Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in relation to the Treasurer's comments yesterday on the budget that there are alternatives, apparently, that the government is now thinking of taking. I rise today to call on this government to rule out any plans that it might have in place to slow down in any way the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The former Labor government had the great foresight to introduce the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Members opposite might recall that the Productivity Commission concluded in its findings that Australia simply could not afford any further policy inaction in this space.

My electorate of Newcastle is one of the national launch sites for the NDIS rollout. The NDIS is making a profound difference to the lives of thousands of Newcastle and Hunter residents living with disabilities, their families and their carers. After one year of operation in Newcastle, 2,000 people now have individual plans and are being serviced under the NDIS launch. Mr Nicholas Gleeson spoke yesterday on behalf of NDIS partner Ability Links. He said:

From all reports I’ve heard it’s definitely helping people to have greater access to services and improve their lives. We need to be speeding up the rollout, not slowing it down.

This government must rule out any attempts to slow down the NDIS.