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Category Archives: National disability insurance scheme
An Indigenous teen once featured in national disability insurance scheme promotional material was placed in state care after the agency running the NDIS cut his funding package, an inquiry has heard.
Providers and peak bodies have welcomed a planned crackdown on fraud and other criminal activity inside the national disability insurance scheme, warning organised gangs and dodgy services have for too long undermined the system and disadvantaging vulnerable people.
The new Labor government has also been urged to quickly engage with state governments on better integrating disability support into mainstream education, health and employment systems, with concerns over neglect of “tier 2” supports for people who can’t access the NDIS.
The chief executive of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Martin Hoffman, has resigned ending weeks of speculation about his future.
Hoffman, who took on the role in November 2019, was heavily criticised during the last government’s term by Labor’s then NDIS spokesman, Bill Shorten, who accused the NDIA leadership of losing the trust of the disability community.
In that exchange, Stuart Robert said he had been acting as the education minister for a year. But Alan Tudge didn’t announce he was stepping down until 2 December last year.
Perhaps the last five months have just felt like a year for Robert.
I’m the acting education minister, and have been for almost 12 months. So I’ve got full authority in terms of running the education portfolio, as well as skills and workplace and the other things that I do.
I suggest in his electorate. I don’t know where he is. I tend not to keep track of my colleagues’ whereabouts.
I’m not across those issues so, unfortunately, I can’t give you any degree of answer. They’re issues that are dealt with by the Department of Finance, very much at arm’s length from anyone. Certainly arm’s length from me. My responsibility as required by the prime minister as the acting education minister and the acting minister for youth, is to use all of those resourcing and requirement and continue to act in the best interests of the people of Australia, which I’ve been doing with my state and territory colleagues. That’s why just before the election, of course, we signed off on the national curriculum, which was a landmark piece of work that we did together as education ministers right across the country.
Again, Lisa, I’m just not across those issues in any detail at all.
I’m still not across what the details are. I’m not across what the legalities are.
Again, I’m not going to comment on things that I’m just not across. I don’t think that the Australian people expect the acting education minister to wade into every issue, especially issues that I’m simply not briefed on. My brief is to ensure that we can get the best possible curriculum and the best possible teacher education quality out of our universities, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Q: But senator, I do want to take you up on that. This was the debate we were having in the dying days of the parliament, and all the national security experts and veterans in the field say it was unhelpful and that the ALP was anything other than supporting Australia’s policy, so why are you continuing this line of attack?
Simon Birmingham:
The Labor party have created the points of difference in the way they expressed themselves and the language they used. When last in office, let our investment in our defence forces whittle away to the lowest share of the economy. We brought it back to 2% of the GDP, and having that credible investment is what has enabled us to strike new defence pacts and partnerships with countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, making us a credible partner for defence and strategic investment in areas of artificial intelligence, in missile equipment and investment, and the nuclear-powered submarines.
I think we have seen a Labor party, who when China were making decisions to apply trade sanctions and tariffs against Australia, Labor seemed to want us to reach a compromise with China rather than to stand up for Australia.
Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Press Club not that long ago – he suggested we should negotiate or settle some of the points with the Labor party – sorry, with China. Well, ultimately, we have to stand up for Australian interests.
These two are debating each other on Sky News tonight
Former South Australian senator Nick Xenophon, who is making another tilt at the Senate, wants a royal commission into housing affordability in Australia.
With house prices rising in Adelaide, and around the country by almost a quarter in just a year, the issue of young Australians being able to afford to buy their own home is becoming more and more vexed, and there are policy failures all round at a local, state and federal government level.
Only a royal commission can tackle this issue head-on by looking at a range of solutions that will get us back on track to make the dream of home ownership attainable once again.”
The National Disability Insurance Agency boss, Martin Hoffman, has apologised after his staff used the social media posts of a woman applying for the scheme to challenge her eligibility.
A New South Wales government plan to control feral horses in Kosciuszko national park will allow horses to remain in the only known habitat of one of Australia’s most imperilled freshwater fishes and risks pushing the species closer to extinction.
