Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion relates to a historic, one would almost say monumental, change in Australian public life. It has been talked about by governments of both political stripes for the last 40 years. Now something has been accomplished. An increase in the Medicare levy from 1½ to two per cent means in practical terms, for a person on $70,000 a year income, less than $1 a day towards doing something about this fundamental need.

Last week I had a rare night at home, and I caught Jennifer Byrne's program on literature and books. She interviewed the Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin, the author of the Rebus books. He talked about his son's disability and the fact that he and his wife had established a trust—and they are on quite reasonable incomes. But at the end of it he said about his son, 'I hope that there are good and decent people around to care for my son.'

We cannot always have faith in good and decent people being around for individual cases. We need concerted public government action, and that is what this is about. We have a situation where—I can only speak about New South Wales—perhaps 20 or 30 years ago most of the people who we now care about in regard to this move were institutionalised. Their parents could have some faith, even though they had doubts about them being institutionalised and away from home, that, when they died, somebody would look after them. The reality is now that, for good reason, we have deinstitutionalised, and many of the people with disabilities are in their family home. An increasing reality in this country is that, as the population ages, as people are living to 80—and they say that in Britain one million people born after 2009 will live to 100—and as these people age, there is an increased problem of what they fear for the future of their offspring with disabilities. The reality is that, even though disabled people live less long than us, they are also living longer, so we have a massive, burgeoning problem in this country and in Western society.

That is what the government is doing in regard to these measures. We have a situation where, by 2019, 90 per cent of people affected will be covered throughout this country on individual, individualised, personalised measures to make sure that what the society provides meets their personal needs. It is not only the government that has undertaken this monumental change; it is our country. It is the lobbyists in my electorate and in every part of this nation.

I have to say that, for a variety of reasons—and I have said this before—our electorate of Werriwa has a disproportionate number of people affected because of the prominence of public housing and single parents, predominantly women, in situations where the male in the house cannot live with a disabled child and the problems it causes. Our electorate has more than the national average.

In closing, I just want to talk about two organisations. On a typical weekend, yesterday afternoon I went to the Association of Bhanin El-Minieh event in South Granville in my former electorate. I want to congratulate a number of people: Omaima Saraya, Hannon Wehbe, Sawsan Bkai, Laura Mafri and Mustafa Hamed, the president of the association. Their event yesterday was raising money not for an ethnospecific Lebanese event but for Spectrum, the main organisation in the autism sector—a public event which is more important for another reason.

I went to another event—predominantly Italian—on the weekend with a number of colleagues from both sides of parliament at a very good Liverpool organisation which was built up by volunteers and has its own 24-hour service for autism sufferers. Chris Hayes, the member for Fowler, made the comment that, when he was at school, he knew no-one with autism because they were hidden away in the back rooms of houses, they did not go to school, they did not engage in society and the education system did not do anything for them—particularly with the Lebanese community. The reason that is important is there is an even stronger trend in that community not to talk about these problems, that it is all because of God, it is because the family did something wrong, that you cannot be going out in society or talking about these kinds of things because they embarrass the family. I commend both those associations, being among many others in my electorate in south-west Sydney, for raising this issue and making sure that something is finally done about this fundamental issue in this country. (Time expired)

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Robertson for moving this motion. While this was first debated in February this year, obviously there have been some major changes since then. It is important to reflect that more can always be done to assist the nearly four million Australians living with disabilities so that they do not feel isolated, secluded and left out of the opportunities that many of us take for granted. We all have a basic need and desire to live with dignity and to feel important, valued and respected.

We all want to play active roles in our families, in our working lives and in the broader community. Support for people with disabilities is not welfare; it is support to assist people to participate in the everyday life of our communities and our country. As I mentioned earlier this year, when speaking on the introduction of the NDIS legislation to this House, I would like to praise the people who were involved in the grassroots campaigns for people living with disabilities—their families, their friends, their carers and the support organisations—for their many years of hard work and effort, getting us to where we are today.

