Ms ROSOL (Bass) – Honourable Speaker, I rise this afternoon to speak about the state of disability service funding within Tasmania. This is a significant issue, as over 26 per cent of Tasmanians are living with disability. Over the winter break, I met with several peak bodies and advocacy groups in the disability sector, and the message I heard from each was the same. The need for disability advocacy and services in Tasmania is enormous and current funding does not come close to allowing them to meet that need.
Disability groups outlined how current funding arrangements negatively impacted on them. For those groups who receive core funding, the amount they receive is not sufficient to enable them to fulfil their obligations and to meet the needs of all those people needing support. Some groups receive no core funding, and despite providing essential advocacy and services, they rely on project funding that they must apply for in the hope they will win a grant that lets them provide services in line with client needs. This situation is less than ideal for both the organisations and the people who rely on support and services from them. It is unpredictable and provides no continuity or certainty. Given that the needs of people living with disabilities are not likely to suddenly disappear, this lack of certainty directly impacts on them and their quality of life.
We have seen this play out with a particular organisation in the last month or so. Disability Voices Tasmania initially received pilot funding from the state government in 2017 to assess the need for advocacy and information for people living with disability and they have provided this support since then. Every member of Disability Voices Tasmania is a person living with disability, as are all the board members, and they have established themselves as an organisation that provides systemic advocacy for people living with disability.
They have advocated on topics such as the state response to the disability royal commission, education, health outcomes, housing, accessibility and transport. From their establishment via state pilot funding, they then received federal project funding for two years and this was extended due to COVID. It has long been known that their funding agreement ran out on 30 June this year unless they were successful in securing a further grant from the federal government.
Disability Voices Tasmania unfortunately did not receive a grant through the federal government’s ILC program. On 30 June, their funding ran out and they are no longer able to employ staff to do the work of advocating for people with disability. This comes despite the recognition that Disability Voices Tasmania has done invaluable work in the advocacy space. The Minister for Disability Services has refused to provide further funding because she considers it a federal responsibility. Here we are, in the situation that an important disability organisation has had to curtail its advocacy work because it has not been funded.
We also know Autism Tasmania did not receive funding in the most recent ILC grant round, and at the same time we are looking at future uncertainty around disability funding in Tasmania as a result of the federal National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.
We know the federal government is looking for ways to reduce spending on the NDIS. The federal and state governments have agreed to share the costs of funding disability services in Tasmania, but how this might work remains unclear. No-one knows what the foundational supports that states have agreed to contribute to will look like, or the services that will be included in the supports No-one knows the cost of these services to Tasmania, but it is clear the federal government is seeking to shift costs of disability services back to the state government.
The Greens have been fighting these changes at a federal level and were part of successfully sending the NDIS amendment bill to a second inquiry to further explore the implications of the proposed changes to the NDIS. Last week, public hearings were held as part of this inquiry. This was an opportunity for our Minister for Disability Services to publicly speak up in support of Tasmanians who live with disability and to advocate clearly for their needs by sharing the impact the NDIS amendment bill would have on our state.
The Greens wrote to the minister and the Premier urging them both to appear at the Senate hearings and speak up for Tasmanians, but they chose not to. The minister advised us that the states had written a joint submission to the inquiry and for this reason she would not be speaking separately for Tasmania. What a lost opportunity for Tasmanians living with disability. What a shame that the Minister for Disability Services chose not to grab this moment with both hands and make sure Tasmanian voices would be heard by the federal government, ensuring that we have our best chance of getting the funding model we need in this state.
Here we have two lost opportunities for people living with disability in Tasmania. First, the minister has chosen not to assist Disability Voices Tasmania by providing interim funding to them, neither has there been a commitment to providing core funding for ongoing advocacy by this organisation. Second, the minister has thrown away the opportunity to advocate for Tasmanians at the Senate inquiry into the NDIS amendment bill. What a shame. Tasmanians living with disability deserve the very best efforts of our government to fight for them and to fund the services that advocate for them and support them. The Greens call on the government to do more for people living with disability and back up all their words with meaningful action.
