Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to add my support to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012. The introduction of this bill follows a report by the Productivity Commission in 2011 recommending that Australians should be insured against significant disability. To shape this legislation, which will see the scheme launched and operated in five sites across Australia from July 2013, there has been extensive consultation across the country. This framework has been crafted by what we have heard from people with disability, their families and carers and disability organisations across Australia.

The bill establishes an independent agency to deliver the scheme and lays out key elements such as how eligibility will be determined and the supports the NDIS will provide. Our scheme will provide eligible individuals with the care and support they need when they need it; give individuals decision-making power, including being able to choose their service provider; provide high quality evidence-based services which manage lifetime costs of care; be simple to navigate, with links to mainstream community services; recognise the essential care and support of families and carers and support them in that role; facilitate each individual's community participation, access to education and employment opportunities; and be managed on an insurance basis.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 sets out how a person can become a participant in the scheme, how the participants will develop personal goal based plans with the NDIS Launch Transition Agency and what reasonable and necessary supports will be assured to participants. The establishment of a National Disability Insurance Scheme through this bill also gives effect in part to Australia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The first stage of the scheme will benefit more than 20,000 people with disability living in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, the Hunter in New South Wales and Barwon area in Victoria.

It would be remiss of me not to again express my extreme disappointment that Queenslanders will not be among the first beneficiaries of the scheme. I reiterate that Queensland's exclusion is the result of LNP Premier Campbell Newman's decision not to support an NDIS launch site. It is interesting to note that the Premier has since back-flipped in his views on the NDIS, no doubt as a result of the overwhelming public support for this reform that exists throughout our Queensland community. However, there is more work that needs to be done to reach a funding agreement that will support the 100,000 Queenslanders estimated to be eligible for the NDIS across our state by 2018. I encourage Premier Newman to put his politics aside and work with the federal Labor government for the good of our community.

We know that our National Disability Insurance Scheme will absolutely change the lives of people with disability, their families and carers. Because of this bill, for the first time in Australia's history people with significant and permanent disability will start to receive care and support over their lifetime regardless of how they acquired their disability. This legislation will give people with disability a right to realise their potential and have choice and control over the decisions that affect their lives. People with disability, their families and carers have been waiting a long time for change.

That is why, to prove how serious we are about delivering for Australian families affected by disability, the Gillard Labor government have already put $1 billion on the table. Over four years, this $1 billion in funding will be used to start rolling out stage 1 of the NDIS. Our commitment includes $342.5 million for individually funded packages for people with significant and permanent disability, $154.8 million to employ local area coordinators to provide an individualised approach to delivering care and support to people with disability, $58.6 million to assess the needs of people with a disability in the launch locations and $122.6 million to start preparing the disability sector for the new way of delivering disability services. This includes building the capacity of disability organisations to adjust as the NDIS rolls out. There will also be $240.3 million to build and operate an NDIS information technology system and $53 million to establish a new National Disability Launch Transition Agency to coordinate implementation and manage the delivery of care and support to people with a disability and their carers in launch locations.

We want Australians with disability, their families and carers to start benefiting from this fundamental reform as quickly as possible. That is why we will deliver the first stage a full year ahead of the timetable set out by the Productivity Commission. As I mentioned, the first stage will begin in the middle of this year. This stage will initially provide care and support to around 10,000 people with significant and permanent disabilities across the country, expanding to cover 20,000 people by mid-2014. Individuals eligible in the launch sites will have their needs assessed and be supported to develop individual plans to deliver ongoing personalised care and support over their lifetimes. In addition to the initial funding of $1 billion, agreement has already been reached with NSW for a state-wide rollout of the NDIS across that state from 2016. In a historic $6.4 billion deal, the federal government will contribute just over half of the costs to assist more than 140,000 people with a disability living in NSW to lead dignified, decent and productive lives.

