The Prime Minister held a round-table meeting in Sydney yesterday with senior National Disability Insurance Agency executives and conceded the effective delivery of the scheme was an “enormously big task”.
Former opposition leader Bill Shorten has been appointed shadow minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Labor’s new-look shadow cabinet, while Andrew Leigh will continue to work with the charity sector as shadow assistant minister.
The biggest changes to Victoria’s guardianship and administration laws in more than 30 years have passed the Parliament thanks to the Andrews Labor Government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has appointed the first ever dedicated minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as part of a major cabinet reshuffle in wake of the federal election. Liberal MP Stuart Robert will enter cabinet as the minister for the NDIS after the scheme was taken out of the social services portfolio.
In Scott Morrison’s victory speech he said he would govern for “all Australians”. That statement gave many people with disability hope that they would have a stronger voice and that their needs would be given higher priority by the government in this parliamentary term.
Newly re-elected Prime Minister Scott Morrison says fixing problems in the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be an immediate priority for the federal government, as the social sector reacts to the Coalition’s stunning election victory. This pledge has been welcomed by disability groups, who say they intend to keep the prime minister to his word.
While attention has been paid to disability access at polling booths and assistance is available for voters with a disability, some advocates feel more could be done to make the actual casting of the vote more private for people with a disability.
The Coalition is promising significant changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), giving participants more certainty over their plans and forcing the troubled agency to make decisions more quickly.
The background paper puts Australia’s ageing population under the microscope. It explores complex issues associated with the country’s changing demographic profile, including changes in patterns of disease and dependency, the rising incidence of dementia, changing expectations and the changing cultural profile of the Australian community. It also explores current arrangements, future pressures and a greater need for preventative and restorative health.
With the Australian political parties gearing up for the Federal Election next month, disability peak bodies and advocates are calling for a focus on inclusion and support for people living with disability.
Pressure is mounting on John Ryan and Barbara Bennett to step down from the commission over their previous roles in departments likely to come under significant scrutiny during the inquiry.
Boudin told PM that PWD had received numerous calls from people either denied access to NDIS or else having their plan substantially reduced in the second and subsequent year of participation for no apparent reason. “We’ve been told it’s all about sustainability of the scheme,” he said. “But then we get to a budget situation and there is an underspend in the billions, we’re appalled; it just doesn’t make sense”.
Peter Dutton has apologised to his Labor opponent Ali France for suggesting she was using her disability as an “excuse” for not living in the Dickson electorate.
The Treasurer is right when he says there is “underspend” in the scheme, but what he forgot to mention is that underspend exists because his government has broken the scheme so badly that for many people it has simply stopped working.
Senator Steele-John said the actual number of people with disabilities who were abused or neglected was much higher than the number of reports. “There are many people who, because of their disability or circumstances, physically cannot use the safeguard system to report.