Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to add my voice to those in the chamber who are supporting DisabilityCare, and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about the need for this scheme and the benefits of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I want to add my voice to what is a growing consensus about this groundbreaking reform that will change the lives of so many people. It is truly a reform whose time has come and a reform that the government is very proud to be delivering.

I want to reflect on a rally where I spoke earlier this year in Melbourne. It was an NDIS rally, and I was joined by my constituent and vocal NDIS advocate Millie Parker. It was a very humbling experience, because Millie spoke about how lucky she felt that she had acquired her brain injury through a road accident, where her rehab and other needs were paid for by the Victorian TAC scheme. She drew comparisons with other women who acquired their brain injuries through domestic violence, and for whom rehabilitation and other support services were costly and hard to find.

Millie has been a tireless champion of this reform. Our local community is very proud of her as, I think, is the nation, and I thank her and the many thousands of others who have made an important contribution to where we now stand. But I must say it is truly humbling when someone who has had such a severe impact on her life from an accident might say that she was lucky to have acquired it in one way rather than another. It does highlight the cruel lottery that has been the case for those people with disabilities in this country looking for our help.

Other constituents to lend their support to DisabilityCare were Altona residents Ann and Barry Darwin. Ann is deaf, and she spoke of the costs over the years of saving for each time that her hearing aid needed to be replaced. Ann worked as a pharmacy technician in a public hospital and she needed that hearing aid for work. For Ann it was not optional to have that hearing aid, and given that it needed to be replaced every two to three years at a cost of $2,000 each time, fitting that into the family budget was difficult.

At this time it is estimated that in Gellibrand around 2,900 people will benefit from DisabilityCare, and over 17,000 across Melbourne's western suburbs. Many of these people are on low incomes, and struggle to make ends meet when paying for therapy, and equipment and technology required for day-to-day life is an additional burden. DisabilityCare will bring to an end the tragedy of services denied or delayed, and instead will offer people with disability the care and support they need over their lifetimes. As I said at the beginning, it will end the cruel lottery that besets people today, where the care and support they receive depends on where they live or how they acquired their disability.

The rights of people with disabilities, their families and carers, are at the heart of the NDIS and the heart of this bill. The bill that has just now been passed by the parliament will implement a nationwide, demand-driven system of care tailored to the needs of individuals, and established on a durable, long-term basis. We know that this is unlocking the potential of those with disabilities, who have the capacity to contribute so much more to the community if only the right supports were available. This means that people will be able to access early intervention therapies and supports, where these supports will improve a person's functioning, or slow or prevent the progression of their disability over a lifetime.

I am proud that Labor is delivering this reform. We have, over history, been the party of great reform, and people with disabilities, families and carers have been forgotten for too long. It was Labor that listened to their concerns, Labor that put forward the legislation, Labor that negotiated with the states, and Labor that has put it in the budget. Labor has always fought for those who, for many reasons, have been unable to fight for themselves. And every Labor person across Australia should be very proud of DisabilityCare as a reform that will outlive us all.

I particularly want to pay a brief tribute to two amazing women who worked tirelessly on this reform, in addition to those I have mentioned in my electorate. They are Prime Minister Gillard and Minister Jenny Macklin. Both have championed this reform right from the start. The community is never going to forget the role that you have played in making DisabilityCare a reality. I also want to pay tribute to my ministerial colleague Bill Shorten, whose role was instrumental in getting this off the ground when he was a parliamentary secretary for disability services.

I look forward very much to July 1, the launch date, with hope and optimism for the future—the day that we put rights and needs of Australians with a disability first. Thank you.

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