The Every Australian Counts campaign now has more than 155,000 supporters—and it is great to see Australians showing their commitment to people living with disabilities. The initial funding commitment in the recent federal budget through the increase in the Medicare levy of 0.5 per cent has been well received by Australians across the board, particularly those who have long campaigned for this kind of support. John Della Bosca, Every Australian Counts campaign director, said:

The Budget rights a wrong that has existed for decades. Australia has failed people with a disability and those who care for them. Tonight's Budget demonstrates that we are a nation that does what is right. Tonight's Budget makes the dream of the NDIS a certainty.

Over the past few years, I have spoken with a number of people in my electorate about the NDIS and I can remember having that discussion prior to being elected. Earlier this year I attended an afternoon tea forum on the NDIS at Lifestyle Solutions in Beenleigh. Lifestyle Solutions is a not-for-profit organisation, founded in Newcastle in 2001 with a vision to provide person-centred, flexible and responsive support services to people with disability. Over time, their support has extended beyond disabilities to include a range of support services for children, young people and adults across Australia.

At the afternoon tea there were a number of carers and people with disabilities who were eager to find out more about the NDIS and how it would assist them. I took the opportunity to speak with a number of constituents who told me they were looking forward to the extra support they envisaged would be provided by an NDIS. They said that they hoped the extra support and recognition might assist them to spend more of their time contributing to our community. They do not want to be recognised as somebody with a disability; they want to be recognised for their abilities.

Without the right support our workplaces and community organisations are missing out on some very bright and able individuals. The coalition supports this legislation from the beginning. We supported the work of the Productivity Commission, we supported the funding in the last budget and we supported the launch sites. In the future I look forward to hearing positive stories as a result of this historic change to the way Australians support their fellow citizens who live with these disabilities.

For the individuals in Forde: on 8 May this year an agreement was made between the Commonwealth and Queensland governments for the full scheme to be implemented from July 2019, with the transition to commence in 2016. Along with my coalition colleagues, I support the NDIS and will continue to place the NDIS above politics.

Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in the House today to speak on the provision of disability services in Australia. I thank the member for Robertson for putting this on the agenda today. I note that the federal Labor government has introduced the National Disability Insurance Scheme, now DisabilityCare. The Labor Party has made DisabilityCare become a reality. DisabilityCare Australia will be rolled out across Tasmania by 2019. The Productivity Commission's report into disability care and support in 2011 identified the way Australian governments respond to providing care and support for people living with a severe disability as 'unfair, fragmented, inequitable and underfunded'. It identified that people living with a disability had very little or no control over decisions about their own lives.

I was pleased to be joined by the Prime Minister, the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform, the Hon. Jenny Macklin, and the Tasmanian Premier, the Hon. Lara Giddings, in Newstead recently for the official signing for Tasmania at St Michaels. The introduction of DisabilityCare is fantastic news for people with a disability, their families and carers. In our community it means that around 11,000 Tasmanians will receive the care and support that we all know they deserve through DisabilityCare Australia.

It is a huge achievement and truly a credit to our local campaigners, who have fought so hard to make sure that people with a disability in Tasmania have the support they need over their lifetimes. I pay tribute to Bill Shorten for his early work on DisabilityCare. I am really proud to represent a community that has spoken up loud and clear for disability care. There are numerous people in my own electorate who have lobbied me in this area, and I have heard their calls loud and clear.

Other eligible Tasmanian residents will start entering the scheme in July 2016. The cost of the full scheme in Tasmania is around $475 million in 2019-20. By 2019-20 the Commonwealth government will contribute around $245 million to the scheme in Tasmania. This will be about 51 per cent of the scheme cost.

The fundamental principle behind DisabilityCare Australia is that it is about what the individual with a disability can do. If a person has a permanent disability that impairs their ability to function, it is likely they will get support under DisabilityCare Australia. This support could include an individual plan or even include help to get access to a range of support, from education to finding community groups that meet their needs.

