I see recent reports in the media that 15 to 20 per cent of the cost of the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) is due to major criminal gangs defrauding the scheme.
Like all big costing government schemes, there will always be crooks trying to rip off the Australian taxpayer. Whilst working in Sydney with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2017/18, I presided over criminal proceedings where crooked operators ripped millions out of the Federal Child Care Subsidy scheme by such ruses as using the names of children who do not exist (an old trick).
The NDIS, introduced in 2013 by Julia Gillard, is now funded 60 per cent by the Commonwealth and only 40 per cent by the states and territories. (It was meant to be 50/50.) From 2017 to 2020, the cost of the scheme increased by 48 per cent. In 2020/21, the scheme cost the Commonwealth Government $24.6 billion, and by 2025, it is estimated it will cost $30 billion. That is unsustainable.
I must say, I never thought Julia Gillard should have implemented the scheme, as it appeared to be an open chequebook even in 2013.
The latest revelation is scary. All federal parties support the scheme, so it won’t be ditched and replaced with something more realistic (and possibly better) any time soon.
So, the new federal government needs to do whatever is necessary to weed out the crooks and make the scheme more efficient.
I can also give two glaring examples of unrealistic and unnecessary costs involved in the current scheme. Did you know a business providing gardening services can charge the scheme up to $112 per hour for gardening services? Most gardeners I know would be happy with $50 to $60 per hour.
I also heard in the media that a disabled patient got his sex services covered. As this is a family paper, I won’t say what services he got, but this, to my mind, is ludicrous.
Clearly, there is a lot of waste to clean up. It’s not Albo’s fault yet. The previous government administered it for nine years. Good luck to Minister Bill Shorten in cleaning it up.
On the local scene, I see our new Senator David Pocock is not happy with the upcoming Press Gallery Midwinter Ball at Parliament House because fossil fuel companies sponsor it. David needs to reflect on what coal and gas exports means for Australia.
If we get rid of our coal and gas industries, we will be bankrupt, and, what’s more, help increase global emissions, because our coal is less damaging to the planet than, say, Russian coal. India has said it will turn to Russia if it can’t get our good coal. India needs coal to bring 300 million Indians out of poverty. Our cleaner coal helps them do that. Russian coal will only help Putin remain in the Ukraine and kill more innocent Ukrainians, not to mention increasing global emissions as well.
And by the way, the Press Gallery Ball helps a number of charities, including the Ukraine relief fund.
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