The most important feature of our landmark scheme is that it takes an insurance approach—like Medicare—and shares the costs of disability services and supports across the community. Almost all of us know someone who has a disability, and we know that misfortune and tragedy can strike any one of us, or someone we know and love, at any time. I recently met with a family from my electorate who have a young son, Luca, suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD. They explained a bit about DMD to me, and I learnt that to date there is no cure for DMD. The DMD gene is found on the X chromosome, so the disorder manifests primarily in boys and affects around one boy in 3,500. This disease knows no boundaries; it affects all races and cultures. The average life expectancy for children afflicted by DMD is early to late 20s, and anyone can have a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

I would like to share with the House Luca's father's story. He said:

On a July day in 2010 my boy Luca, aged 4, who had no other health issues, was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy—a destructive muscle disease that is progressive and fatal.

Our path in life as a carefree (in the scheme of things now) family changed forever. That same day I decided we would do anything and everything to fight for my son's life.

In my travels, I have found parents, family members and friends around the world that have the same feelings. We all think about action, intent, passion and fighting for a chance. Of which our son was not born with.

Here in Australia this land of hope—a young man's country—the NDIS will give our son a fighting chance to a life. These boys can aspire to become high achievers and [my boy] can die a young MAN and not a forgotten disabled wasting away boy. The NDIS would be a collaborative effort for all disabled people who need a decent life, love and happiness to the end.

Caring for a Duchenner brings the following elements of care into play. Physical, emotional, behavioural, cognitive and educational issues are all part and parcel.

Let the NDIS program serve as a catalyst that helped transform the landscape for disabled people in Australia. We are not seeking exceptional funding; we seek equity for all disabled people and their families. With all states and territories sailing in the same direction we can make a CHANGE!

Thank you, LEVI DE BILDE

My meeting with the De Bilde family was truly a moving experience. As a mum of two, I can only imagine their sorrow upon hearing their son's diagnosis and the burden they must bear day after day. The De Bildes should not have to support Luca alone. It is a tragedy to look into parents' eyes when they say that they wake up every day knowing that their son will die and will die young.

In the coming years, people affected by disability in Queensland, like Luca, may be eligible for the NDIS, thanks to this bill. When that happens, Luca, with the support of his family, will be able to decide for himself how to manage his care and supports. I know many in this chamber will have met with many families like Luca's family, who come not seeking support for themselves but wanting to make life better for all people with disability and their families and carers. People like Luca deserve a hand up, not a handout, to make it through school, to get a job, to go on to further study, to follow a dream.

I would also like to share with you the story of a very inspiring young man I met in October last year, a man who is most certainly following his dream. Thirty-three-year-old Glen Sheppard from the Sunshine Coast has Down's syndrome and was diagnosed at a young age with severe autism. Glen cannot speak and instead uses facilitated communication and a Qwerty keyboard as his voice. To communicate in this way, Glen needs the support of his dedicated mum, Pam, and carers like Adam from Aspley's Cup From Above cafe in my electorate. Glen will not let his disability stop him from achieving his goals and he is successfully studying creative writing at university. Glen has already written a collection of poetry and launched a murder mystery novel called Solved in Silence. For Glen and his support network, life is about what he can do, not what he cannot.

Sadly, for many people with disabilities, life has for too long been about what they cannot do. PricewaterhouseCooper's report, Disability expectations—investing in a better life, a stronger Australia, found that over 45 per cent of Australians with disability live in poverty and, when it comes to employment participation for people with a disability, Australia ranks well below the OECD average. Furthermore, the report recognised that family carers of people with disability in Australia have the lowest national indicator of wellbeing, and the number of voluntary family carers is declining. These findings are an indictment of a flawed support system—they are unacceptable results and we must do better.

Around six months ago, I held a forum on the National Disability Insurance Scheme in my electorate, at the Redcliffe RSL. I would like to thank the Minister for Disability Reform, the Hon. Jenny Macklin, and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Senator Jan McLucas, for attending and providing an overview to people in my community about the NDIS. I met a family at the forum who told me their son was being cared for in a disability support house. They told me the house had just cut the recreation programs for residents, offering no alternatives, and there is no recourse to this decision under the care packages they receive. The onus is now back on family members to visit and take their loved ones on outings to provide extra stimulation in their lives. This is proving increasingly difficult for the ageing parents who raised their concerns with me.

While disability funding goes to the service provider, consumers are at the mercy of the system when it comes to decisions like this. Our NDIS funding will be attached to the person, not the provider, and this change will drive a competitive, consumer driven disability support market.

