Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to contribute to this private member's motion on the NDIS. I support the motion. As I discussed last week when I spoke in the House on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012, the NDIS is not a partisan political issue. Both sides of this chamber have committed to the implementation of the NDIS. No matter who wins the election later on this year, an NDIS will be implemented.

Unfortunately, I think the Labor Party desperately want to turn this issue into a political football, and we have seen the games being played with coalition state governments in recent times. However, their politicking will not work, because the coalition is absolutely committed to an NDIS. I passionately believe in a National Disability Insurance Scheme because as a Liberal I really believe that the core of government is to help those who cannot help themselves. I think both sides of this house would agree that there are people with a disability and parents and carers of people with a disability who do not have the same opportunities and freedoms that many others enjoy. This motion acknowledges that inequality that exists within our communities in the provision of services to people with a disability, and that is a very important point.

On 30 January, I and the shadow minister for seniors, the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, hosted a seniors forum. One of the attendees told a very heartfelt story of being the carer for her elderly and disabled mother. She said that as a full-time carer she does not get a holiday, she does not get a break—all she gets is a carers pension. On the very rare occasion when she can get away, she has to put her mother in respite care. She said that because she has been out of the workforce for so long looking after her mother she will have trouble finding a job back in the private sector. She said that, not because she is not capable but because she has not worked for a while, employers will be reluctant to hire her. So this motion is absolutely correct when it recognises the inequality that exists in the provision of disability services.

I am also very glad that this motion notes the Every Australian Counts campaign. I want to acknowledge the fantastic work that is being done in Queensland by Fiona Anderson. They run an absolutely superb public advocacy campaign for NDIS. They have done it in a nonpartisan, genuine way, and I congratulate them for that. As I mentioned in the House last week, I had the privilege of addressing the Every Australian Counts rally in King George Square in the Brisbane CBD on 30 April. I addressed the rally, along with Senator Jan McLucas and Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale, and reaffirmed the coalition's commitment to an NDIS. I was privileged to meet some remarkable individuals there. I want to acknowledge the advocacy of Fiona Anderson, who has worked day and night to raise awareness in the community of the need for an NDIS and lobbied politicians of all persuasions to support it. I also want to acknowledge the Every Australian Counts campaign's Queensland NDIS Steering Group, which consists of people like David Barbagallo, Debra Cottrell, Angela Tillmanns, Francis Vicary, Bruce Milligan, Len Airey, Jane Geltch, Judy Dickson,Valmae Rose, Frank Martin, Anna Cox, Evan Munroe and, of course, the most energetic leader of them all, Fiona Anderson. I want to thank them for their service and dedication. I also want to thank Every Australian Counts for organising all of the DisabiliTEA events in Brisbane that I was fortunate enough to attend, particularly the group who met at New Farm. I got to hear firsthand many heartbreaking stories about how difficult it is to access the myriad services available and how hard parents have to fight to get services at all.

In conclusion, I want to thank the Queensland government for their commitment to increase disability funding to help fund an NDIS. The Labor government should stop trying to politicise the NDIS. It is an initiative that the coalition supports. The NDIS is something I passionately believe in. I will fight for my constituents in Brisbane and I will make sure that it is a reality. I thank the chamber.

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