Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the suggestions by the Treasurer (Mr Morrison) that cuts may have to be made in the welfare system to pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and

(ii) those on income support have disproportionally borne the burden of two cruel budgets; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) keep their pre-election commitment to 'deliver the NDIS' but not at the expense of people on income support, and

(ii) cease their relentless attack on our social security safety net.

Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted for one minute.

The government does not support this motion. The reality is that our social services bill represents about one-third of the Commonwealth budget and it is growing faster than any other area of government. We believe in a strong safety net for Australians, but part of that strength is its sustainability. For the system to be fair, welfare payments need to be carefully targeted and paid to those who need them most, including participants of the NDIS. In each and every budget, the coalition has fulfilled its election commitment to fully fund the NDIS by 2019-20. However, increasing the Medicare levy will cover less than 30 per cent of the $11.5 billion required by the Commonwealth to pay for its share of the NDIS. Combined with other existing disability spending, this leaves a $5.2 billion funding gap. In other words, little more than half of the Commonwealth's ongoing contribution to the NDIS was funded. The government is working to fund the NDIS in a sustainable way that does not require borrowings and that would not need to be paid back by future generations of taxpayers.

Question agreed to.