There is no list of what is in or what is out of the scheme because one person with a vision impairment or an intellectual disability might have different needs or circumstances to another person, even though they have the same kind of disability. In the middle of this year we expect DisabilityCare to launch transition agencies, which will employ about 30 people in Tasmania as staff or contractors. Staff will include qualified planners, who will work with people to develop their individual support statements; local area coordinators, who will help people with a disability to participate in their community and to access their other support needs through the NDIS; and financial managers, technical staff and administrators. In Tasmania, the offices will be in Launceston, Devonport and Hobart.

Depending on life's chances, any one of us could be living with a permanent disability that significantly reduces our ability to independently care for ourselves. On average, every 30 minutes someone in Australia is diagnosed with a significant disability. The services available for people should not be determined by how they acquire their disability. National DisabilityCare will give all Australians the peace of mind that, if they have or acquire a disability that leaves them needing daily assistance with everyday life or they care for someone who has a disability, they will be supported. This is what Labor governments do—we support the vulnerable who need a helping hand.

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this year I joined my parliamentary colleagues on both sides of the aisle in standing up in this place and declaring support for a national disability insurance scheme to assist some of our nation's most vulnerable people. I am grateful for the opportunity to stand here once again and applaud the bipartisan approach to this policy. As we all know, the standard in this place is to focus on our divisions and our disagreements. This is despite the fact that every member is elected to this parliament with a genuine desire to make our great country greater. Every so often an issue comes along that rises above politics and we stand here shoulder to shoulder and declare that the issue is bigger than any of our partisan differences.

The provision of a strong level of protection of the services for those with a disability is one of those issues. The National Disability Insurance Scheme has developed as a result of a strong grassroots campaign, with Every Australian Counts and DisabiliTEA events receiving support from all corners of our society. My electorate of Bennelong possesses many great examples of community organisations that have given of themselves tirelessly over many decades, well before these campaigns commenced. These efforts deserve repeated recognition in this place.

Since my election to parliament, I have served as patron of Achieve Australia, who provide support and various services to approximately 550 local people with disabilities. Achieve's efforts help their clients to become independent through employment opportunities and assisted accommodation services. Minimbah Challenge runs respite programs for over 60 people with disabilities, encouraging individual independence and autonomy. The Ryde Area Supported Accommodation for Intellectually Disabled, or RASAID, has given thousands of hours of support whilst also working to secure long-term accommodation. I have spoken many times in this place of the efforts of the parents of RASAID and the amazing courage and resilience they show on a daily basis. North Ryde Community Aid & Information Centre hosts morning teas, lunches and special outings for those with mobility issues. Catholic Community Services, North Sydney, helps school leavers to find work through their Transition to Work program. ESTIA Foundation provides 24-hour respite care for young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Unfortunately, time constraints prevent me from individually recognising and thanking every person and organisation who has worked hard to assist people with disabilities in Bennelong. The best way for us as policymakers to show our appreciation is to continue supporting the bipartisan approach to the NDIS policy to ensure this important issue is kept above politics and to work with our local communities in recognising the great efforts of those around us in helping those most in need. The Leader of the Opposition has repeatedly said that the NDIS is a policy whose time has come. It should give all Australians immense pride that the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has cross-party support at both federal and state levels of government. All of us in this place want the NDIS to be a success. We stand side by side, ready to work together with all government jurisdictions to implement a productive and efficient policy that provides the best protection for those most in need.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a nation there are a lot of things that we can indeed be proud of—in particular, initiatives that we have taken to ensure that the quality of life of the people that live within Australia is up to a standard that we would all like for ourselves.