I continue to meet people at my local events and at mobile offices who tell me that the disability support system as it exists now is letting them down. There is so much support for the NDIS in my community when I explain what the new system will mean. We need these reforms.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the Queensland coordinator of Every Australian Counts, Fiona Anderson. Fiona presented at my NDIS forum, and I know she has travelled all over Queensland explaining what an NDIS will mean for people with disabilities and their families. Fiona has been inspired by her son Sandy, who has a disability, and it would be tough to fight any harder for a cause than Fiona has fought to see the introduction of the NDIS. I have been honoured to fight alongside Fiona for these major reforms, and I congratulate her for her tireless effort.

I would also like to acknowledge the great work that special schools, disability service and support groups, and community organisations such as Lions and Rotary do every day in my electorate to support people with disability—groups such as Medicare Local, Endeavour Foundation, ROPE, Cascade, Breakaway, After-Care, Multicap, Synapse, Pine Rivers Disability Program and, of course, Every Australian Counts.

I would like to thank Danny Graham and Endeavour Industries at Kippa-Ring for inviting me along to their DisabiliTEA events last year. It was an honour to share in that special day as we fought together for disability reform. At Endeavour Industries, I got to meet the workers as well as members of their families who had come together to celebrate people with disabilities and the important role that carers play in our society. I would like to thank Rick, the manager, for hosting the event and for inviting me to help him present certificates commemorating significant length of service at Endeavour. It was so rewarding to see such pride in the faces of the workers who received awards and hear the aspirations of newer workers to reach the same milestones. The families who came along were just so proud, as were the staff.

To all of these groups and many more, and the individuals who have campaigned so hard for the NDIS, I say: without your advocacy on behalf of the people you support and your input to me and through the consultation process, we would not have got this far. Together we have already accomplished so much, but there is still a long way to go. I look forward to continuing my work with you to bring the NDIS to Queensland. I commend the bill to the House.

Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Having always been aware of how difficult it has been for families, I found that my awareness of those with disabilities was heightened some years ago when a new media officer joined my staff. Shawn Burns was a former newsdesk chief with WIN News. He chose to give up his job in Wollongong and move to Nowra, where the needs of Mac, his son, who has cerebral palsy, could be better served. Mac was stricken with cerebral palsy when he was just six months old following complications from a bout of the flu. Shawn's personal experiences and those of his wife, Gina, in caring for their son led them to become strong advocates for the rights of the disabled. Shawn is now the acting convener of the journalism program at the University of Wollongong. Part of his research for a master's degree was to examine the way the media broach the topic of disabilities. His observations have been extensively reported, and I suppose the best way of describing his thoughts on the matter is to quote him. I am indebted to the Illawarra Mercury for their article in October last year. This is some of what Shawn said:

"I care for my son in the same way as any father would care for his son," Burns said.

And don’t make the mistake of calling Mac "wheelchair-bound". That would really raise the hackles.

"It’s like saying someone who uses a car to get back and forth from work is 'car bound'," Burns said.

"A wheelchair is a piece of equipment that people use to access their life.

"To describe someone as ‘wheelchair-bound’ is seeing them as nothing more than this piece of equipment."

…   …   …

"I found disabled people were either seen as heroes or tragedies," Burns said.

"I think people-first language is important. There are people who have disabilities, rather than being just disabled people.

"We should see them as people first rather than as disabled first. Disability is something that people have, it's not what they are."

We like to think of ourselves as a higher-order species. We see ourselves as caring, compassionate, inclusive and charitable to others. The evidence so far belies that sentiment. The disabled have for too long occupied the fringes of our society. It is as if we did not want to be confronted with the reality of our own mortality. According to an article in the Australian in May last year:

Many parents of disabled children, carers and disabled people themselves complain that under the current arrangements they must take whatever care is offered.

Mac's mother, Gina Burns, agrees:

"The present system is very inequitable.

"It's who screams the loudest that gets things."

For the record, Gina had to give up her full-time job to care for Mac. She hopes that with the advent of a workable National Disability Insurance Scheme she can one day return to full employment.

