Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Blair for bringing this motion to the parliament and the member for Gippsland for his contribution to the debate. Before entering parliament I worked with people with disabilities and I believe that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is a big step in the right direction, something that is very long overdue. I have great pleasure in supporting this motion before the House today.

The Productivity Commission Report into disability carers support was groundbreaking and I have to congratulate the member for Maribyrnong for the role that he played when he was parliamentary secretary. He was totally committed to ensuring that people with disability actually got a better deal than they have had in the past. The report highlights the importance of funding, it highlights the importance of access to services and it really details the issues that are important for people with disabilities and their carers.

I do not think there would be a member in this parliament who has not had the parents of a child with a disability come to see them and express their fears and worries about what is going to happen to that child as they become older: that there are not the proper supports in place and that there is not the availability of care and accommodation that their child will need. This Productivity Commission report that the government has given an undertaking to support and introduce is going to address those issues. I have two young girls with disabilities who come into my office and work and I know that their parents are concerned about them having the opportunities that they need in life. One concern is about making sure that one of the young women can find suitable living accommodation, and the other young woman is keen to enter the workforce.

I must congratulate the Prime Minister on already giving an undertaking of $10 million. The issues that I have found over the years that are terribly important to people with disabilities and their families are access to funding; care and support for carers; obtaining the aids, appliances and equipment that people with disability need; housing; living independently; and work. Work is an issue that has been very difficult for a number of people with disability, and I see that this will create opportunities for people with disabilities to enter the workforce, to be able to compete for jobs and to have the support in place that they need to be able to obtain employment.

The National Disabilities Support Scheme will provide assistance for a person throughout their life. Instead of trying to grab a little bit of money from here and a little bit of money from there, trying to get assistance from some employment brokerage or agency, it will all come as a package. The needs of that person will be paramount in where they are going. As somebody who has worked in this area and fought for people with a disability to get the piece of equipment that they need and to find a suitable place for them to live in, I know that when the disability insurance scheme is fully operational it will not only make a difference to their lives but actually change them. No longer will there be fundraising for a chair for a person who may be a quadriplegic or a paraplegic. That will no longer be necessary. Rather, they will have the right to expect to live a full life just like other Australians. The scheme will take seven years to be fully implemented, but it is important that we do it properly. It is important that we have in place the right sorts of frameworks, and the Disability Insurance Scheme put forward by the Productivity Commission in its report will ensure that the lives of people with disabilities are changed forever.

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