But one of the areas that we have not done so well in is the way we have responded to the needs of the 460,000-odd Australians who live each and every day with a severe disability. And it is not only them who face the hardships each day; it is equally their family members and carers, who are locked into a lifetime of disruption to their normal life as a result of taking the time to care for those people with a disability. So the introduction of a national disability insurance scheme for all those people is something I very much welcome. As others have said time and time again, it is long overdue, but it will indeed mean a life-changing transformation for those people with a disability and for their carers and family members.

The commitment by the government means that in about seven years time there will be something like $19.3 billion allocated by the federal government towards meeting the needs of those people with a severe disability. That means an additional $14.3 billion over that period. It comes partly from a half of one per cent rise in the Medicare levy. As others have pointed out, that equates for most people to an increase of about a dollar a day. Not surprisingly, I have had very few objections to the increase in the Medicare levy. I am not surprised because I believe that Australians are fair-minded people who understand that the commitment of about a dollar a day is justified when you consider the benefits it will bring to those people who need the assistance. Other speakers have also made the point that it could at any time be any one of them or their family members who are the recipients of that support. So, again, I am not at all surprised to see that there has been what I believe is wide-scale support for the new funding that will be provided and few objections to the levy.

For South Australia it is very important because in that state, which I represent, some 33,000 South Australians will benefit from these changes. Currently there has been a commitment to get trials underway for children under five years of age. By the years 2014 to 2016 the trials will extend to children up to 14 years of age and after that, in the two years between 2016 and 2018-19, the trials and the scheme will be rolled out to all people in South Australia with a disability. I commend the Weatherill state Labor government for being quick off the mark to support the federal government's National Disability Insurance Scheme and to do so by making a state commitment of some $760 million by the year 2018-19. That will mean that by 2018-19 the commitment by the state government to supporting people with a disability will have risen from $135 million in 2002, when Labor came to office, to $760 million—almost a sixfold increase to support families with a disability. The services will of course be determined over the years ahead, but broadly they will include services like therapy, respite, supported accommodation, equipment, care and the like—services that will make a life-changing difference for those families that for too long have suffered with the burden of disability.

While speaking about disability, I believe the other area that, as a parliament and as a nation, we have also neglected for too long is dental care in this country. I believe it is the next area of reform that we as a nation need to tackle. I think the fact that we have had few objections to increasing the Medicare levy to pay for a necessary health service demonstrates that if we use the same kind of model for dental care we may also in the future be able to achieve the reforms we need so that people across Australia receive the dental treatment that they are looking for.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion from the member for Robertson on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, NDIS. At present, approximately four million Australians have a disability. The NDIS truly is a once-in-a-generation reform to deliver a better deal for people with a disability, their carers and their families. I wholeheartedly support the NDIS, which has similarly received very strong support from all sections of the Ryan community, and I have seen this support firsthand at many of the DisabiliTEA events held in my electorate.

The proposed rollout of the NDIS has been anything but smooth and, as with so many proposals from this Labor government, we are still waiting on the final details. Australians with a disability and their carers want the confidence that the NDIS means a permanent change in the way that our country supports people with a disability. Last year a disability levy was discussed at the July Council of Australian Governments—COAG—meeting and was supported by premiers across the country. At that time the Prime Minister rejected the idea, but less than 12 months later the Prime Minister suddenly changed her mind and decided that an increase to the Medicare levy was acceptable.

While the coalition has supported this measure insofar as it is a practical contribution to the rollout of the NDIS, I do note that there are significant ongoing concerns about how the NDIS will be funded. The government has passed the increase to the Medicare levy, but has not outlined how the remaining 60 per cent funding shortfall will be provided. While the levy will come into effect this year, the coalition wants to see the DisabilityCare Australia Fund established to hold the proceeds of this levy to ensure that all the proceeds are allocated to the NDIS.

