Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Minister for Disability Reform. Will the minister update the House on the government's progress in building a National Disability Insurance Scheme?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hunter for his question—a positive question from the government side of the parliament, not one positive question in the whole of question time from those opposite. They say they do not want to throw any mud, but all they can do day after day is throw mud—not one question from the Leader of the Opposition, not one question on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Leave it to the government to make sure that people with disability no longer have to wait at the end of a phone for a respite place. No wonder they are ashamed and never ask a question about disability, because they are the people who never, ever come here and raise the issues that confront people with disability and their carers every single day.

This government is proud of what we have done for people with disability. Of course, it is this government that made sure that we increased the Disability Support Pension, increased the carer payment, made sure that services are available for children with autism and made sure that people who are desperately looking for a supported accommodation place can actually get a better chance of looking for one. It has been up to this government to deliver all of these changes for disability—never done by any of those opposite.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In fact, when you had the chance in government to do something for people with disability, you slashed the funding for disability. So it has been up to this government to do the work for people with disability. It is this government that will introduce the legislation for a National Disability Insurance Scheme, and we will get on with that job.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It being the usual time, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper. For the benefit of those following proceedings by radio, I confirm that the Leader of the Opposition was present at question time today.