Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did have something prepared to discuss in the three minutes I have today, but something happened in question time that I just cannot let go. In response to a question today from the shadow minister asking the Prime Minister how the government would sustainably pay for some important reforms, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the Prime Minister stated that the coalition opposes the NDIS. This is absolutely outrageous. The coalition has made it very clear that we support the NDIS. For the Prime Minister to use question time and our parliament, and disabled people, as political pawns in the NDIS debate is an absolute disgrace and she stands condemned. We cannot have a Prime Minister playing politics with disabled people in this country.

Let me make this abundantly clear: the current NDIS funding model that this parliament put in place is not sustainable. It provides no certainty and no surety to parents and carers across our nation. Currently, the funding is only $250 million a year when we know the NDIS needs funding of something like $10 billion. We are only 97.5 per cent short of the money that we need, and we have the Prime Minister coming into question time saying that the coalition opposes the NDIS. It is a disgrace. The Prime Minister stands condemned for her comments. Both sides of this parliament have responsibilities regarding how we are going to fund the NDIS. As I said, we are 97.5 per cent short of the funding that we need. The only way we are going to fix that is to grow the economy, to make sure the economy is strong, to take away the unnecessary taxes, to cut the waste.

We in the coalition want to work with the Labor Party and work with the Greens and proceed with the NDIS in a bipartisan spirit. The Prime Minister broke that spirit of bipartisanship today trying to play politics with the NDIS. She is playing politics with the most vulnerable and disabled people in our country. It is an absolute disgrace. I hope the good members on that side of the parliament, in their caucus, have a word to the Prime Minister and let us get back and tackle the NDIS in the bipartisan way that we should and not use it as a political tool.