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

I thank the member for Petrie for her question and, in particular, for her advocacy for people with disability and carers in her part of Brisbane. I know that she is campaigning hard to make sure that people in Queensland with a disability and their carers and families get a fair go. Of course, that is exactly what this government is determined to do. We are determined to build a National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Treasurer announced in this year's budget an extra $1 billion so that we can start the National Disability Insurance Scheme from July next year. We have done this with the agreement of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory—but not Queensland.

What this government also realises is that we have got a lot of work to do in the meantime. We are delivering additional support for people with disability and their carers. Since 2007 we have delivered $800 million for disability care and support in Queensland alone. What we of course have also done is deliver to the 35,000 carers in Queensland extra income support, to the 150,000 Queenslander with disabilities we have also delivered an increase to their disability support pension. Of course at the same time that the Queensland government is slashing and burning and cutting grants to community sector workers, cutting grants to many organisations that people depend on in Queensland, we are seeing 385 staff lose their jobs in the community services sector alone in Queensland. And while this is all happening of course we have the shadow treasurer saying that he thinks all of these cuts are courageous. We have Senator Joyce saying that he backs Campbell and these cuts 100 per cent.

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