HoR - National Disability Insurance Scheme
14th February, 2013
Today I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill. This Bill is providing the members of this chamber with an opportunity to highlight the plight of many Australians who must live with a disability.
However further to that, this Bill is also providing the opportunity to recognise, not only the difficulties that disabled Australians face every day of their lives, but also the huge contribution that many of their family members and careers make to support those in their care.
Almost every family includes someone with a disability, often a life -long disability. Severe disability can not only destroy the lifestyle of an individual, but also impacts on the broader family.
These are Parents unable to achieve their ambition in life and work - siblings who must go without so that the needs of the family member with disabilities can be met.
But let's not forget that family members with disabilities; sons, daughters, brothers, sisters; also bring joy to their parents and family members. Small achievements are celebrated because they are in reality great achievements.
Many people overcome disabilities to lead productive lives and make full contributions to their communities.
The role of a caring society is to make sure all Australians are able to achieve to their potential and to live satisfying lives.
Australia already has a wide range of services for people with disabilities and their families.
These services provide a great deal of help and make a real difference for many families. I respect and admire those who provide this care and thank them all for what is often challenging work.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme concept is intended to take these services to a new level and deliver them in a different and more comprehensive way.
The Coalition wants to ensure that all Australians receive a fair go and that is what the NDIS aims to achieve.
People with disabilities, their families and their careers must be at the centre of the scheme.
The Scheme is intended to provide disabled Australians with opportunities that many of us take for granted.
Currently the level of support a person with a disability receives is dependent on the state they live in, the type of disability they have and when, where or how it was acquired.
Those who are born with a disability or acquire one when they are older are less likely to be provided with the level of assistance they require.
Every member in this chamber knows that the system of support for Australians with a disability is failing many families.
We need a national approach in order to support people with disabilities that have for so long been marginalised.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics just under one in five Australians currently suffer from a disability.
That is more than 4 million Australians.
Now obviously that 4 million covers a multitude of degrees of disability from mild to severe.
Not all of those 4 million Australians require assistance to manage their health conditions or cope with everyday activities.
It is proposed that the NDIS will provide people with a disability an opportunity to be in charge for their supports, aids, equipment and service providers.
However the Labor government has failed to outline the eligibility and assessment criteria that will be used to determine who will receive assistance through the NDIS.
Over and over the Labor government shows they are a government of concepts, but not delivery. This bill is a part of the desperate attempt of the Prime Minister to create a legacy in the last days of her office. She wants to take credit for the NDIS even though she will not deliver a single service.
This bill does not deliver an NDIS or the money to fund it.
The 4 million Australians that live with a disability deserve results.
The issue is not about getting support for the NDIS.
In fact every government and opposition in every State across Australia supports an NDIS, as does the Federal Coalition.
The issue with the NDIS is in the details. How will it work? Who will benefit? Where will the money come from? Where will the extra carers come from? How will the NDIS be managed and the quality of services assured?
These are details that the Labor government fails to provide and should have been part of any legislation to actually implement an NDIS.
Details that are fully costed and fully budgeted.
Details that are comprehensively outlined to guarantee that those who so desperately need this scheme will be the ones who benefit from it.
This is called a National Disability Insurance Scheme but does nothing to insure those 4 million disabled Australians that this Scheme is more than just a concept.
To guarantee that this scheme will work well and is generous will, no doubt, cost the Australian people a lot of money - on the latest estimates at least $8 billion extra per year. But the Labor Government has huge budget deficits and massive debt.
If this is a genuine insurance scheme, as it is called, then we have to assume that like other insurance schemes there will be a premium to be paid.
So I ask the Government, what is the premium? What is the premium that everyone needs to pay in order to be covered?
The Labor Government has failed to provide any assurance to disabled Australians that this program has longevity and that the costs of having a scheme, which is paid for by Australian tax payers, will not spiral out of control.
Currently the Labor Government has committed $1 billion to the NDIS over 4 years. However the Productivity Commission figures show that the first pilot phase alone will cost $3.9 billion over this period.
