Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her question and note her commitment to her local community but in particular, as a former schoolteacher, her absolute passion in this parliament about education—a passion that I share. The government has been working hard to make sure that in our country no-one is left behind. That is why we are committed to making smart investments for our nation's future. We have been working to sign up every state and territory to start DisabilityCare in Australia, the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I can report to the parliament that we are now in a position to say such agreements have been struck to cover 90 per cent of the Australian population, and we will be working to get an agreement with the Premier of Western Australia.

We are absolutely committed to DisabilityCare because for far too long people with disabilities in our nation and their families and carers have been subjected to a cruel lottery. The amount of assistance you got depended on where you live, the circumstances in which you got your disability and whether or not you got in before the services available had run out because they were capped and they were queued. This is a campaign for reform that has been advocated by disability groups, the disability sector, people with disabilities and their carers and families for decades. I am very proud that this government listened to the disability sector and we are now delivering DisabilityCare.

I am also very proud that we are pursuing opportunity for every child—making sure that every child in every classroom and their teachers have their education properly resourced, not just for today's children but for the generations of children to come. I am pleased that we were able to strike an agreement with New South Wales which will see an extra $5 billion in extra funding go into the classrooms of New South Wales. We will pursue getting agreements with other states because this is right for our children and our nation's future.

I am pleased that we have also been able to announce the Defence white paper to enter a new strategic partnership with China. All of these things are about ensuring that our economy is stronger, that our nation is smarter, that we are a fairer society. That is what guides this government. It is what will guide the budget delivered by the Treasurer tonight—stronger for the future, smarter for our children's education and fairer with DisabilityCare extended right around the country. It is plan for our nation's future, a plan we are very proud of.

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