Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. Will the minister update the House on the importance of fully funding the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the Prime Minister noted today, we had several representatives from the disability community and they spoke with one voice. They said that they wanted this parliament to agree to fully fund the NDIS through the levy. The Prime Minister mentioned several of those. One of the advocates who he did not mention was Juan de la Torre from the National Ethnic Disability Alliance. John Della Bosca made a number of very important statements. He said that it is now time to fully fund the NDIS to ensure that the changes are absolutely intergenerational, that the young children we saw today have absolute certainty of funding going forward.

Members opposite have said two things. One is that there should be an increase in the Medicare levy, but only for those on above $87,000. Through the shadow Treasurer they have also said that they will not spend that money on the NDIS. Do you know what it is if you apply it to people on over $87,000 and do not fund it on the NDIS? It is a brand-new and novel type of class warfare, where you declare war on the middle class—you declare war on aspirational people who are trying to get ahead and are earning over $87,000. What is fair about that? What is fair about saying to a teacher in New South Wales with five years experience that they alone should pay a 0.5 per cent increase in the Medicare levy, and a teacher in New South Wales with four years experience should not have to pay any increase in the Medicare levy? What on earth is fair about that?

What we have devised is a system that all of these disability advocates absolutely agree is fair, and the reason it is fair is that it asks every Australian who is paying the Medicare levy, with all of the exemptions that are inside the system, to pay according to their ability. So a person on $180,000 might have an income only six times greater than a person on a lower income in the system but they would pay 12 times more. What the Labor Party does in asking a teacher of four years experience to contribute nothing while asking a teacher with five years experience to contribute under the Medicare levy is not only misrepresent people's capacity to pay but misrepresent people's goodwill and capacity to want to pay to fund the NDIS.

Finally, one of the advocates we had today was Juan de la Torre from the National Ethnic Disability Alliance. He had some very interesting things to say to me and asked if I would pass a message on to the Leader of the Opposition. I said to him, 'I have just the time we can do that,' and here it is. Leader of the Opposition, Juan de la Torre said that you would remember him from your parliamentary secretary days. His message was very simple. In his words, he wanted you to get 'fair dinkum' and be like you used to be and support funding for the NDIS.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right! The Minister for Small Business will cease interjecting, as will the minister for transport.