Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, welcome the motion and the spirit of bipartisanship which has existed throughout the entire debate in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I appreciate the opportunity to make the point that members of the coalition have made previously—that the coalition stands as one with the government when it comes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We believe that it is an idea whose time has come, and we are committed to making sure that it is implemented—not only by this parliament but also by future parliaments. We recognise that there is a long way to go in terms of the implementation of what is a terrific idea.

We support the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and we are on the public record expressing our support for the Medicare-style levy, which will be required to at least partially fund the early stage of the implementation of the NDIS.

I take up the member for Gellibrand's reference to life's lottery, which applies in this instance. I believe sincerely that those of us who have been in a position in this great country to be able to earn a good income would not really begrudge putting something aside to make sure that people with disabilities and their carers are well looked after. Those of us who are in a comfortable position recognise that providing some additional funding towards the NDIS is something that is reasonable and responsible in the circumstances. It is in every sense, then, a general insurance-style premium in that regard, where money is put into the system. You hope you personally are never required to use of any it but you recognise that if at sometime later in your life either yourself or your friends or family acquire a disability, there will be strong support in place from the federal government to look after them and their carers as well.

I do not want to give the impression through this debate or any discussion in the broader electorate of Gippsland that the NDIS is a done deal. There is still a long way to go in terms of the implementation. A lot of work is still required in getting the detail right. Once we do establish the trial sites—and I welcome the government's announcement in that regard—I am sure we will find some very difficult moments as we try to decide exactly how the system is going to work. It is complex and we have not really grappled with the full decision yet of how the program is going to be completely funded as we roll it out across the nation. There will be a lot of questions for members of not only this current parliament but also future parliaments.

I hope that we can continue to maintain the spirit of bipartisanship we have seen over the last couple of years on this issue and make sure that when these inevitable problems do arise that we do not resort to party political lines, that we manage to maintain that same strong sense of bipartisanship to develop a system which works for all Australians. I strongly endorse the position of the Leader of the Opposition that there should be a committee which is jointly chaired across party lines to ensure the implementation of the NDIS is a great success. This will be a reform not just for the Labor Party but also for the Liberal Party and the National Party and the Greens and the Independents to deliver in that spirit of bipartisanship.

I also caution that we must not use the prospect of the rollout of the NDIS as an excuse not to do anything in the area of disability services—not to roll out other improvements in the ensuing three or four years. We are still quite a long way away from the full rollout of the NDIS and there are problems now in our system There are problems where the support for people with disabilities and their carers is crisis driven. In many cases it is only when the carers themselves are about to give up that they are able to access respite and be given the assistance they need in their own communities. So there is a desperate need across the electorate of Gippsland for improved respite services.

Last week I met with a mother who has two adult children with profound disabilities. I spent an hour talking with her, gaining a little understanding of the challenges she faces 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For this lady, just a little extra help in terms of respite services would allow her to have more of a normal life with her husband; for them to recharge and then deal with the great complexities of their lot in life dealing with two adult children with disabilities.

We cannot allow our wait for the NDIS to define all of our actions in this space. We need to make sure we are still supporting carers and people with disabilities in the coming years before the rollout of the entire scheme. On that note, I had the great fortune of attending the opening of a new facility in Sale on the weekend at the George Gray Centre. The George Gray Centre has provided support for adults in my community for more than 40 years. I had the opportunity to say a special thank you to the staff, the board members and the volunteers who are already doing such a great amount of work in supporting people with disabilities and their carers. We need to continue to work with that sector to ensure we support them in whatever way possible. (Time expired)

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