Like all insurance schemes, the more people make a claim, the higher the premiums will rise.
The more generous the scheme, the more people will want to be part of it. There is evidence of this response with the Disability Pension in Australia and around the world.
Yet the government provides no explanation about how the gate keeper, will work and who will control access to the scheme to ensure that it benefits those who need it the most. How much will be considered affordable.
There is already dispute about whether the Scheme should be available for people of retirement age. In the past this may not have been an issue as most people with significant disabilities did not have a great life expectancy.
But that is no longer the case as modern medical science enables people to be treated for conditions which once would have taken a person's life.
It appears that many Australians who could benefit from the NDIS will not be eligible.
People who are aged over 65 years will not be eligible to request support from the NDIS.
Just over half (52%) of people aged 60 years and over have a disability.
Most of these do not need any assistance to manage health conditions or cope with everyday activities. For those who do, the most commonly reported needs are help with property maintenance, household chores and mobility.
By the time Australians get to 90 years and over, 88% will suffer from a disability. The cost of caring for these people is obviously significant.
The NDIS will need to provide arrangements to enable those who have been receiving support, perhaps for their whole life time, to continue to obtain help once they turn 65.
They cannot simply be cast adrift at a time when they need it most. Even previously fit people usually need help in their later years and a care and support system will need to remain in place also for these people.
One of the primary concepts of the NDIS focuses on early intervention in order to mitigate, alleviate or prevent the deterioration of a person's functional capacity.
If this element of the scheme is successful it could have the potential to reduce the numbers of people who suffer with a disability, and in turn reduce the costs of caring for elderly Australians.
This is just another example of the benefits that the NDIS could have if it is right.
But, it is not just the people with a disability that will benefit from the NDIS if we get it right.
There are over 2.6 million carers who provide assistance to those who need help because of disability or old age every day in Australia.
In fact it was carers who originally came up with the original concept of an NDIS five years ago, and have continued to lobby for one.
No one better understands the need for an NDIS than those who tirelessly and willingly provide every day support for someone with a disability.
There is no denying that acting as a carer for someone is an incredible act of love, and all Australians must recognise the sacrifice that carers make daily often with little reward.
Disability impacts the whole family and all too often I hear stories of hardship and struggle when people have to give up careers and paid work in order to care for someone with a disability.
The NDIS could provide a huge level of assistance to carers, if the details are right.
The Coalition has and will continue to support an NDIS.
We supported the Productivity Commission report, the $1 billion in the budget, the five launch sites, and the agreement between the Commonwealth and NSW for a full state-wide roll out after the Hunter launch.
Beyond this we are calling for the Government to establish a joint parliamentary committee in order to continue to progress the development of the scheme.
We need a national approach which harnesses the resources of the states, private sectors providers and the charitable sectors. An NDIS will never work unless there is an inter-governmental agreement between all states and territories.
I was recently reminded of the vulnerability of disabled Australians.
A young man from my electorate of Wide Bay was unfortunately killed in the floods as they swept through the Gympie district last month.
This young man was confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy.
While driving through a flood creek waters surrounded his parents' car washed them down the flooded creek.
His parents were able to cling to trees long enough to be rescued, however this young man was unable to fend for himself.
This terrible incident highlights the fact that people with disabilities often need help in the most unexpected times and the importance of doing all we can to support our disabled Australians.
I implore the Government to get the details right and support the Coalitions call for a bi-partisan parliamentary committee to oversight the Scheme.
IT will after all be the task of the incoming Coalition Government to actually implement the Scheme.
The NDIS must represent good and reasonable value for money; it must take into account current support networks, families and carers; and it should not include support that is more appropriately funded or provided elsewhere.
Full implementation of an NDIS would be nothing short of a new deal for people with disabilities and their carers.
The NDIS must be a success, and all members of this Chamber have a responsibility to ensure its success.
The NDIS could provide real change and real hope for disabled Australians.
That is why it is so vitally important that we get this right.
[ENDS]
