Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is one of the most important social changes that we have seen in this country. It has enjoyed the support of both sides of this House. There is not, I suspect, a member of this House who does not have either a direct or an indirect association with someone who lives with a disability or the family of someone with a disability. For the National Disability Insurance Scheme to be used today, as it was yesterday, by the Labor Party as a political plaything to try to score cheap points in this chamber is shameful. It is absolutely shameful.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is fully funded under the budget. It's fully funded, and if the estimates of demand contained in that budget are increased and there is greater demand then every single claim, every single package and every single payment will be made to support that program. If the estimates of the demand for that program are greater than what is in the budget then there will be a variation to reflect that and the funding will flow. There is no impediment whatsoever to the additional flow of funds to the NDIS for this program, and for the opposition to cause needless anxiety amongst people and the families of people with disabilities shows just how low they are prepared to go at this election. This should be a matter of bipartisanship.

In our budget we have put in place half a billion dollars—$527.1 million—to support the royal commission into people with disabilities.

Mr Shorten interjecting—

I hear the Leader of the Opposition interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition thought a royal commission of this size would cost $26 million and would not even require the cooperation of the states and territories. Now, when you want a job done properly, you get the Liberal and National parties to do it because the half-baked ideas and the faux empathy that come from this callous Leader of the Opposition are something to behold.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is something that I believe in. It is something that our party strongly believes in. It is fully funded, and we will not stand by and see it used as the political plaything that the members opposite seek to use it as. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

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