Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

We'll come to your second question. I'm answering the first of what sounded like several. That means that the growth of the scheme will be faster than inflation. I think most Australians—whether they are participants in the scheme, whether they are applying to be participants in the scheme or whether they have no relationship to the scheme but are supportive of the scheme—would say that eight per cent per annum growth is not a cut. It is not a cut. The budget allocations for the scheme will not get smaller each year. They will continue to increase. They will just increase by less than they would if the government were to take its hands off the wheel, which is what characterised the last nine years of government.

I know that there were attempts by the government to make changes that were not agreed by the parliament, and that is a great source of frustration for ministers; I accept that that is deeply felt. We are trying to do reform now. We have worked hard with the states and territories. We are working hard across the parliament, we are working hard with the public servants and the people who are delivering this work, and we are working hard with the disability community to make the scheme sustainable for future generations.

In terms of the number of people who are currently in the pipeline making applications for the scheme, I do not have that material at hand, and it would not normally be provided as part of this process. I look forward, very much, to Senate estimates in September—