Being disabled or caring for a disabled person should not mean you are relegated to second-class citizenship. It is a question of dignity and fairness. We pride ourselves on the slogan of a fair go, that all Australians are created equal. But when push comes to shove, the disabled have often been pushed aside. In our modern, and dare I say sophisticated, society this attitude cannot be allowed to go on. We deserve better if we are as good as we think we are, and that is why I welcome this scheme; it is long overdue.

Many of my years as an MP have been spent trying to improve services or facilities for our people in Gilmore with a disability. Gilmore has a high percentage of carers, be they parents of schoolchildren, relatives, friends or just good Samaritans, and some families have more than one child who needs care. You can only begin to imagine the strain they live under each and every day. Their dedication and personal sacrifice relieves the rest of us of the responsibility. Effectively, it is us and them. In our modern and sophisticated society, this attitude cannot be allowed to go on.

The trend has been improving, but it is a very slow process. I saw this in the special schools we have, which are now integrated with mainstream schools. This is a positive development and is producing remarkable results. One such school in Gilmore is the North Nowra Public School. It has absorbed the adjoining Havenlee Special School. Students can intermingle, and this exposure has benefitted awareness and tolerance. It also helps the disabled children by removing the disability apartheid—the segregation that was the previous model.

That is not to say that we cannot do more—and we are, through the advent of the NDIS, because this is what our disabled deserve, and we can deliver it if we really try. But, because it has raised expectations and promised so much, it has got to be made to work. There must be this caveat: the scheme must be quarantined from politics. It is an opportunity to work together for the greater good and cannot be allowed to become another tool in power machinations. We have to make this work, and that is why we in the coalition have supported a National Disability Insurance Scheme unequivocally.

The coalition has enthusiastically supported each milestone on the road to the NDIS. We supported the initial work by the Productivity Commission. We supported the $1 billion in the last budget. We supported the five launch sites. We supported the agreement between the Commonwealth and New South Wales for a full state-wide rollout after the Hunter launch. And we support this legislation. At the moment, the level of support a person with a disability receives depends on too many variables—variables like what state they live in, whether the disability is congenital or was acquired and, if acquired, whether it was in the workplace, through a motor vehicle accident or in some other context. Workers compensation and motor vehicle accident insurance provide coverage in some states.

One provision that caught my eye was the matter of those aged 65 and over. Those aged over 65 will not be eligible unless previously admitted into the scheme. You can imagine how anyone aged 65 or over must be feeling, especially if they are still in the workforce. Given that we are encouraging people not to retire when they hit 65, surely this is one area that needs to be explained.

The coalition stands ready to work with the government to see an NDIS delivered as soon as possible, because people like Shawn, Gina and Mac Burns and many other families in Gilmore deserve better, and we as a nation are in a position to give it to them. Families and carers should not be forced into having to rely on the largesse of others. That is the reason we are here debating this bill, to make sure we get it right. Both sides of the House agree, but it needs to be fair and accessible for all, with a choice of service facilities for families, not the government, to choose.

At this time, the bill establishes the framework. How effectively it works is very much a measure of our own morality as a nation. This is a chance to deliver real dignity for those who for too long have been sidelined. We believe that the NDIS, fully implemented, constitutes a new deal for the disabled and their carers. It offers hope and it offers opportunity. It is also important to note that every government in Australia and every opposition in Australia supports and wants to see an NDIS. I certainly intend to play my part in that process.

Before I conclude, I want to place on record my thanks to the many Gilmore residents who have explained to me their personal stories in an effort to get this important scheme off the ground. I speak of Gillian Dowling, a brave woman from Culburra Beach in my electorate, whose grandson developed pneumococcal meningitis, leaving him intellectually and physically disabled from a young age. There is Lindsey McCulloch, of Basin View, and her son John, who suffered from a lack of government speech pathology services, which, without outside support, could have severely limited John's development. There is Jan Harber, a single disabled pensioner of South Nowra, who is fighting hard not to fall through what are often gaping cracks in our disability support system. And then there is Josie Carter, a mobility and independence store owner of Ulladulla, and Karen Byrne of Old Erowal Bay and her brave son Kieren, who suffers from blindness and moderate deafness and has a lack of speech. Then there is Pat Horne, a brave Berry mother who, in 2007, tragically lost her 36-year-old son to MND. And I also speak of Robert Leeson, a strong disabled man from Bomaderry; Sharlene Reay of Shellharbour and her young daughter, who suffers from an autistic spectrum disorder and a moderate intellectual disability; and Susan Collings of Gerringong, a professional in the community care sector, who has seen firsthand the inefficiencies, injustice and suffering of many in the disability service sector. And there are many, many more.

