services to participants. The entire scheme is designed with a specialist agency designed to support participants exercise their choice and control with their plan. Now, we need to be sensible with taxpayers’ money; anti-fraud measures are important. We need to ensure that if people’s circumstances change, we change their plan accordingly, because that’s the whole point of the insurance model.
Leon Byner:
So, let’s say you’ve got a need of level 2, and it’s suddenly, through circumstances, not of your choosing, level 4, how hard is it to swap?
Minister Robert:
Very easily. You’d request a plan review. The reviewers would look at your, either level of function or circumstances or change of need or change of life event, and then would adjust your plan accordingly.
Leon Byner:
Alright. Now, as you are a Federal Minister of our Cabinet, that’s national cabinet, I want to ask you about what’s the feeling about Communist China right now? And I ask you that because on Saturday morning, in Gouger Street, there were five vehicles up and down Gouger Street with some less than complimentary slogans on big placards on the rooves of cars, having a real go at Communist China. So clearly there is an issue.
Minister Robert:
We’ve got a wonderful Chinese diaspora in Australia, Leon. In fact, Melbourne, it was, I think, the first Chinatown outside of China, like in the world. So we’ve got a wonderful history there and mandarin is the second most spoken language in Australia. And of course, China’s one of our great trading partners. So we’ve got a wonderful relationship, but more importantly, a really beautiful Chinese diaspora here who are Australian, and they’re Australian first.
Leon Byner:
Yeah. But that’s the people, but you see the government over in China are not quite like a lot of the people, which is why they’re here.
Minister Robert:
There’s no question the Chinese Communist Party has a different value set and a different way of governing. The governing that is not compatible with how Australia’s chosen to govern. We’ve chosen a different path. And of course, the path we’ve chosen, the way we live our life has made us probably the most successful multicultural nation on earth. But if people have got concerns about any of these issues of other governments or other groups, I’d really encourage them, we’ve got a national security hotline – 1800 123 400, run by the Australian Federal Police and other agencies, and they should use that and they should call that. It’s only when community works together, do we solve concerns and problems.
Leon Byner:
Why is the NDIS Minister, Stuart Robert, in Adelaide today?
Minister Robert:
I’m actually here to join Minister Birmingham, the Finance Minister and the Premier, as we continue to invest around the country. We’ve invested $410 million into a building, but it’s a pretty big building.
Leon Byner:
[Interrupts] You’re going to make an announcement, are you?
Minister Robert:
We are. We’ll combine five of our processing and smart-sensors, so back office if you like, into one; 2200 people will work in that. And about 1500 jobs created as we build out a new facility.
Leon Byner:
So you’ll have 1500 spaces for new workers?
Minister Robert:
There’ll be 2200 of my staff in there, another five floors of any other businesses which take up the building; we’re taking two-thirds of it. It’s going to be 1500 employed actually building this building for us.
Leon Byner:
So once it’s built, any jobs going?
Minister Robert:
There will-
Leon Byner:
You’ve got the admin jobs already?
Minister Robert:
In short, we employ about 250 every month. That’s just the loss in Services Australia because we have a- we’re a very large workforce so there’s always a turnover. So, in short, there’s always a bit of 200 jobs every month across the country that we’re looking to fill.
Leon Byner:
Alright. Stuart, thank you very much for coming in this morning.
Minister Robert:
Great, pleasure, Leon.
Leon Byner:
And I hope you get to do everything you want to do.
Minister Robert:
Well, for the sake of the Australian people and the Australian purse, I look forward to continue to serve.