Today in Parliament, Abigail contributed to a debate supporting a call for the release of documents regarding the rollout of Thriving Kids, after repeated attempts to obtain basic information about the scale of need, service capacity and procurement for foundational disability supports have been met with vague, non-committal responses, raising serious concerns that people with disability will fall through the gaps before new services are ready to replace those being cut.
Abigail said:
On behalf of The Greens, I indicate that we support the call for papers and we do not support the Government's foreshadowed amendment. The request for information for foundational supports by the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice closed on 6 February. As I understand it, the purpose of that request for information was to understand the current capacity to deliver foundational supports for children under nine with developmental concerns and/or autism across New South Wales. One would think that would be the first basic step in working out the New South Wales Government's obligations in implementing Thriving Kids. Since that program was first announced, The Greens have called out the Government's lack of transparency and failure to communicate with the disability community about the entire process.
It does not surprise me at all that the Government is now using every trick in the book, saying that this is an extreme motion under Standing Order 52 [SO 52] that will cause all these issues for it. The chestnut I particularly love, in circumstances where we ask for documents on some of the most basic things and try to get transparency over what is or is not being provided for some of the most vulnerable people in this State, is when we are told that we would be diverting resources away from the Government's important work and making the thing we are trying to improve worse. This order will provide some transparency around the breadth and scope of current service provision and hopefully answer some of the questions and concerns raised regarding the scale of delivery of Thriving Kids.
I have repeatedly asked the Minister in questions on notice whether there has been any kind of needs-based analysis conducted to measure the scale of need in New South Wales. The response has been vague, non-committal words with no real answer. If the Government wants to avoid SO 52 orders like this one, it could begin by answering some of the questions we ask it in the ordinary course. Given that so little funding has been delivered by this Government so far, and given its track record in failing to deliver for people with disability in our community, I have little faith in the procurement process.
The New South Wales Government needs to step up and make a commitment to ensure that no-one falls through the gaps, by providing a fully funded foundational supports system for every person with disability in our community who needs it, regardless of where they live, how old they are or what their disability is. Cutting people off from support that guarantees social and community participation before new services are ready to be delivered will undeniably leave people at serious risk of social isolation, exclusion, abuse, neglect and exploitation. On behalf of the disability community, I put on record my exceeding frustration with this Government and its attitude towards people with disability.
Read the debate in Hansard here.
5 August 2026