Minister accuses states of exaggerating NDIS criticism
· Michael West
Criticism of looming changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme by states and territories is overblown, the minister who oversees the scheme says.
Carve-outs from the reforms were unlikely despite disapproval from the disability sector and state and territory disability ministers, federal Health Minister Mark Butler said on Sunday.
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About 160,000 people will be removed from the NDIS and transferred to other state-run support programs as part of changes designed to cut the cost of the $56 billion scheme.
But in a submission to a Senate inquiry examining the reforms, state and territory disability ministers said jurisdictions were not prepared and many NDIS participants would fall through the cracks.
The federal government is overhauling the National Disability Insurance Scheme. (Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS)Mr Butler said the jurisdictions were exaggerating in their criticisms.
“There’s a bit of posturing going on through this process,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“That submission was an extraordinary submission, given the clear commitments that premiers signed on to a few months ago, in exchange for which the Commonwealth has made available $25 billion in additional funding to hospitals.
“The community now expects all governments to get on with the job of delivering it – better hospital services, and an NDIS that is secured for the long term.”
The government was criticised for the length of the three-day Senate inquiry, with the sector concerned the changes were being rushed through.
Mark Butler says the NDIS will remain Australia’s biggest social program outside the aged pension. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)Labor has said it hopes to have the changes pass the upper house before parliament rises for the winter break on July 2.
Mr Butler said large adjustments to the NDIS overhaul were not expected following the inquiry.
“The direction of travel, the need to make big changes that secure this incredibly important social program for the future, I’m convinced is the right direction of travel,” he said.
“I’m utterly convinced this is the right plan for the NDIS and the hundreds of thousands of people that it supports.”
The inquiry was told disabled Australians could lose critical support, face social isolation or even die because of the changes.
A Senate inquiry will hand down its final report on the NDIS changes on Tuesday. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)Mr Butler sought to allay the concerns.
“(The NDIS has) transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians for the better and I completely understand why they’re desperately concerned to hang on to that reform,” he said.
“I’m desperately concerned to do that as well.
“I want to reassure them this will still be the biggest social program Australia has outside the aged pension.”
The Senate inquiry will hand down its final report on the changes on Tuesday.
Opposition frontbencher Phillip Thompson, whose daughter is on the NDIS, said the government’s focus had been too heavily weighted on the dollar amount being saved.
“They really make you feel like your loved one is an inconvenient dollar figure on the government’s budget bottom line,” he told Sky News.