Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The amendment that is put forward by the opposition is not supported by the government. I'm a little puzzled as to why the shadow Treasurer hasn't come in to speak to his own amendments and has delegated this duty. If he really wants to own these, he should actually come in here and put his reasons for them rather than delegating it to the intern to go and put these issues forward in this place.

To deal with what has been put forward, the shadow assistant minister has just exposed the Labor Party on this issue. He says there's no funding gap on the NDIS—which is wrong, by the way; the budget papers clearly demonstrate a $55.7 billion funding hole. But the Labor Party have just said clearly here that there is no need to raise additional revenue to support the NDIS. So they are using people's disabilities as an excuse to raise levies on the Australian public. They have just admitted to this. I mean, if it weren't obscene enough that they couldn't live up to their own principles, as ordinary as they were, when they were in government, they now come in here and use people's disabilities to whack up levies on the Australian public. They don't believe it is necessary to raise additional revenue to support the NDIS.

So what is the purpose? He says it's to reduce the debt. He says it's to reduce the deficit. Under the Labor Party's election policies at the last election, the deficit was higher. Their position is to have a higher deficit. They're not reducing debt as a result of this; they're just spending even more money on things they don't have the courage to come in here and explain to the Australian people: why they want to increase the levy.

I'm going to be straight with the Australian people: we need to increase the Medicare levy by half a per cent to make sure that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is fully funded. Australians are fair-minded people. They understand that if you're unfortunate enough to have been born with a disability, that in this country you should be given every opportunity to realise your potential—just like any other Australian. I don't think there's an Australian in this country who doesn't think that's a fair thing and who isn't prepared to put their bit in, to put their fair share in, to make sure that all can benefit, particularly when they themselves might be in a position where they have to draw on that. The lack of faith shown by the Labor Party in the Australian people and their sense of fairness on this issue is abysmal, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

We understand that Australians would be prepared to step up for people with disabilities. The Labor Party used to think that; they are just using people's disabilities as an excuse to raise levies.

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