Conservationists say allowing horses to continue to roam around some sections of the park will put vulnerable wildlife and ecosystems at risk.
There are lot of reasons even though they don’t get as sick as adults, they have a pretty strong role in spreading it back to family members and of course that can include parents and also, of greater concern, the grandparents. The older you are, the impacts of getting seriously ill or worse with Covid is greater.
The other reason is just so kids can do what kids are meant to do – go to school, play with their friends, do sport, do exercise, do social things.
A Perth mother fears she will have to quit her job to care for her autistic son after his national disability insurance scheme package was cut by about 70%, in the latest example of what the opposition is labelling “stealth” cuts to the program.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) insists there is no “directive to reduce funding to NDIS participant plans” and that its so-called Sustainability Action Taskforce – dubbed a razor gang by critics – is “no longer active”.
Australian Labor party gathers online to endorse slimmed-down election platform and debate industrial relations, trade and foreign affairs. Follow all the latest updates, live
Labor’s policy should be framed to provide a positive and compassionate approach by a Labor Government to the treatment of refugees, rather than a reaction to the punitive and cruel approach of the Coalition Government. Refugees and those seeking asylum in Australia are to be welcomed under a Labor Government as assets who enhance this nation and our economy and provide positive contribution to our strong multicultural society.
In this chapter, Michael Danby will move this motion:
Labor calls on China to abide by its own constitution and laws which expressly allows for the cultural autonomy of the Tibetan people within the People’s Republic.
Tibetans must be allowed, as they are under Chinese law, to freely practice their religion, to learn and speak their language and to have official documents in the language of the vast majority of people living in the Tibetan autonomous zone.
Victoria recorded another 16 coronavirus deaths on Sunday as well as 279 new cases, as the premier Daniel Andrews expressed “cautious optimism” that the state’s harsh stage four restrictions were finally bringing the crisis under control.
“These numbers are heading in the right direction,” Andrews said. “They speak to a strategy that is working. At the same time, no one day necessarily guarantees the outcome – that is a long hard slog.”
NDIS quality commission says Integrity Care SA is being banned for a number of contraventions following an investigation into the ‘appalling circumstances’ of Smith’s death
The disability care provider for an Adelaide woman with cerebral palsy who died in “disgusting and degrading” conditions earlier this year has been banned from operating under the NDIS.
‘Do we simply get gagged?,’ asks Greg Mullins as NSW and Queensland bushfires rage on. All the day’s events, live
Greg Mullins continued:
This is very frustrating for this group of emergency chiefs, because had we spoken back in April, one of the things we would have said was try to get more aircraft on lease from the northern hemisphere, this is going to be a horror fire season.
We are only going to have seven of those large air tankers you saw at Turramurra saving homes the other day. They can be a decisive weapon. I have just come back from California - they had about 30 on one fire. But because the fire seasons are overlapping with the northern hemisphere, they are not available when we need them most.
On the meeting the former fire and emergency chiefs have been seeking with the prime minister and other responsible ministers about Australia’s fire preparations since April, Greg Mullins said:
I wrote to the prime minister on two occasions. I didn’t expect a response to the first letter in April, because of the election in May. I wrote a couple of months later, or a few months later, there was a response, saying he was unable to meet and a message saying minister Taylor would be in touch.
When I was able to speak to minister Taylor’s office, I did point out that he was probably not the right minister to speak to, with minister Littleproud, maybe the finance minister, but definitely the PM – he was unable to assist with that.
This government fundamentally doesn’t like talking about climate change.
I will probably say ... that is all I will say about that.
Government will offer standard interim plans for children who face long delays getting onto the scheme
Disability advocates say the Morrison government’s new plan to reduce lengthy delays in the national disability insurance scheme should only be a stopgap measure.
In a bid to reduce waiting times to 50 days, the new NDIS minister, Stuart Robert, announced on Wednesday the government would offer interim plans for children aged six and under who were expected to face long delays to get onto the scheme.