A National Disability Insurance Scheme is a non-negotiable necessity, an idea whose time has come. But this is a once-in-a-generation reform that must unfold over several parliaments and likely more than one government. The NDIS must be the property of the parliament, not the reform of any particular party or political belief. The Australian federal parliament will this year legislate an NDIS—an NDIS which will ensure that every Australian, well and truly and once and for all, counts. This is a chance, as I said, to deliver real dignity for those who for far too long have been sidelined. It offers hope and opportunity. As I said, everyone in Australia, in opposition and in government, wants to see an NDIS, and I believe most Australian citizens do as well.

After 17 years in this House, I can really say now that we can achieve consensus by working as a team. We can get the policy right. We owe it to the people of Gilmore and of Australia, and we stand ready to work with government to make the NDIS a reality.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to join with my parliamentary colleagues in expressing my support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. From the conception of the NDIS the coalition has supported a national insurance scheme which helps those afflicted with disabilities to help themselves. The coalition supported the government's referral of the NDIS to the Productivity Commission for an inquiry into the NDIS in 2009 which confirmed, on its release in 2011, that the current system of support for those with a disability is broken. Those on the other side of the House seem to claim that the NDIS is a wholly Labor initiative supported by quintessential Labor values. This is quite simply not true. It was particularly disappointing to hear the member for Robertson say in her speech: 'The only people who will offer that leadership and bring about the delivery of the NDIS are the Labor government.' This is simply not true and not what I would have expected from the member for Robertson who I think is better than that.

The NDIS represents the values of every Australian: a fair go for those who face challenges beyond their control. As the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott stated: 'The NDIS is an idea whose time has come.' However, it is an idea that needs to be implemented correctly the first time. It is a cross-generational policy that needs to be owned by the parliament, and parliaments to come, to ensure continuity and efficiency, that is essential for those relying on the NDIS, for it to come to fruition. The government needs to acknowledge that the NDIS will require a very high level of consultation and attention to detail, not just at its initial launch sites in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and the ACT, but well into the future and with full implementation. We in the coalition have called for the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee to be chaired by both sides of politics to implement the NDIS. Those on the other side have rejected these calls and even joined with the Greens in the Senate to vote down a similar proposal to establish a bipartisan oversight committee. For all their talk, Labor is not interested in sensible, effective policy implementation and is only interested in cheap political point scoring—whatever the cost.

Unfortunately this week we have seen an astounding, but unsurprising, lack of fiscal management from this government in the form of the mining tax, which was designed to fund various projects such as the NDIS, but has ended up costing the government more in administrative costs than it has actually raised. The NDIS is simply too important to become another bungled Labor scheme relegated to the trash pile along with the BER and pink batts schemes. We have already seen the Labor mismanagement and cost cutting in the implementation of the NDIS. We have seen the Prime Minister hold various state premiers to ransom with the introduction of expensive launch sites in four states and one territory. The Productivity Commission never envisaged states bearing the brunt of such an expensive scheme. In my own state of Western Australia, Premier Barnett has written to the Prime Minister proposing a joint Commonwealth-WA NDIS. This government needs to recognise the limited capacity of states to fund expensive projects such as the NDIS and to work cooperatively to strike a deal that delivers the best outcome for people with disabilities.

I would like now to impress upon the House some key points that the member for McMillan made in his speech in this place, and the reason that I am repeating this is because they are very relevant and I think everyone respects the opinions of the member for McMillan. In his speech he said:

The NDIS will not be the be all and end all for every person with a disability. If this parliament comes to a point where it raises the hopes of everybody across this nation who has a disability, woe betide the Prime Minister who has to implement the NDIS, with all the complications before us in our approach to putting this legislation in place and fulfilling its aims.