Australians still lack detail on who exactly will be eligible for the NDIS trials, as mentioned by the member for Robertson's motion, and who will be eligible for the NDIS when it is fully implemented. It is essential that the assessment tools that the NDIS Launch Transition Agency will use to determine participant eligibility are released. This is so that people with a physical impairment, sensory impairment or intellectual impairment know whether they are in or out. I have been contacted by many constituents who suffer from significant physical disabilities that require them to spend thousands of dollars each year just so they can walk and drive. As one of my constituents has noted: they cannot claim their disability expenses on tax or access services through private health insurance, and they do not receive government welfare. They just want to know whether they will be eligible for the NDIS or whether they will continue to fall through the cracks. Therefore it is absolutely critical that all elements of the NDIS required for its launch are legislated in the current parliament.

While the NDIS framework legislation has passed the parliament, the final NDIS rules should also be released. Furthermore, concerns continue to be raised with me about Australians who acquire a disability after the age of 65. People are rightly concerned that while they will pay taxes during their entire working life, if they are unfortunate enough to acquire a disability after they turn 65 they will not be eligible for support through the NDIS.

There have been significant steps taken to date to support Australians with a disability. The Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, reached an agreement earlier this month so that the NDIS can benefit tens of thousands of Queensland families when the scheme is fully implemented from 1 July 2019. I note also that last year the Queensland government announced an extra $868 million for disability services over the five years to 2018-19—the biggest single increase in disability funding that this country has ever seen.

The coalition wholeheartedly supports the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We want it to happen, and we want it to happen in this term of parliament. The NDIS is a program supported widely across my electorate of Ryan and across Australia. It has laudable aims to truly make a difference to the most vulnerable in our community, and everyone in this House wants to ensure that we roll out the NDIS appropriately and efficiently to give hope to Australians with a disability and their families and carers.

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to add my voice to those in the chamber who are supporting DisabilityCare, and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about the need for this scheme and the benefits of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I want to add my voice to what is a growing consensus about this groundbreaking reform that will change the lives of so many people. It is truly a reform whose time has come and a reform that the government is very proud to be delivering.

I want to reflect on a rally where I spoke earlier this year in Melbourne. It was an NDIS rally, and I was joined by my constituent and vocal NDIS advocate Millie Parker. It was a very humbling experience, because Millie spoke about how lucky she felt that she had acquired her brain injury through a road accident, where her rehab and other needs were paid for by the Victorian TAC scheme. She drew comparisons with other women who acquired their brain injuries through domestic violence, and for whom rehabilitation and other support services were costly and hard to find.

Millie has been a tireless champion of this reform. Our local community is very proud of her as, I think, is the nation, and I thank her and the many thousands of others who have made an important contribution to where we now stand. But I must say it is truly humbling when someone who has had such a severe impact on her life from an accident might say that she was lucky to have acquired it in one way rather than another. It does highlight the cruel lottery that has been the case for those people with disabilities in this country looking for our help.

Other constituents to lend their support to DisabilityCare were Altona residents Ann and Barry Darwin. Ann is deaf, and she spoke of the costs over the years of saving for each time that her hearing aid needed to be replaced. Ann worked as a pharmacy technician in a public hospital and she needed that hearing aid for work. For Ann it was not optional to have that hearing aid, and given that it needed to be replaced every two to three years at a cost of $2,000 each time, fitting that into the family budget was difficult.

At this time it is estimated that in Gellibrand around 2,900 people will benefit from DisabilityCare, and over 17,000 across Melbourne's western suburbs. Many of these people are on low incomes, and struggle to make ends meet when paying for therapy, and equipment and technology required for day-to-day life is an additional burden. DisabilityCare will bring to an end the tragedy of services denied or delayed, and instead will offer people with disability the care and support they need over their lifetimes. As I said at the beginning, it will end the cruel lottery that besets people today, where the care and support they receive depends on where they live or how they acquired their disability.

