Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The NDIS is a fantastic Labor initiative. I have spent my working life dealing with kids—many with severe disability—and I remember Trent very, very well. Trent is now in his 40s. I looked after him when he was born. He has Down syndrome. He had congenital heart disease. He had a number of difficulties associated with Down syndrome, including bowel obstruction in the neonatal period, but he survived. He survived well with the efforts of his family, in particular—a working-class Campbelltown family who loved him as they loved their other three children and who looked after him beautifully.

Unfortunately, Trent's father died suddenly some years ago, and, only fairly recently, Trent's mother passed away. Trent's mother's one wish for him was that he would be cared for for the rest of his life. She always worried about what would happen once she and her husband had passed away. Trent's three siblings were involved with his care and love him deeply, but the family really wanted to make sure that Trent could be looked after in an appropriate way for the rest of his life. He's still going strong, and, thanks to the NDIS, he's getting fantastic care. He loves his carers, interacts well with his siblings and lives in his own little supported unit in Melbourne. The family moved to Melbourne about 10 years ago, but I've kept in contact with them. The NDIS is giving Trent a life of fulfilment thanks to the support he gets from all those around him, including his family, and will do so for the rest of his life. That's what the NDIS means.

Unfortunately, what's happened with the NDIS is that it has now exploded to caring for almost 800,000 people rather than the around 100,000 it was projected to care for. Many people are getting NDIS access whom the scheme was never designed for. I want people like Trent with severe disability to be cared for as part of the community's efforts through the NDIS. It's very important that we preserve the scheme for people like Trent and the many other kids with severe disabilities that I've looked after.

Senator Jenny McAllister, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, is doing a fantastic job in making sure the system is fit for purpose for the future. That means giving people messages about who the scheme was designed to support. It's very important that we make sure people with severe disability do get the care that they deserve. That means some hard answers need to happen. It is very important that we do this as a government because, after 10 years of coalition neglect, the scheme was not fit for purpose. I thank Jenny McAllister and Health Minister Mark Butler for all their efforts for the NDIS.

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