Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion on the National Disability Insurance Scheme put forward by the member for Robertson and I commend this 43rd parliament particularly for the bipartisan spirit and the spirit of the contributions from both sides of the chamber in such an important area.

I would like to commend the efforts of all the campaigners who have worked so hard in the lead-up to this, particularly those in the Every Australian Counts campaign, who have carried out an incredibly effective grassroots campaign that was educational, informative and passionate, and really moved the Australian community to a stage where there would only be a few people who do not see the benefits of bringing in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It does not seem so long ago that the Productivity Commission reported to the Labor government on what needed to be done in this area. I want to note some people who have made contributions. The member for Gellibrand commented on Minister Shorten's particular passion for this area, and I note as well the contributions from Minister Macklin and the Prime Minister.

The Productivity Commission report revealed the needs of people with disability across Australia, their families and their carers, and how their needs were not being met. The Gillard Labor government saw that we needed to act quickly and nationally to do what we could to remedy this distressing situation, and that this would also bring economic benefits. Nowadays Medicare is accepted by all Australians. It would be ludicrous to think of any new government trying to dismantle Medicare, and it will not be so long before we think in the same way about DisabilityCare. I know that we still need to sort out a few things, but the good thing is that DisabilityCare will be up and running in only 33 or 34 days. There are still some nuts and bolts to be sorted out with some states, but the reality is that it will change lives significantly by 1 July.

Recently I had the pleasure of joining the Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, the Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin, and many local community workers in my electorate at Autism Queensland's school in Sunnybank Hills to watch Queensland sign up with the federal government to implement DisabilityCare. I would particularly mention a young school student called Sandy Porter, a year 12 student who stole the moment by saying, 'This is what the nation is all about.' He gave a letter to the Prime Minister, a letter that brought her to tears when she referred to it in introducing the legislation. It included a photograph of the Prime Minister. He and his school friends had written about how the scheme would make a difference in their lives. It is all about dignity; it is all about control; it is all about a plan for the future rather than responding to circumstances. People like Sandy Porter will now have some control. I must also mention his mother, Fiona Anderson, who has been doing a great job as the Queensland head of the Every Australian Counts campaign.

At the event I also met with the president of the Spinal Injuries Association, David Riley. He lives a few hundred metres or so from my electorate office, but we had not met before. It was great to have a chat with him. I seem to have a lot of peak bodies located in my electorate, and another I would like to mention is the Endeavour Foundation. It is one of Australia's largest non-government disability service providers, supporting more than 3,350 people with disability across 230 locations throughout Australia. It is one of the many disability services organisations that will step up and take a leading role in DisabilityCare. With all respect to the full-profit organisations who have put their hands in the air and jumped in to provide services, I would ask the minister and the government to look at the long-term, not-for-profit organisations and charities that have been in this field for 100 years plus. They are not always the super professional organisations, but I would hope they will be given the chance to be leading organisations in DisabilityCare. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.

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