The rights of people with disabilities, their families and carers, are at the heart of the NDIS and the heart of this bill. The bill that has just now been passed by the parliament will implement a nationwide, demand-driven system of care tailored to the needs of individuals, and established on a durable, long-term basis. We know that this is unlocking the potential of those with disabilities, who have the capacity to contribute so much more to the community if only the right supports were available. This means that people will be able to access early intervention therapies and supports, where these supports will improve a person's functioning, or slow or prevent the progression of their disability over a lifetime.

I am proud that Labor is delivering this reform. We have, over history, been the party of great reform, and people with disabilities, families and carers have been forgotten for too long. It was Labor that listened to their concerns, Labor that put forward the legislation, Labor that negotiated with the states, and Labor that has put it in the budget. Labor has always fought for those who, for many reasons, have been unable to fight for themselves. And every Labor person across Australia should be very proud of DisabilityCare as a reform that will outlive us all.

I particularly want to pay a brief tribute to two amazing women who worked tirelessly on this reform, in addition to those I have mentioned in my electorate. They are Prime Minister Gillard and Minister Jenny Macklin. Both have championed this reform right from the start. The community is never going to forget the role that you have played in making DisabilityCare a reality. I also want to pay tribute to my ministerial colleague Bill Shorten, whose role was instrumental in getting this off the ground when he was a parliamentary secretary for disability services.

I look forward very much to July 1, the launch date, with hope and optimism for the future—the day that we put rights and needs of Australians with a disability first. Thank you.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, welcome the motion and the spirit of bipartisanship which has existed throughout the entire debate in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I appreciate the opportunity to make the point that members of the coalition have made previously—that the coalition stands as one with the government when it comes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We believe that it is an idea whose time has come, and we are committed to making sure that it is implemented—not only by this parliament but also by future parliaments. We recognise that there is a long way to go in terms of the implementation of what is a terrific idea.

We support the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and we are on the public record expressing our support for the Medicare-style levy, which will be required to at least partially fund the early stage of the implementation of the NDIS.

I take up the member for Gellibrand's reference to life's lottery, which applies in this instance. I believe sincerely that those of us who have been in a position in this great country to be able to earn a good income would not really begrudge putting something aside to make sure that people with disabilities and their carers are well looked after. Those of us who are in a comfortable position recognise that providing some additional funding towards the NDIS is something that is reasonable and responsible in the circumstances. It is in every sense, then, a general insurance-style premium in that regard, where money is put into the system. You hope you personally are never required to use of any it but you recognise that if at sometime later in your life either yourself or your friends or family acquire a disability, there will be strong support in place from the federal government to look after them and their carers as well.

I do not want to give the impression through this debate or any discussion in the broader electorate of Gippsland that the NDIS is a done deal. There is still a long way to go in terms of the implementation. A lot of work is still required in getting the detail right. Once we do establish the trial sites—and I welcome the government's announcement in that regard—I am sure we will find some very difficult moments as we try to decide exactly how the system is going to work. It is complex and we have not really grappled with the full decision yet of how the program is going to be completely funded as we roll it out across the nation. There will be a lot of questions for members of not only this current parliament but also future parliaments.

I hope that we can continue to maintain the spirit of bipartisanship we have seen over the last couple of years on this issue and make sure that when these inevitable problems do arise that we do not resort to party political lines, that we manage to maintain that same strong sense of bipartisanship to develop a system which works for all Australians. I strongly endorse the position of the Leader of the Opposition that there should be a committee which is jointly chaired across party lines to ensure the implementation of the NDIS is a great success. This will be a reform not just for the Labor Party but also for the Liberal Party and the National Party and the Greens and the Independents to deliver in that spirit of bipartisanship.

I also caution that we must not use the prospect of the rollout of the NDIS as an excuse not to do anything in the area of disability services—not to roll out other improvements in the ensuing three or four years. We are still quite a long way away from the full rollout of the NDIS and there are problems now in our system There are problems where the support for people with disabilities and their carers is crisis driven. In many cases it is only when the carers themselves are about to give up that they are able to access respite and be given the assistance they need in their own communities. So there is a desperate need across the electorate of Gippsland for improved respite services.

