David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have sat here and heard about the virtues of the Labor Party and how fair they are. I ask them: how fair is it to not give the most vulnerable Australians the confidence of a fully funded and secure NDIS? Where is the fairness in that? Where is the fairness for the most vulnerable people in this country? I would have thought that each and every one of us who grace this place—the men and women who come into this place—would stand with dignity and fairness and support the most vulnerable people, who need protection in our nation, and give them the confidence of that. That is our responsibility as elected officials, not to play political games at their expense. The member for Lilley might sit there and laugh, but while he was the Treasurer there was a $4 billion deficiency in the funding.

I am not going sit here and attack the member for Lilley. I want to move forward with dignity and respect for the most vulnerable people of this nation. We support them and we will work together to give them confidence. I ask Bill Shorten and all these people on that side to stand with us and support those people, the most vulnerable people in this nation. I would say that there is no Australian in this nation who would not be in support of a 0.5 per cent increase in the Medicare levy to support those people that we need to protect. That is the fairness that each and every one of us should be supporting. We should support the $200 million that we are going to put in to help those great professionals that are out there across this nation building the workforce to support those with disabilities. That is what you should come in here and support. You should be supporting the Cheryl Daltons of this world. She is with SBcare in Kingaroy. You should support the Nina Templetons of this world. She is with South Burnett CTC; I have met with her. I have sat in their offices with their staff and with their patients and listened to their heart-wrenching stories and about the support that they provide. Those professionals need the support of a fully funded NDIS. Forget the politics; forget the vitriol; this is about real people's lives. It is not about the next election. Think about that and think about the people who have these disabilities. Go and look them in the eye and give them a fully funded NDIS.

A gentleman just rang me from Roma, reaching out for support. He was reaching out for support and he knows that he will get it because, if we have an NDIS that is fully funded into the future, we will be able to give him the support so he can have a fully-functioning life in a rural community. A young lady from Allora, a small community of just 800 people, came and saw me with tears in her eyes. Her daughter has profound disabilities and was only put on the NDIS in the last couple of months. With tears in her eyes, she told me that she saw a future for her children, not only while she is here but when she has passes on. Her child may live because of the services we provide those young people. That is our responsibility, not the vitriol and childish games that we are seeing here today. This is about you standing up tonight and helping those with a disability—those most vulnerable Australians. Put the politics aside and stand with us, shoulder to shoulder, walk out of this place and say to each and every one of us that we have done the right thing—not play politics. That is fairness. If they are the virtues of fairness that you want to come in here and espouse then let's roll the dice and do it together. Let's do it together as Australians who can walk proudly supporting the most vulnerable. We did that. When Julia Gillard—on your side—brought this to parliament, the member for Warringah supported it. That is what we did. That is what this place should enact: that we should walk out of here supporting those policies that protect the most vulnerable—not sitting here with vitriol and personal attacks but walking forward with those people who support it, because do you know what? Every Australian deserves that, but above all the most vulnerable Australians deserve respect and fairness from each and every one of us. If we do not uphold that then, unfortunately, we have failed not only those people but also the people of Australia. I cannot stand by and let that happen.

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