To my personal regret, the member for Scullin will not be in this place for the years it will take for the working of this legislation, because it is not a five-minute job. It is not going to be fixed tomorrow. Already we have heard from the members who have spoken about the difficulties with the states. The Productivity Commission said very clearly that this is a federal responsibility and that the federal government should pick up the barrow, take the lead on this and run with it.

The first thing I was embarrassed about with my disability community was that they were attacking my own Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu for seemingly not supporting this because he was ambushed by the Prime Minister over funding for the trial. There will be people who will take the moral high ground on this issue and force things on the states, which it was never intended they would be required to do. I understood it was for the federal government to take the lead, but the first thing to happen is that states right around the country, depleted of funds, are being asked to do the things that the Productivity Commission never intended them to do.

We need forbearance on behalf of all people. I say to the disability community across the country, and to those who are vitally interested in the NDIS, who will be listening closely to the debate, that we have a long way to go. This is not the panacea, it is a great opportunity. Could it be a world first? Yes. Could it change the lives of people with a disability? Yes. Do we desire the best possible outcome for those people? Yes, we do. But I do not want to raise their hopes to a point that they are dashed when they find their type of disability may not be covered by the NDIS—or shouldn't anybody say that? Is there not a place for the truth in this House on the NDIS? Is there not a place to say: 'No, everything is rosy, and once the National Disability Insurance Scheme is implemented every issue within the disability community and the problems they face are fixed?'

The questions posed and comments made by the member for McMillan are the core to the issues surrounding the NDIS. The bill before the House today only provides for the establishment of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It states that the agency may provide general support for people with disability. It goes briefly into eligibility provisions, personal planning provisions and managing the funding for support. It sets up a board consisting of a chair and eight members, as well as providing for an independent review of the act after two years. This is all very well, and it is certainly a start to the NDIS which the coalition has wholeheartedly supported. However, as I have illustrated, and those speaking before me have highlighted, this bill is woefully light on details as to how the scheme will actually be managed, funded and implemented. These fine points are to be set out in regulations known as NDIS rules. Until these final details are released, we cannot say for sure that those on the other side will deliver an NDIS that provides the opportunity promised to disability sufferers around Australia.

Yesterday I helped table a report on adhesive arachnoiditis. One section of the report highlighted the NDIS, which I and the members for Hasluck and Parkes thought was inappropriate, as it could raise the hopes of arachnoiditis sufferers that they will be eligible under the NDIS for assistance. It should not have been included, because there is no detail. This is just another example of putting the cart before the horse. So, I say to arachnoiditis sufferers: please do not get your hopes up until you get to see the detail.

In its final form the NDIS must represent and support the aspirational values of Australian society. It must recognise the vital contributions that those with a disability can make to the Australian community through work, sport, volunteering and various other activities. The NDIS should support those Australians living with disabilities to have full, rich and purposeful lives and as such should be a hand up and never a handout that deters people from working and contributing.

Many speakers have mentioned personal experiences, and I would like to tell the House about a mate of mine from South Australia. I have known and worked with this man for nearly 20 years and he has always been an inspiration to me. Ian O'Hara lives in Adelaide and was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of five. Ian was raised as an only child after his older sister died at a very young age. His parents saw that Ian was different from other children around his age and sought medical advice as to what Ian's problem might be. After running tests, Ian was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, and his parents were informed he would only live to an age of between 21 and 27. I am happy to say Ian turned 55 last December.

Ian's parents were determined to make sure that he had a fantastic life, so they did everything they could with him, despite his disability. Ian went on to race go-karts and was the Australian open runner-up in 1980 and 1981. In 1982 he won the Australian championship, because, he said, no-one else turned up. What a great effort. Ian enjoyed many other activities in his life that children with muscular dystrophy were not supposed or expected to do.

Ian's parents received no government or social support. They felt it was their duty as parents to look after their child and not the responsibility of the government or anyone else. Ian has taken on the same self-sufficient attitude in life. He started work at the age of 21 and is now one of the longest-serving employees at a national manufacturing company in South Australia. Ian took on the independent attitude of his parents and has always felt that it is his own personal responsibility to look after himself and not to rely on the support of government institutions and handouts. He now has a disability card that entitles him to some mobility allowance and healthcare benefits. The hoops he has to jump through to keep this card are another story again.

