6 March, 2013
Doorstop Interview
PINARC Pennyweight Park
222 Otway Street (South), Ballarat
6 March 2013
12:30pm
E & OE
Subjects: NDIS
JOURNALIST:
What have you done and what are you doing today?
MITCH FIFIELD:
I was invited by John Fitzgibbon to look at the good work PINARC does and to take part in a disability forum to explain the Coalition’s strong commitment to an NDIS and also to hear from the community what they would like to see in an NDIS.
JOURNALIST:
What has come out of it? What have you found?
MITCH FIFIELD:
People want to see the NDIS yesterday, understandably, because of the unmet need for support for people with disability. But there are a few benchmarks that they laid out, that they would use to judge the success of the NDIS. One of those is a reduction in the number of relinquishments. Another is addressing the backlog for supported accommodation. We need to be able to answer the question of ageing parent carers, as to who is going to look after their adult sons and daughters when they are no longer around to do so.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think it is a sustainable program?
MITCH FIFIELD:
The NDIS is something that has to happen. There are waiting lists for supported accommodation. Waiting lists for aids and equipment. Waiting lists for respite. We are a wealthy country. We are a first world country. And we need to do better.
JOURNALIST:
If the Coalition got into government it is definitely something that would continue on?
MITCH FIFIELD:
The NDIS is a priority for the Coalition. It is something that we are committed to. We have offered the government a joint parliamentary committee to oversight the implementation of the NDIS, to be chaired by both sides of politics, to lock in all parties and also to make sure the NDIS is elevated beyond partisanship.
JOURNALIST:
What do you think is the major point it could bring?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Peace of mind for families. There are families that break, that split apart, because they don’t get the support that they need for one of their members who has a disability. We want to support families. We want to end the rationing. And put people with disability at the centre and in control of their lives.
ENDS