The NDIS is not a political football
14/02/2014
South Australian Dignity for Disability Leader Kelly Vincent MLC today urged both the Abbott Government and the Shorten Opposition to maintain focus on delivering the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
“It says much about the state of the politics game in this country that parliamentarians prefer to argue about a few numbers than talk about the inequality that we people with disabilities battle every day, and the consequences of that,” says Kelly Vincent.
“It’s really disappointing to hear Disabilities Spokespersons Senator Mitch Fifield and Jenny Macklin MP squabbling over the implementation of NDIS trial sites.
“Instead of fighting over the tin tacks of quarterly progress reports, both the Government and Opposition need to maintain a steadfast commitment to the NDIS and give us the support and opportunities we need to fully contribute and live our lives with the freedom many others take for granted.
“The NDIS is charged with repairing decades of systemic neglect so naturally there will be teething problems and unexpected costs. The simple fact is that if the true needs of people with disability had not been ignored for so long, we would not need to be making this huge investment now. So it’s time to get serious about catching up with giving everyone in this wealthy first world country a first class life, not playing political ping pong with our dignity.
“The very reason the Government set up trial sites of the scheme was to enable it to learn the full extent of the problem in the disability community. Now that we have them, trial sites represent an effective test case and will doubtless reveal nuances and practicalities that were not foreseen by Government.
“Both Prime Minister Abbott and Opposition Leader Shorten agreed to a bipartisan approach on this issue so they need to pull their Disabilities Spokespeople into line and get on with the job of providing the NDIS to Australians with disabilities.
“Meanwhile, we are still fighting for the most basic of human rights – such as having adequate support to carry out everyday tasks and not waiting years for equipment that is vital to our productivity and independence. Let’s get on with it,” said Ms Vincent.
