Rowan Holzberger (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to share the experience I had on the weekend when I met Rebecca and her little two-year-old son, Phoenix. Phoenix has spina bifida. He was born with spina bifida. He had a complication when he was a baby, which led to surgery. He can't walk, he can't talk and he can't even roll over. But you know what? This boy is perfect. You wouldn't change a thing. His smile just lights up the room. Everybody who meets him says what an amazing little boy he is. But he has had to fight along with his mother for the services through the NDIS that he deserves. He can't even get a wheelchair. It's the only way for him to wheel himself around. He's learnt how to wheel around, but the wheels are so big on the wheelchair he's got that he's got blisters on his little arms. It just shows how dysfunctional the NDIS has become when people like Phoenix, who the scheme is truly designed for, are not able to get the supports they need.

There's a lot of anxiety in the community. There's a lot of anxiety in my community, particularly on changes to the NDIS, but I genuinely believe these changes are going to be for the better. They're going to return the NDIS back to the scheme that it was intended to be in the first place. Kids like Phoenix are going to be able to get the support they need. Disabled kids like my adult child are going to be able to get the supports they need outside of the NDIS. I think that Rebecca and Phoenix are fantastic examples and a fantastic family.