Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017-2018, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2017-2018 and the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017-2018. This is an important budget. This budget is about making the right choices to provide opportunity and secure better days ahead for all Australians. I note with pride the Turnbull government's commitment to defence. As part of Appropriation Bill (No. 1) the Department of Defence will receive more than $32 billion to keep our nation safe. Last Wednesday I joined the Minister for Defence Industry at Gallipoli Barracks in my electorate to launch the new generation of trucks and trailers as part of the government's $3.5 billion LAND 121 project. I can assure members here today that through the strategic procurement of new military equipment like the next generation of trucks I witnessed last week and, importantly, many components sourced from local Australian businesses, the coalition is ensuring the best products for our Defence personnel as well as supporting local jobs and growth.

Australian service men and women can be assured that the coalition is acting in their best interests. This year's budget represents a significant increase in funding of $350 million for the support of veterans and demonstrates our commitment to the men and women who ensure Australia's freedom and safety. Importantly, the government is focused on responding to the mental health needs of our former defence personnel and providing support that will help them to achieve a positive life outside of service. Last year's budget saw the coalition provide treatment for depression, PTSD, anxiety and drug and alcohol misuse free for anyone who had served even a day in the full-time ADF. The $33.5 million expansion of the non-liability health care program to cover all mental health conditions, announced in the 2017 budget, recognises that the earlier a veteran receives treatment, the better their health. Funding for mental health treatment is demand driven and not capped. If an eligible person requires treatment, it will be provided. As a government and on a personal level we understand that families of service members also bear the brunt of military service. In recognition of this, the budget provides $8.5 million to expand eligibility for the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service.

The health portfolio will receive more than $11 billion to ensure the essential services that Australians deserve. Of this funding, $3 billion will be used for the Home Support and Care Program to provide assistance for older Australians so they can remain in their homes and stay connected with their community.

The 2017 budget is delivering for health and supports our long-term national health plan, based on the four pillars of guaranteeing Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, supporting hospitals, prioritising mental and preventative health and investment in medical research. The coalition has a solid track record when it comes to improving Australians' access to medicines with a strengthened Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We are immediately delivering on this commitment in the 2017 budget, with more than half a billion dollars to list special medications for patients with chronic heart failure. This will benefit more than 60,000 Australians every year, who currently pay around $2,000 a year for these medicines. Our careful management of PBS spending means that we are able to list new, effective medicines on the PBS when they become available. Australia's PBS is one of the foundations of a universal health care system, the envy of the world.

The Department of Social Services will receive $5 billion. This money includes more than $800 million per year for the provision of demand-driven disability employment services, and $225 million for other disability and carer services. In my capacity as Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services, I see firsthand how the coalition government's disability employment services policy is creating more opportunities. Members here will be well aware that Australians with disability are underrepresented in our workforce. More than 14 per cent of people who are of working age have a disability, but only 53 per cent of people with disability are working or seeking work, compared with 83 per cent of people without disability. This is one of the lowest rates in the OECD for workforce participation of people with disability. We must do better.

That Australia ranks 21st of the 29 OECD countries is not acceptable. As I often say, if it were a sport, it would be on the front page of our papers and held up as a national disgrace. But for people with disability to be employed at the same rate as people without disability, 640,000 more people with disability need employment. Our challenge is to bridge the gap to help more people with disability find and keep jobs and to encourage more employers to employ more people with disability. Employment offers a person economic security and independence, and contributes significantly to their positive wellbeing. For a person with a disability, often their job is more than just a job; it links them to the community and exposes them to new experiences. In government and in the community, and among business and industry, we need to do all we can to recognise the benefits of employing people with disability.

On budget night the coalition confirmed our commitment to improving employment outcomes for people with disability, announcing improvements to the Disability Employment Services program. I have spoken to many stakeholders since budget night and they tell me the changes have been well received. There will clearly be some qualitative differences on certain budget measures. But, simply put, Australians do not want government to spend more than Australian taxpayers can afford. We all have a moral responsibility to restrain spending, boost investment, encourage economic growth and guarantee a strong social safety net. Labor's magic pudding economics that underwrote year-on-year promises of a non-existent budget surplus resulted in increasing deficits and leaving disappointed Australians genuinely concerned about our economic future. When was the last time a Labor government delivered a budget surplus?

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