Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

We are making appropriate investments into the NDIS. We see it as critical. As the architects of the NDIS; the party that actually drove the establishment of the NDIS, that designed the NDIS; that reached agreement with all the states and territories at the time—apart from WA if I remember correctly, because I was the first minister of the ACT to implement a national scheme to ensure the people who have a disability and their carers are given the support that's required to live a dignified and full life. As someone who had worked in the disability sector before coming into politics it was something I felt very proud, as a first minister of the ACT, to be a part of. It was something that I worked collegiately with the former Labor government on to put in place.

I see the NDIS as an investment in people and an investment in the community. I've already heard stories from people who have received support or resources through the NDIS and I have no doubt about the difference it has made in their lives.

As the Minister for Finance I also have a responsibility to make sure that the budget is on a sustainable footing. There are five programs that are presenting long-term, structural challenges to the budget: health, aged care, defence, servicing the cost of $1 trillion of Liberal debt and the NDIS. From the finance side of things, I have to look at how we can sustainably fund programs. As a person who has been part of working in the disability sector, I see the investments in the NDIS as an investment in people. I'm very proud of the reform that the former Gillard government introduced.