NDIS BOSS COPS SERVE
A GEELONG MP has questioned the barely there head of the Geelong-based National Disability Insurance Agency.
Corio MP Richard Marles yesterday used a parliamentary speech to call out the NDIA chief executive Rob de Luca on his absence from the $120 million Geelong headquarters.
Mr Marles described the NDIA’s move to Geelong as a “critical decision” for the city following the closures of Ford and Alcoa, but questioned why Mr de Luca was rarely in town.
“This morning Deputy Mr Speaker, we learned in Senate Estimates, when the new CEO of the NDIA was asked where he was based, and would be based, he said, and I quote, ‘I typically spend a day to two days a week in Melbourne in Geelong’,” Mr Marles said.
“We’re getting less than a day a week out of the new CEO, and there were very unconvincing answers about where the senior leadership of the NDIA were based as well.
“I get that the CEO is going to travel, but where the CEO is based defines the headquarters of an organisation, and that must be Geelong.”
The office’s construction is not yet completed, but some workers are already based there.
Mr de Luca did not respond to Geelong Advertiser questions yesterday.
A spokesman for the NDIA said the group was proud to be a part of the Geelong community.
During Senate Estimates yesterday, Mr de Luca said he had an office in Melbourne and also regularly travelled to Sydney and Canberra.
He told the Senate Estimates his deputies were typically based in Geelong.
The new six-level Malop St NDIA office’s Geelong location came as part of a Federal Government push to decentralise its agencies, pushing jobs and benefits to the regions.
The building is expected to be completed by the end of next year, with 560 staff set to move in.
“I get that the CEO is going to travel, but where the CEO is based defines the headquarters of an organisation, and that must be Geelong.”