Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Minister for Disability Reform. Will the minister update the House on progress towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme and how will this benefit people with a disability, their families and carers?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fremantle very much for her question and for all of the advocacy she does not just in her own electorate but in many parts of Australia for people with disabilities, their carers and their families. I think it is true to say that she along with many, many others understand that people with disability, their families and their carers have been waiting for this change for a very, very long time.

I think it is also the case that for people with disability—and so much so for carers as well—often they wake up every day to a day of waiting. Whether it is waiting at the end of the phone for a respite place or waiting for a new wheelchair, we, I think, do understand just how critical it is that we get on with the job that we have at hand. It is why in this very, very significant Labor budget we have for the first time put the money down to build the first stage of a National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is something that so many people have been waiting for and working for for a long time, and we have committed $1 billion for this first stage. It will mean that around 20,000 people over the next two years in, we estimate, four locations around the country will be part of the first stage of a National Disability Insurance Scheme. We will work with the states and territories on the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, on the design work that is so important and also on the funding and governance that is necessary for the scheme.

We are delivering this new scheme one year ahead of the schedule set out in the Productivity Commission report, and that is because we understand just how critical it is to address the long wait that people with disability and their carers have had over a long time. That said, this government has been getting on with delivering other significant reforms for people with disability, including a very significant boost to funding for disability care and support to the states and territories; we have been doubling the money going to the states and territories. We delivered historic increases in the pension, the disability support pension and the carer payment. We are delivering much-needed increases in pay for community service workers and early intervention services for children with disability. These changes are making a difference but the NDIS is now here to stay. (Time expired)