Yesterday, August 10th, the Federal Government announced it’s support for a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
From The Australian:
Julia Gillard throws weight behind historic disability reform
Julia Gillard throws weight behind historic disability reform
AUSTRALIA will have a National Disability Insurance Scheme after Julia Gillard yesterday declared her unequivocal support for the key social policy and the Productivity Commission said any hostile state could be bypassed.
The Prime Minister’s support for the historic reform came in response to the commission’s final report on disability care and support, which strongly endorses a commonwealth-run, no-fault NDIS.
“I certainly want to see a national disability insurance scheme. I share the vision of a national disability insurance scheme as the right way forward for our country,” Ms Gillard said.
But the Prime Minister said there was a lot of policy work still to do before the scheme, estimated to cost an additional $6.5 billion beyond current disability funding, could be rolled out. She said it could be seven years before the scheme was up and running.
Ms Gillard also warned that the new system must be “fiscally sustainable”, saying “We’ve got to get the money right and that will take time”.
Fierce resistance from some states to the mining tax, the carbon tax and aspects of health reform have dogged the federal government’s recent reform agenda, leading to concerns over its ability to deliver major policy.
But a disability insurance scheme, along with large-scale, aged-care reforms proposed earlier this week, could be the circuit-breakers the government is looking for. The NDIS has received bipartisan support, with the federal opposition and most states backing the measure. Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten, a former parliamentary secretary for disabilities, said the NDIS was a key plank of social policy.
“There are four pillars which assure the quality of Australian life for all – the minimum wage, the age pension, compulsory superannuation and Medicare. The National Disability Insurance Scheme has the potential to be the missing fifth pillar,” he said.
Read the rest of The Australian’s story here.
