Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, I want to talk about a great opportunity for seniors, people living with disability, providers and carers to come together in the electorate of Blair. The Blair Disability Links is an annual event that brings together organisations and groups that provide services, support and opportunities for those living with a disability, their carers, families and seniors in the Ipswich and Somerset region. The launch of the Blair Disability Links directory coincides with the International Day of People with Disability, which is 3 December. It celebrates the contributions and achievements of people with disability in our community. Since 2010, the Blair Disability Links has grown every year and demonstrates the need for disability service providers, people living with disability and their carers to connect and share information throughout our local community. I wish to acknowledge and thank the service providers, carers and volunteers who work so hard to improve and enhance the lives of people living with disability and seniors in the Ipswich and Somerset region. They do tireless and often thankless work but provide enormous support and wonderful opportunities for people.

It has been an absolute pleasure to hold the Blair Disability Links each year and it is probably the best thing I've done since I've been a federal member. I'm grateful for the immense contribution that people have made. Every year, we give out the Blair Disability Links and the Blair Seniors Links, and we've given out nearly 80,000 of those directories. I look forward to 1 December and the great celebration of ability and diversity that will take place at the Brassall shopping centre in Ipswich from 10 am to 2 pm. The Blair Seniors Links booklet is nearly 50 pages in length and the Blair Disability Links booklet nearly 100 pages in length. I expect them to increase by at least 20 pages as more organisations become involved in the directory.

Unfortunately, I must detail some problems some of my constituents have brought to me regarding their experiences with the NDIS application process. My office has received complaints ranging from telephone-only assessment interviews; excessive time frames and processing; assessment practices for eligible conditions, including refusals of long-term conditions; disregarding reports from treating medical professionals; insufficient funding within plans; impractical restrictions on how funds can be spent; and, in some cases, constituents have reported themselves short on funds due to provider fees increasing following allocation of funding. The common complaints seem to be, while bringing the potential for flexibility, the current NDIS procedures and practices, particularly around assessment, result in considerable difficulty and distress for constituents. I have requested a meeting with the NDIA in my electorate. I look forward to meeting with Carers Queensland, who have the contract locally. I look forward to the government finally getting the NDIS right.