Last week I met with a mother who has two adult children with profound disabilities. I spent an hour talking with her, gaining a little understanding of the challenges she faces 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For this lady, just a little extra help in terms of respite services would allow her to have more of a normal life with her husband; for them to recharge and then deal with the great complexities of their lot in life dealing with two adult children with disabilities.

We cannot allow our wait for the NDIS to define all of our actions in this space. We need to make sure we are still supporting carers and people with disabilities in the coming years before the rollout of the entire scheme. On that note, I had the great fortune of attending the opening of a new facility in Sale on the weekend at the George Gray Centre. The George Gray Centre has provided support for adults in my community for more than 40 years. I had the opportunity to say a special thank you to the staff, the board members and the volunteers who are already doing such a great amount of work in supporting people with disabilities and their carers. We need to continue to work with that sector to ensure we support them in whatever way possible. (Time expired)

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion on the National Disability Insurance Scheme put forward by the member for Robertson and I commend this 43rd parliament particularly for the bipartisan spirit and the spirit of the contributions from both sides of the chamber in such an important area.

I would like to commend the efforts of all the campaigners who have worked so hard in the lead-up to this, particularly those in the Every Australian Counts campaign, who have carried out an incredibly effective grassroots campaign that was educational, informative and passionate, and really moved the Australian community to a stage where there would only be a few people who do not see the benefits of bringing in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It does not seem so long ago that the Productivity Commission reported to the Labor government on what needed to be done in this area. I want to note some people who have made contributions. The member for Gellibrand commented on Minister Shorten's particular passion for this area, and I note as well the contributions from Minister Macklin and the Prime Minister.

The Productivity Commission report revealed the needs of people with disability across Australia, their families and their carers, and how their needs were not being met. The Gillard Labor government saw that we needed to act quickly and nationally to do what we could to remedy this distressing situation, and that this would also bring economic benefits. Nowadays Medicare is accepted by all Australians. It would be ludicrous to think of any new government trying to dismantle Medicare, and it will not be so long before we think in the same way about DisabilityCare. I know that we still need to sort out a few things, but the good thing is that DisabilityCare will be up and running in only 33 or 34 days. There are still some nuts and bolts to be sorted out with some states, but the reality is that it will change lives significantly by 1 July.

Recently I had the pleasure of joining the Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, the Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin, and many local community workers in my electorate at Autism Queensland's school in Sunnybank Hills to watch Queensland sign up with the federal government to implement DisabilityCare. I would particularly mention a young school student called Sandy Porter, a year 12 student who stole the moment by saying, 'This is what the nation is all about.' He gave a letter to the Prime Minister, a letter that brought her to tears when she referred to it in introducing the legislation. It included a photograph of the Prime Minister. He and his school friends had written about how the scheme would make a difference in their lives. It is all about dignity; it is all about control; it is all about a plan for the future rather than responding to circumstances. People like Sandy Porter will now have some control. I must also mention his mother, Fiona Anderson, who has been doing a great job as the Queensland head of the Every Australian Counts campaign.

At the event I also met with the president of the Spinal Injuries Association, David Riley. He lives a few hundred metres or so from my electorate office, but we had not met before. It was great to have a chat with him. I seem to have a lot of peak bodies located in my electorate, and another I would like to mention is the Endeavour Foundation. It is one of Australia's largest non-government disability service providers, supporting more than 3,350 people with disability across 230 locations throughout Australia. It is one of the many disability services organisations that will step up and take a leading role in DisabilityCare. With all respect to the full-profit organisations who have put their hands in the air and jumped in to provide services, I would ask the minister and the government to look at the long-term, not-for-profit organisations and charities that have been in this field for 100 years plus. They are not always the super professional organisations, but I would hope they will be given the chance to be leading organisations in DisabilityCare. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.