Ian married and soon had a daughter, Sarah, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome soon after she was born. He said to me that he is blessed with a beautiful daughter, who has brought him great pleasure and taught him to be less competitive in his own life. I would like to give you a brief example of how easygoing Sarah is. She is now 28 and loves to swim. She is so good at swimming that she competed in the trials that would have meant she had the honour of representing Australia at the Paralympics in Sydney in 2000. Sarah was leading her trial race and was in line to win it. However, Sarah did not win the trial race or anything else, because she stopped in the middle of the race to see where her friends, who were racing with her, were up to.

I asked Ian how he was after the race, and how Sarah was. Sarah did not mind missing out on the honour to represent Australia, because she saw her friends. Ian said he did not go to the trials, but Sarah's grandmother went instead. I could not believe that Ian had not gone to see his daughter compete in her event. Ian explained that he does not watch his daughter compete, because she will not swim if he is there. When Ian is around, all Sarah wants to do is talk to her dad. If Ian goes to watch her, Sarah gets out of the pool instead and sits with her dad. Obviously, these two people, who are dealing with their own challenges in life, and sharing them, have a great bond with each other.

Sarah has now left home and is working in an industrial laundry. She is living in a house with three other people with Down syndrome. The four of them have a casual carer who helps assist them with odd day-to-day tasks. I said casually to Ian that it is probably a party house, to which he remarked that the last time he saw Sarah she did have dark rings under her eyes.

I asked Ian what the NDIS meant to him and to Sarah. Ian said at the moment it means nothing to him as he has no idea whether he will be covered, because he has seen no detail. Indeed, no details have been released.

In regard to Sarah, he does not want the government to give her money that takes away her need to work and her independence. He said Sarah's job in an industrial laundry gives her a sense of self-worth and responsibility. Sarah enjoys the work, the money and the self-esteem the job provides. He does not think it would be an advantage for her to be given money under a scheme if it meant she did not need to work when she is able to support herself and contribute to society.

Ian also doubts the Labor government can implement a scheme like the NDIS. As he pointed out to me, they could not get the pink batts right, they could not get the computers in schools right, they could not get the school halls right and they cannot even deliver a surplus. As he rightly asks: what chance do they have of getting the NDIS right? He also queried the government's ability to pay for such an expensive scheme. Who are they going to take money from, or redirect money away from, to implement a scheme that at the moment is just another headline?

Ian and Sarah are fine examples of Australians with disabilities getting on with the job of living life and contributing to society. The beauty of the NDIS is that it will have the capacity to empower other Australians to do this. My brother Bevan, who had a stroke at the age of 51 and now relies on a carer, will welcome any assistance that will help him get on with his life. One of the things I have not mentioned so far is the carers of all the people with disabilities. They make enormous sacrifices to look after their people and the NDIS will certainly help them in their role as carers.

Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott was right in saying 'the NDIS is an idea whose time has come'. But it needs to be implemented properly. Funding needs to be confirmed and details need to be released before it can claim to be the transformative scheme it is touted to be. We in the coalition are committed to implementing the NDIS, which needs prudent fiscal management and proven leadership. We all in this place have the opportunity to commit to a functioning NDIS that for generations to come helps people with a disability to help themselves.

Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012, presented for consideration in this place—an historic time. It is fitting to begin by acknowledging the important progress, the aims and the benefits that the NDIS concept demonstrate. All of us in this chamber will acknowledge that the current systems provided to Australians for their disability, their families and their carers are not only insufficient but, as has been mentioned by a number of speakers today and previously on this bill, are also broken. What lies at the heart of many of the issues inherent to the current system is the lack of an universal approach to support based on need, rather than rationing, with the entitlement for support going to the individual.

The level of external assistance a person with a disability receives is largely dependent on several factors. These include: what state they live in; whether the disability is congenital or was acquired, and if acquired, whether it was in the workplace; whether it was as a result of a motor vehicle accident; or whether it was acquired in some other context. Workers compensation and motor vehicle accident insurance provides coverage in some states but if, however, your disability is from birth or you acquire a disability later in life, your experience can be vastly different, with many experiencing exhausting waiting lists and queues. The result is that many people with a disability are left without the assistance they need. It is critical, therefore, that a new system be developed where the individual is at the centre and wherever possible in charge, able to choose the supports, the aids, the equipment, the carer and the service providers of their choice. But what is more vital is that the system is flexible enough not only to adapt to the capacity of the individual, the family and the carers in the management of this process but also that the detail of how this program is implemented is right. The devil, indeed, is in the detail.

