Transcript: Interview with David Penberthy, FIVEAA - 31 October 2025

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH DAVID PENBERTHY, FIVEAA

31 October 2025

Topics: Federal Government stoush with the states and territories over disability supports and hospital funding 

E&OE…………………………………

DAVID PENBERTHY: Well, a pretty amazing story broken overnight on the front page of this morning's Australian about this disability minister's meeting scheduled for next Friday in Canberra with the Federal Health Minister Mark Butler. Now, apparently the Feds have told the states that they are only going to be given two minutes to address the massive question of how you shift young people who are on the autism spectrum and are currently being assisted through the NDIS onto state care. Now, all of the state ministers have arked up about this and said that the offer of two minutes is frankly a joke, and as a result - I paraphrase there - as a result they've said stuff it, we're not coming to the meeting. So, we've got this situation where the biggest challenge in disability care in Australia with all seven governments - that's the six states, the Federal Government and also the two territory governments as well - are basically saying they're packing up their bat and ball and going home. It's an extraordinary impasse. I should say too that we have asked our state minister Nat Cook, and also the Health Minister Chris Picton to come on. They have declined or say that they are unavailable. And I think my reading of it is that they don't want to inflame things any further with the Federal Health Minister Mark Butler by publicly slobbing the bloke, even though the state ministers have decided to leak the letter to the Aus so that everyone is left in no doubt as to what has actually happened. 

We have the Shadow Federal Minister for Disability who is, of course, also a South Australian Liberal Senator, Anne Ruston on the line. Anne, what's your take on this? It's a hugely important issue, and the fact that they're at the point where they can't even talk to each other does not engender excessive levels of confidence, does it not? 

ANNE RUSTON: No, well, I think, you know, everybody should be pretty concerned about the fact that it's not only the issue that relates to the ongoing supports for young people particularly on the NDIS and how they're going to be supported into the future.  The Prime Minister, two years ago, tied this particular negotiation to the funding of our state hospitals. So not only is there uncertainty around the issue about the ongoing supports and the lives of people who live with disability, we actually have incredible uncertainty around where the funding for our hospitals is going to come from. And this is only six months away. The current hospital funding agreement actually expires - well, it expired this year, but the Government kicked it over for 12 months - will expire on the 1st of July 2026. And they're still having a fight about one of the issues that go towards actually getting that agreement in place. It is really quite terrifying, David.

DAVID PENBERTHY: As Shadow Minister, Anne, what are the sorts of things you are hearing from people or clients of the NDIS and their families, particularly families who have children with autism? There must be a lot of unease at the moment. 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, I think it is the distress that's caused by the uncertainty. The Minister turns up at the Press Club a few months ago and makes this grand announcement with no detail. We then find that the states and territories hadn't even been told that he was going to make the announcement. Subsequent to that, there is no detail and clearly the Minister didn't even know any detail about this announcement, about a program called Thriving Kids that is particularly targeted towards young people particularly on the autism spectrum. And nobody had any idea about it. And so, all of these families are left with this incredible uncertainty, and I mean it's months since the Minister made that announcement and these families have still not been given any details or any certainty about the future supports for their children. 

DAVID PENBERTHY: Absolutely. Senator Anne Ruston, thank you for joining us this morning for Breaking at 8. 

ENDS