Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently met with Canberra families living with type 1 diabetes. 'We worry about grades, we worry about bullying—all the normal things a parent worries about,' they told me. 'But we also worry about the call that says, "Your child is in a coma in an ambulance."'

This is National Carers Week. We have a duty to provide care and support to all those who require it. Labor takes that responsibility seriously. It is why we are proud of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and we are proud to be the party of the biggest social policy reform since Medicare. And it is why I am angry at reports from my community that the NDIA is no longer accepting new plan meetings. Canberrans who are eligible for the NDIS are being turned away, told the program has reached its cap. There is no cap on the NDIS. I repeat: there is no cap on the NDIS.

The ACT's NDIS bilateral agreement outlines a target of 5,075 participants. It also makes clear that the full cost for any participants beyond this figure is to be met by the Commonwealth government—the full cost. The Turnbull government is ignoring that obligation. They have betrayed the trust of Canberrans living with disability. A good government supports its most vulnerable citizens. This is far from a good government.