Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a nation there are a lot of things that we can indeed be proud of—in particular, initiatives that we have taken to ensure that the quality of life of the people that live within Australia is up to a standard that we would all like for ourselves.

But one of the areas that we have not done so well in is the way we have responded to the needs of the 460,000-odd Australians who live each and every day with a severe disability. And it is not only them who face the hardships each day; it is equally their family members and carers, who are locked into a lifetime of disruption to their normal life as a result of taking the time to care for those people with a disability. So the introduction of a national disability insurance scheme for all those people is something I very much welcome. As others have said time and time again, it is long overdue, but it will indeed mean a life-changing transformation for those people with a disability and for their carers and family members.

The commitment by the government means that in about seven years time there will be something like $19.3 billion allocated by the federal government towards meeting the needs of those people with a severe disability. That means an additional $14.3 billion over that period. It comes partly from a half of one per cent rise in the Medicare levy. As others have pointed out, that equates for most people to an increase of about a dollar a day. Not surprisingly, I have had very few objections to the increase in the Medicare levy. I am not surprised because I believe that Australians are fair-minded people who understand that the commitment of about a dollar a day is justified when you consider the benefits it will bring to those people who need the assistance. Other speakers have also made the point that it could at any time be any one of them or their family members who are the recipients of that support. So, again, I am not at all surprised to see that there has been what I believe is wide-scale support for the new funding that will be provided and few objections to the levy.

For South Australia it is very important because in that state, which I represent, some 33,000 South Australians will benefit from these changes. Currently there has been a commitment to get trials underway for children under five years of age. By the years 2014 to 2016 the trials will extend to children up to 14 years of age and after that, in the two years between 2016 and 2018-19, the trials and the scheme will be rolled out to all people in South Australia with a disability. I commend the Weatherill state Labor government for being quick off the mark to support the federal government's National Disability Insurance Scheme and to do so by making a state commitment of some $760 million by the year 2018-19. That will mean that by 2018-19 the commitment by the state government to supporting people with a disability will have risen from $135 million in 2002, when Labor came to office, to $760 million—almost a sixfold increase to support families with a disability. The services will of course be determined over the years ahead, but broadly they will include services like therapy, respite, supported accommodation, equipment, care and the like—services that will make a life-changing difference for those families that for too long have suffered with the burden of disability.

While speaking about disability, I believe the other area that, as a parliament and as a nation, we have also neglected for too long is dental care in this country. I believe it is the next area of reform that we as a nation need to tackle. I think the fact that we have had few objections to increasing the Medicare levy to pay for a necessary health service demonstrates that if we use the same kind of model for dental care we may also in the future be able to achieve the reforms we need so that people across Australia receive the dental treatment that they are looking for.

See this speech in context