Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It would have cost $5 million. They have money for new offices in the middle of Brisbane—we all know that the state politicians are in dire circumstances—but there is not enough for a trial scheme. I am sick and tired of hearing those opposite say that we are trying to make political capital out of the NDIS when the reality is that we in the Labor Party are committed to putting dollars forward, not just supporting it in principle. It is like their comments on education. The reality is we need to do a lot more. I am glad the member for Blair is here because he sat alongside me as a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs when we did the Access all areas report. That made the scales fall from my eyes about some of the challenges—

Mr Neumann interjecting—

Yes. I thought I was reasonably sympathetic but, until I actually heard the day-to-day horrors and about how something as simple as accessing buildings can interfere with your life, I had not fully understood some of the challenges that people with disabilities have.

It is easy to say you support the NDIS and be photographed with Everybody Counts et cetera, but the reality is it is what you do. We have seen the Premier and the Liberal-National Party in Queensland do absolutely nothing. To be lectured by the member for Brisbane and told that it is all one happy family and this is bipartisan is ridiculous and totally misleading.

I mentioned the Access all areas report because that was when I first had a lot to do with Minister Shorten, who was Parliamentary Secretary Shorten at the time. He is to be commended for having so much to do with making the NDIS a national program and a national goal. He has done so much to raise awareness. It could be said that, when he received that portfolio, he was also not fully aware of the challenges that people with disabilities have but, once he was aware, he became incredibly passionate about it.

Then we move forward to when the Productivity Commission reported and showed the areas of unmet need for families and carers. We hear stories in our electorate offices all the time. Obviously, the way to respond is by working with the state governments. That is the reality: we have a federation and we must work with state governments when it comes to implementing these improvements to people's lives.

Whilst state governments do not actually provide a significant number of services, it is the NGOs that roll out most of the programs with federal money. That is the reality. It is going to be a process where we work with the NGOs to make sure that we can improve people's lives. I have already seen it, and I am proud to be able to say that one of my organisations—Multicap at Eight Mile Plains—has already stepped up, whilst the state government has not stepped up, in terms of the NDIS trial sites. I am glad to say that some NGOs in Queensland have seen the opportunities that are there and have stepped up to make sure that they can participate. I have had meetings with so many of my peak disability bodies or those who interact with people with disabilities, such as Westside Community Services at Kyabra, MontroseAccess, Contact Incorporated, the Spinal Injuries Association—there are so many of them—and they are looking forward to the changes that will take place in the months and weeks ahead as real money goes into this scheme.

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