30 November, 2012
2CC Canberra Radio
With Mark Parton
30 November 2012
7.15am
E & OE
Subjects: National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
MARK PARTON:
Let’s go now to Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield, the Opposition spokesman on disability. We welcome him to the program. Hello Mitch.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Good morning Mark.
MARK PARTON:
I’m extremely concerned and I know you are about this Government’s ability to pay for this scheme. I think it goes without saying that all sides of politics are in favour of the general thrust of what’s going on here. How are we going to pay for it?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Well that’s the question. And you’re right Mark. We are all in favour of a National Disability Insurance Scheme. Australians with disability have had a raw deal for far too long. There was some good news in the last budget, a billion dollars allocated, but that was only a quarter of what the Productivity Commission said was necessary for the first phase of the NDIS. And the Government has given no indication of funding beyond that. We had the legislation come into the Parliament yesterday to give effect to the NDIS but legislation that didn’t have a single dollar attached. And if you’ve got legislation that’s going to set something up with no money then that’s a hollow gesture.
MARK PARTON:
There’s part of me that cynically believe yesterday that this scheme is being set up by the Government in the belief that they’re going to be in Opposition when the business end of it comes around and that you won’t be able to actually deliver it the way that they’ve laid it down.
MITCH FIFIELD:
You can forgive a cynical mind for thinking that that could be the Government’s rationale. But it’s a fact that if the Government doesn’t provide funding certainty for the NDIS then that will have an impact on the implementation timetable for whoever wins the next election.
MARK PARTON:
Why was there so much vitriol from Jenny Macklin directed to the Opposition on this in federal parliament during the week? Because that was an extraordinary performance from her.
MITCH FIFIELD:
It was, Mark. I just don’t understand it. It was an appalling performance because you would think that if there was one area where both sides of politics could work together to do something good it would be to provide proper support for people with disability. We’ve extended the hand of bipartisanship to the Government on the NDIS. We’ve offered to set up a joint parliamentary oversight committee chaired by both sides of politics that would oversee the implementation of the NDIS and would lock in all parties to support the scheme. But the Government has said no.
MARK PARTON:
Is there a commitment from the Opposition at this stage to continue and fulfil these NDIS obligations if and when you find yourself in Government next year?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Absolutely, we supported the small amount of funding that’s already been committed to the NDIS. We support the five launch sites, one of which is all of the ACT. We want to see this happen. And it should be possible if you have a Government that is managing well, that’s competent, that the Productivity Commission’s target date of a full scheme by 2018-19 should be doable. But the truth is we don’t know what we’re going to inherit from the Government. We don’t know what our starting point will be. We don’t know if they’ll have made a mess of the launch sites. We hope they don’t. We hope they go smoothly. But we have to wait and see.
MARK PARTON:
Alright. Thanks for coming on this morning.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Thanks.