ABC Radio National with Sally Sara - 14 April 2026

Melissa McIntosh MP

Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services

Shadow Minister for NDIS

Shadow Minister for Women

Federal Member for Lindsay

14 April 2026

Transcript

ABC Radio National with Sally Sara

Topics: Coalition immigration policy, NDIS

E&EO …

Sally Sara:

Reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the federal government sites ahead of the May budget, as the Government tries to rein in this scheme's costs. Melissa McIntosh is the Shadow Minister for the NDIS, the Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services and the Shadow Minister for Women. Melissa McIntosh, welcome back to breakfast.

Melissa McIntosh:

Thank you. Good morning.

Sally Sara:

We'll return to the NDIS in a moment, but I want to start with the new immigration policy, parts of which Angus Taylor is unveiling today. Do you agree with your leader that Australia should have a discriminatory migration policy?

Melissa McIntosh:

I think what Angus will be laying out today, and not jumping ahead of him, is reinstating Australian values into our immigration policy, which has been lost over time, and we've seen with recent events like what happened in Bondi. There's people here that don't share our values, and I think it's about time, the Australian electorate are asking for this. In my own electorate, well over 90% of people want changes to our immigration policy, and we're feeling the pressure of that in Western Sydney on our infrastructure, on our hospitals, on our schools. So yes, it is time for us to prioritize immigration.

Sally Sara:

Do you see migrants as an asset to Australia?

Melissa McIntosh:

Of course, I come from a migrant family. My dad came here in the 1950s to create a better life for him and his family, and worked really hard for us. This is the story of Australia, but we need to have the right people in our country who love our country, who share our values, and you have to be sticking your head in the sand if you can't see that there are issues now with some of that stemming from the people who are coming here who don't share our values. So I look forward to Angus speech today, and it will be a real marker for us about where we'll be going, heading to the next election.

Sally Sara:

What proportion of migrants do you believe don't hold Australian values?

Melissa McIntosh:

Well, you can see that with the with what happened in Bondi. You can see that with the social fracturing in our communities. If you want to come to Western Sydney, you can see that happening here. So, we want to ensure that in the future, we have strength in our migration policy, and the people that are coming here have our values. They want to work hard, they want to commit to our nation and then become good citizens. I think that's fair enough that we want that for our country, and that's what Angus will be laying out today.

Sally Sara:

But to bring you back to the question, what proportion of migrants do you believe don't hold Australian values?

Melissa McIntosh:

Well, is that a number figure? That's the issue that we're seeing right now with people here in this nation that shouldn't be here, that have had their visas rejected, and that will be a hallmark of Angus speech I believe, as well. Ensuring that the people that have been rejected from this nation will be returned to their country, and that the people that we have here, the people that share our values, Australian values. I think every Australian would want that.

Sally Sara:

You're listening to Radio National breakfast, my guest is the Shadow Minister for the NDIS, Melissa McIntosh. Let's have a look at the NDIS. Does the Opposition support the Government's goal to pull back the scheme’s annual growth of 5 to 6 per cent a year?

 Melissa McIntosh:

I think first and foremost, I just want to frame this in saying that we need some sensitivity and compassion around this particular issue. I know, through the correspondence with me, the phone calls, people even coming to my office over the last couple of weeks. Every time the government floats an idea about the NDIS and cutting it in some form, it causes a lot of distress amongst families, amongst participants. So, I just want to say that there's a lot of good people within the NDIS. Yes, it is out of control. The spending is enormous, up to $50 billion a year. And is clear that this is not sustainable. It is a way that we reduce growth, that is what is going to be important. I think that we should not be targeting participants, those who need the system most - the reason why the NDIS was set up in the first place. And I'm hearing horrendous stories about plans being cut without any consultation. A woman has her prosthetic leg gaffa taped to her. A man who is blind can't get stairs into his house. The NDIS has not given him the funding, yet on the other hand, we have mass rorting of the system with 96% of providers unregistered. So, I'd like to see the government go after the rorting first - cleaning up the system, and we're very willing, as a Coalition, to come on board and be collaborative in how we can ensure that the NDIS is fit for purpose in the future. So, cleaning up our rorting is one aspect.

Sally Sara:

Do you think that the footprint, the coverage of the NDIS should be reduced?

Melissa McIntosh:

We're certainly growing a lot larger than expectation, of what it was originally meant to be. We're up now $50 billion a year. I think the estimation when it was established was around $13 billion, 400,000 participants, up to nearly 800,000 now. So, you need to be looking after the most vulnerable first, and those are the people that have extreme disability. It has grown and grown and expanded. I want to see it come back to being about quality over quantity and ensuring that the reason why it was established in the first place, is the reason why it exists now, and some of the issues have been because the NDIS is sort of the last place, the holding the fort sort of thing. The states have exited Disability Services, and it's all on to this one system as a be all and end all for anyone with a disability. So going back to the framework of why this was created in the first place, but then also looking at the out of control parts of the structure of the NDIS is going to be absolutely key: the fraud, the registration, that's not happening. Even the government taking participants to the Administrative Review Tribunal to fight them on claims, and 75% of the time the government is not winning the fight, and it's costing around $60 million a year. Is this really necessary? So, it's a big clean-up job ahead, but we just have to be so cautious in the way we talk about it because there's very vulnerable Australians at the other end of this conversation.

Sally Sara:

Melissa McIntosh, thank you for your time this morning.

Melissa McIntosh:

Thank you.