[dbaust] More News on NDIS from The Age's text only

From: "Richard Howell" <r.mhowell@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "DBAust" <dbaust@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:45:00 +1000
[The Age <http://www.theage.com.au>  | Text-only index 
<http://www.theage.com.au/text/> ]

Abbott backs national disability scheme
Date: April 30 2012

Cortlan Bennett
Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has offered bipartisan support for a 
National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in response to Prime Minister Julia Gillard's 
announcement of funding in
this year's budget.
Addressing a public rally in Perth on Monday, Mr Abbott said he wanted to 
establish a "bipartisan
parliamentary committee", chaired by Disability Reform Minister Jenny Macklin 
and her Liberal
counterpart Mitch Fifield.
"I offer the government constructive cooperation," Mr Abbott told the 
500-strong crowd who had
turned up in support of the NDIS.
"I offer the government bipartisan support for a responsible and timely NDIS.
"And I think the best way forward, as well as having an independent commission 
to look after things
at the institutional level, is to have a bipartisan parliamentary committee, 
chaired by both sides'
disabilities frontbenchers, to ensure that it gets looked after at a political 
level."
Mr Abbott said he had been "unfairly" characterised as "Dr No" by the Labor 
government for his
negative stance towards many of its policies but did not wish to stand in the 
way of this latest
reform.
"When it comes to the national disability insurance scheme, I am Dr Yes," he 
said to the laughter
and applause of the audience.
However, Mr Abbott also tried to take the wind out of Ms Gillard's earlier 
announcement by saying
the NDIS would not be a "triumph of party politics" if and when it was 
legislated.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by the normal business of 
politics," the opposition
leader said.
"We must make this a reality ... this will be done.
"This will not be a party-political triumph when it happens."
Mr Abbott's comments followed an address by West Australian ministerial adviser 
and disabled
activist Samantha Jenkinson, who called for greater representation of disabled 
people in the NDIS
legislative debate.
"We need quarantined money in the budget to start building the fund for the 
scheme now," Ms
Jenkinson said.
"We need an independent agency to be set up which will work with people with 
disabilities.
"Politicians, no matter how bipartisan they are, no matter how well intentioned 
they are, won't make
a system that's flexible and responsive at a local level to meet people's needs.
"We need to have people with disabilities and families - people with the lived 
experience of
disability who know what works."
Employment opportunity was the main issue many of those at the rally wanted the 
NDIS to address.
"Australia is one of the five wealthiest countries in the world," National 
Ethnic Disability
Alliance senior policy officer Zel Iscel, who has been blind from birth, told 
the crowd.
"Yet a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers indicates out of the 27 OECD 
countries, Australia
rates 27th in the employment of disabled people."
WA Young Person of the Year and quadriplegic Peter Darch echoed Ms Iscel's 
sentiments.
"I feel I have a solid foundation from which I can expand my career," he said.
"I'm well educated, I'm very proud, I'm confident and I'm well-respected.
"But unfortunately, there's currently no way for me to receive the physical 
support that I need to
sustain employment."
World champion swimmer and nine-times Paralympic gold medallist Priya Cooper 
told AAP after the
rally that employment focus needed to be the main priority of any disability 
insurance scheme.
"Sometimes people just see what's in front of them and don't realise we've got 
a lot to offer," she
said.
"People with disabilities are the lowest employed and that shouldn't be the 
case, because you've got
people who can make such a significant contribution to the community in all 
areas."
Organisers for the Perth leg of the Make it Real rally, which was held in six 
capital cities across
the nation, said they welcomed Ms Gillard's announcement of federal funding but 
would continue to
campaign for an NDIS until it was legislated.
This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or 
mirroring is prohibited.
[ The Age <http://www.theage.com.au>  | Text-only index 
<http://www.theage.com.au/text/> ]




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[dbaust] More News on NDIS from The Age's text only

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