Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS.

The federal Labor government asked the Productivity Commission to investigate the feasibility of new approaches for funding and delivering long-term disability care and support. The announcement of the govern­ment's intention to have the Productivity Commission investigate the options for the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme was a significant announcement and something I was certainly excited about. I am sure this excitement was shared across the wider disability sector.

Upon coming to government, we reco­gnised that the status quo was not good enough. That is why we asked the Product­ivity Commission to conduct this inquiry. The Productivity Commission inquiry, I believe, presents the government with a unique opportunity to implement significant policy reform in the area of disability.

Upon our re-election to government, Senator Jan McLucas was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers. Senator McLucas is a passionate advocate for people living with disabilities and has been working to advance the government's policy initiatives in the area of disabilities. Just recently Senator McLucas launched the National Disability Strategy. The strategy sets out a bold vision: an inclusive Australian society that enables people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal citizens.

The government is committed to support­ing people with a disability. That is why we are currently providing more than $6 billion over five years for more and better specialist disability services. This is for improved access to specialised employment services and for delivery of our historic pension increases for people with a disability and for carers. This funding injection has doubled previous government spending on disability, but we know more needs to be done and that is why we have put disability on the national agenda.

The release of the Productivity Commission's draft report as part of its inquiry into support for Australians living with a disability has suggested a major change to the way people with a disability are supported. The government wants to see a system that responds to the unique needs of people with a disability, provides greater incentives for early intervention to reduce the impact of a disability, provides better opportunities for people with a disability and their carers to work and fully participate in our community and is affordable and sustain­able.

Of course, change of such a substantive nature does not come easily. As the report identifies, there are some significant barriers to change, like a complicated system, a limit­ed workforce and significant cost barriers. But we should not be deterred, because with any significant piece of public policy reform there are always benefits associated with its successful implementation. The case of the NDIS is no exception.

As identified in the Productivity Commission's draft report, a National Dis­ability Insurance Scheme would provide support for everyone in Australia. For instance, the NDIS would help a baby who is born with a significant disability or a person who gets a significant disability later in life. In effect, the scheme would cover all 22 million Australians. It would also benefit around four million Australians affected by a disability by providing them with infor­mation and helping them find the right services to fit their needs. As well as offering support to the 360,000 people who have a significant disability, this would mean services would be tailored to the person's individual needs by working out and providing the most appropriate services and support. As we move forward, the Product­ivity Commission have recently been cond­ucting consultation sessions around Austra­lia. They are conducting these consultations in response to the release of their draft report as well as accepting written submissions in response to the draft report. The consultation process was recently in Hobart and I was told that it was a very positive consultation with a great deal of support for the introduction of an NDIS.

In fact in Tasmania, the NDIS has been received very positively right across the state. With our higher prevalence of people with a disability, an NDIS would benefit many Tasmanians. Recently in Hobart, I had the opportunity to appear and speak at a parliamentary forum on the NDIS which was conducted and organised by National Disability Services Tasmania. So I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Margaret Reynolds and her team at NDS Tasmania for organising the parliamentary forum at Parliament House, Hobart.

NDS do wonderful work in Tasmania providing support for people with a disability and advocating on their behalf. The forum was chaired by Mr John Della Bosca, campaign director for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I would also like to acknowledge the fantastic work John and his team are undertaking through their work on the campaign and advocation of an NDIS. John is a passionate advocate for the NDIS and has spoken about the importance of the political consensus for an NDIS continuing into the future. There was an excellent turnout at the forum with representatives from the sector, disability workers, people living with a disability and their carers and their families all present.

At the forum, parliamentarians had the opportunity to make a contribution and then members of the audience were able to ask questions. Senator Fifield, shadow minister for disabilities, carers and the voluntary sector, represented the opposition. He made what I believe was an excellent, worthwhile and very supportive contribution. At the forum, people shared their stories and experiences with the forum audience and there was certainly a lot of goodwill and broad bipartisan support in the room, that was shared by Senator Fifield.

It was also clear that the sector, disability workers, people with a disability and their carers and families do not expect anything less. They do not want the NDIS to turn into a political issue. They want bipartisan support for the NDIS to continue and to see an NDIS implemented. This cross-party support is crucial. If the NDIS is to be implemented, bipartisan support needs to be forthcoming. The NDIS is a huge piece of potential public policy reform, so we need everyone to get in and work together to ensure it is delivered. Presently there is bipartisan support from all sides of politics, as I see it, and I hope this continues because there are too many Australians who stand to benefit from the implementation of such a scheme not to continue.

In recent days we had some good news for students with a disability and their families. Announced as part of the budget on Tuesday was $200 million to provide extra support for students with a disability. This funding will ensure that every student with a disability will receive a quality education. As the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, the Hon. Peter Garrett, highlighted currently, there are more than 164,000 students with disabilities attending Australian schools. So the More Support for Students with Disabilities initiative is critically important because it will deliver new services, equipment and support on the ground where they are needed. The program will deliver new services and provide benefits for students and their families such as speech and occupational therapy, access to special equipment in the classroom such as audio and visual technology so students are able to learn more easily and engage with their classmates and teachers, additional hours of in-class support from teacher aides and health and allied health professionals, and an adapted curriculum tailored to their needs.

The package will also include improved support for teachers by providing them with more support staff, better planning support so their lessons enhance the way students with disabilities learn and by giving teachers access to expert advice so they can learn the latest skills and strategies. Students will receive the benefits from the More Support for Students with Disabilities initiative by the time school starts next year. Whilst this is an excellent initiative and we have made many strides in our support for people with a disability through our large-scale investment in disability services, I believe that ultimately a national disability insurance scheme is the best way to support people living with a disability.

I look forward to the Productivity Commission delivering their final report to the government, which is due in July this year, and I look forward to the response of the government to the Productivity Comm­ission's final report. And I look forward to reading the Productivity Commission's final report and continuing to advocate for the introduction of a national disability insurance scheme.