Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to welcome the announcement that finally we have a start date for the NDIS in Victoria. It is great to be able to stand here and say that my area of Bendigo, the City of Greater Bendigo, Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander will be part of the first year of the rollout. We have a start date of 1 May 2017. So congratulations to all the people in my electorate who spoke up about the importance of this. In the Bendigo electorate, roughly 3,400 individuals and their families will benefit from the rollout of the NDIS. I acknowledge that it is a little bit later than we had hoped.

Originally, the Labor plan, when we were in federal government, was for the rollout to happen on 1 July 2016. But after the election of this government negotiations and discussions with the then Victorian state Liberal-National government stalled, and it was only after the election of the Victorian Labor government did those discussions get back on track. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of my local state MPs Jacinta Allan, Maree Edwards, and Mary-Anne Thomas, who fought really hard to get the negotiations back on track. This is a great reform, it is a great Labor legacy and I am so proud and so happy for all the families in my electorate who will benefit from the rollout of the NDIS.

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