Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion from the member for Robertson on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, NDIS. At present, approximately four million Australians have a disability. The NDIS truly is a once-in-a-generation reform to deliver a better deal for people with a disability, their carers and their families. I wholeheartedly support the NDIS, which has similarly received very strong support from all sections of the Ryan community, and I have seen this support firsthand at many of the DisabiliTEA events held in my electorate.

The proposed rollout of the NDIS has been anything but smooth and, as with so many proposals from this Labor government, we are still waiting on the final details. Australians with a disability and their carers want the confidence that the NDIS means a permanent change in the way that our country supports people with a disability. Last year a disability levy was discussed at the July Council of Australian Governments—COAG—meeting and was supported by premiers across the country. At that time the Prime Minister rejected the idea, but less than 12 months later the Prime Minister suddenly changed her mind and decided that an increase to the Medicare levy was acceptable.

While the coalition has supported this measure insofar as it is a practical contribution to the rollout of the NDIS, I do note that there are significant ongoing concerns about how the NDIS will be funded. The government has passed the increase to the Medicare levy, but has not outlined how the remaining 60 per cent funding shortfall will be provided. While the levy will come into effect this year, the coalition wants to see the DisabilityCare Australia Fund established to hold the proceeds of this levy to ensure that all the proceeds are allocated to the NDIS.

Australians still lack detail on who exactly will be eligible for the NDIS trials, as mentioned by the member for Robertson's motion, and who will be eligible for the NDIS when it is fully implemented. It is essential that the assessment tools that the NDIS Launch Transition Agency will use to determine participant eligibility are released. This is so that people with a physical impairment, sensory impairment or intellectual impairment know whether they are in or out. I have been contacted by many constituents who suffer from significant physical disabilities that require them to spend thousands of dollars each year just so they can walk and drive. As one of my constituents has noted: they cannot claim their disability expenses on tax or access services through private health insurance, and they do not receive government welfare. They just want to know whether they will be eligible for the NDIS or whether they will continue to fall through the cracks. Therefore it is absolutely critical that all elements of the NDIS required for its launch are legislated in the current parliament.

While the NDIS framework legislation has passed the parliament, the final NDIS rules should also be released. Furthermore, concerns continue to be raised with me about Australians who acquire a disability after the age of 65. People are rightly concerned that while they will pay taxes during their entire working life, if they are unfortunate enough to acquire a disability after they turn 65 they will not be eligible for support through the NDIS.

There have been significant steps taken to date to support Australians with a disability. The Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, reached an agreement earlier this month so that the NDIS can benefit tens of thousands of Queensland families when the scheme is fully implemented from 1 July 2019. I note also that last year the Queensland government announced an extra $868 million for disability services over the five years to 2018-19—the biggest single increase in disability funding that this country has ever seen.

The coalition wholeheartedly supports the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We want it to happen, and we want it to happen in this term of parliament. The NDIS is a program supported widely across my electorate of Ryan and across Australia. It has laudable aims to truly make a difference to the most vulnerable in our community, and everyone in this House wants to ensure that we roll out the NDIS appropriately and efficiently to give hope to Australians with a disability and their families and carers.

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