5 years ago
CONFLICTS, BUNGLING & CHAOS AT TOP OF DISABILITY AGENCY
BILL SHORTEN MP
Tim Rubenach died in pain still waiting for the NDIA to send him a specialised bed and wheelchair he had been been promised.
Conflicted NDIA chair Helen Nugent has so far refused to tell Mr Rubenach’s loved ones or the Australian public why she had private information about his case sent to her Macquarie Bank email and the nature of that information.
Ms Nugent and NDIS Minister Stuart Robert are pretending there is no issue with her corporate conflict.
But here it is:
Ms Nugent is a former Macquarie director.
Macquarie wants to profit from NDIS work.
Ms Nugent holds NDIA meetings at an office she retains at Macquarie and maintains a Macquarie email.
Under questioning by Labor in Senate Estimates, the Secretary of the Department of Social Services, Kathryn Campbell, has now revealed:
Conflicted NDIA chair Helen Nugent has so far refused to tell Mr Rubenach’s loved ones or the Australian public why she had private information about his case sent to her Macquarie Bank email and the nature of that information.
Ms Nugent and NDIS Minister Stuart Robert are pretending there is no issue with her corporate conflict.
But here it is:
Ms Nugent is a former Macquarie director.
Macquarie wants to profit from NDIS work.
Ms Nugent holds NDIA meetings at an office she retains at Macquarie and maintains a Macquarie email.
Under questioning by Labor in Senate Estimates, the Secretary of the Department of Social Services, Kathryn Campbell, has now revealed:
- A review commissioned by the Department found using the private emails “was not best practice and introduced privacy risk”
- Because of Ms Nugent’s actions NDIA staff will now have to chase down emails containing NDIA information on private servers - like Macquarie’s - take them off those servers, return the information to the NDIA, and delete them on those servers.
What a lot of costly cleaning up the organisation is having to do because of the actions of its bungling and conflicted chair.
Ms Nugent is meant to be leading the NDIA not using it as her mop up squad everytime she makes a mess.
The Department admitted resources that should be being used to help people with disability are now being expended spoonfeeding the chair, buying her special computer equipment, organising a portal and teaching her how to access her NDIA email.
While the chair is embroiled in conflict controversies, six days into his new job CEO Martin Hoffman had to deleted his Twitter account containing pro-Trump and anti-union tweets.
Posts supportive of Liberal MPs and critical of Labor remain on his LinkedIn account.
And eight days into his job, without solving one of the many issues besieging the NDIS, Mr Hoffman has been gifted an outrageous $166,260 bonus on top of his pay packet of $554,220.
This is amateur hour at the highest ranks of the NDIA.
People with disability deserve focussed independent leadership of this vital Agency.
NDIS Minister Stuart Robert must say whether these two retain his support, whether Ms Nugent is seeking reappointment, and in light of her troubled stewardship, whether the Minister will grant it.