People with disability, their families and carers have shared stories of heartache and despair as a result of the Morrison Liberal Government’s ongoing failure to fix the NDIS.
Shadow Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten joined Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman in Richmond on Thursday 5 September to participate in an NDIS roundtable.
“This Government is sending people to breaking point with its $1.6 billion underspend on the NDIS. It is causing heartache for the very people it was intended to help,” Mr Shorten said.
“While the Liberals are propping up their budget by underspending on the NDIS by $1.6 billion, people with disability are missing out on desperately needed equipment, care and support,” he said.
“The experiences we heard at this round table, echo what I’m hearing across the country.
“People with disability, their families and carers facing red tape and bureaucracy and being told they are wrong by people they have never met,”
“One of the great injustices for parents is when the experts tell them they know more about their kids’ need than they do,” Mr Shorten said.
“People shared some very personal and painful experiences and it heartbreaking to hear how the system is breaking them,” Ms Templeman said.
“From the young woman who told of how her plan did not provide enough funds for adequate personal care and that she had contemplated ending her life to the families who are at the point of despair because of knock back after knock back for equipment that health professionals had recommended – we will continue to fight for you.
Hawkesbury mum and disability advocate, Linda Fenech said: “How can somebody who has never met my child, tell me that my child doesn’t need therapy once a week when a specialist has said they do?
“I work full time and I’m a single mum. It’s just terrible for us to have to fight. I don’t have the time to go and have review after review after review.
“The system is breaking us. I’ve had people tell me they’re giving up on NDIS because they can’t take it anymore.”
Parent and registered NDIS provider, Guiliana Ferretti said that while the NDIS had changed her and her family’s life, its implementation was deeply flawed.
“I’ve often said ‘we’re a fractured system but we’re not broken’, but I’m now getting to the point where I feel that we are almost broken.
“I feel like the government has gone, ‘we have this great idea throw millions and millions of dollars at it ‘but they’re employing all these people who know nothing, they know nothing about disabilities.
“My daughter has never met a planner and she’s almost 18 years old. We’ve just received a funding cut. We’ve just been told we’ve gone from 10 ove