The coalition has enthusiastically supported every marker in that development of the NDIS. We supported the initial work by the Productivity Commission, the $1 billion allocated to the project in the last budget, the five launch sites and the agreement between the Commonwealth and New South Wales for a full state-wide rollout after the Hunter launch. The coalition believes in and supports the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It believes it can be delivered within the time frame recommended by the Productivity Commission by a prudent government that manages well. This is where the challenge lies. The coalition will devote every effort to engaging with the government and to endeavouring to help to ensure that the NDIS be the best that it can be. We are therefore ready to work with the government to see an NDIS delivered as soon as possible.

However, the coalition objects to the appropriation of the values underpinning the formation of the NDIS by Labor. Members of this government have attempted to assert that the NDIS represents quintessentially and exclusively Labor values. This is demonstrably false. The NDIS represents Australian values—a fair go, helping those who face challenges for reasons beyond their control, providing a secure and effective safety net that empowers those with a disability to reach their fullest potential, to celebrate their abilities, and to achieve a quality of life that every Australian deserves. Most Australians would be surprised to learn that these were partisan values and not those imparted to them by their parents and carers.

The particular value of the NDIS is that it is an individual-centric and self-directed funding model. The coalition believes that the full implementation of an NDIS will be nothing short of a new deal—a new future for people with disabilities, their carers and their families. The success of this new system is absolutely critical and every effort must be devoted to making it the best package possible. Because the NDIS is a once-in-a-generation reform that will unfold over the life of several parliaments, it should be the property of the whole parliament on behalf of the Australian people rather than that of a particular political party. A very high level of consultation and examination is critical to the successful development and implementation of the NDIS. The coalition has called for the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee to be chaired by both sides of politics to oversee the establishment and implementation of the NDIS. A parliamentary oversight committee would lock in all parties and provide a non-partisan environment, where issues of design and eligibility could be worked through cooperatively.

The member for Dawson has had a motion in the House to establish this committee for some time now. Regrettably, it has not been brought forward for a vote. Similarly, Senator Fifield moved a motion to establish the oversight committee. Labor and the Greens combined in the Senate to vote it down. The government should accept our offer of a parliamentary oversight committee. The coalition intends to give the government, the Greens and the Independents an opportunity to accept our hand of cooperation by moving an amendment to this bill to establish a non-partisan oversight committee. The offer ought to be accepted.

Despite the best efforts of the current federal government and members opposite to misrepresent facts, every government in Australia and every opposition in this nation supports and wants to see a National Disability Insurance Scheme planned and implemented effectively. That is why at the COAG before last it was disappointing that the Prime Minister could not rise above her partisan instincts. It is to the credit of the premiers of Victoria and New South Wales that they continued to negotiate in the face of public attack and misrepresentation by the federal government, and reached agreement to host launch sites. Their commitment is to the people with a disability, their families and their carers in their states.

The tangible benefits of a constructive approach were apparent when Premier O'Farrell and the Prime Minister signed an intergovernmental agreement in December, for a full state-wide NDIS rollout after the Hunter launch project. The Prime Minister must build on these constructive interactions in discussions with other states towards a conclusion of further bilateral agreements. The NDIS cannot function fully without an intergovernmental agreement with each state and territory. In reference to those states that are not hosting NDIS launch sites it should be noted that the Productivity Commission never stated that every state should host a site, nor did it assert that the absence of a launch site in a given state would be any hindrance to that state taking part in a full national rollout. Indeed, Premier Newman has written to the Prime Minister with a proposal to be part of a full national rollout, whilst Premier Barnett has written to the Prime Minister proposing a joint WA-Commonwealth NDIS. Unlike this government, which has incessantly sought to utilise and manipulate the NDIS as a tool for attacking—

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 1.45 pm the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour and the member for Macquarie will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.