1 May, 2013
ABC Newsradio
With Marius Benson
1 May 2013
8:15am
E & OE
Subjects: National Disability Insurance Scheme
MARIUS BENSON:
Mitch Fifield, the expectation now is that the government will announce today or perhaps tomorrow, that it is going ahead with this levy, this 0.5% levy, an increase to the Medicare levy to pay for the NDIS. What are your thoughts on that now?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Marius, from what we read in the papers, and we don’t have anything direct from the Government, there have been a series of leaks, it looks like the levy they are proposing will be lucky to cover half the costs of the NDIS. They haven’t fully costed what they need to do. We call on the Government to show where the money is going to come from today.
MARIUS BENSON:
The Government is saying this is beginning its actions on the NDIS, more generally, it’s a beginning of the NDIS. If you’re the government after September 14, it will be up to you. What will happen to the NDIS now? Because Tony Abbott is saying he’d introduce it, he is favour of it in principle, and it should be rolled out as soon as reasonably possible, which is a bit of a blank cheque.
MITCH FIFIELD:
The Coalition has supported each milestone along the road to the NDIS. The NDIS is an idea whose time has come. It has to happen. But what we’ve had is an ambush by the Government. The Prime Minister has been contending for the past couple of years that they had the money for the NDIS. Then, a few days ago, she says ‘actually, forget everything I have previously said. The cupboard is bare’. Now we have this ambush announcement. We want to hear what the Government has to say. And if what they propose doesn’t cover the full cost of an NDIS, then they’ve got to be honest with the Australian public and say exactly how they are going to cover the full cost of an NDIS. Forget this ambush. Forget this lying to the Australian public. Come clean.
MARIUS BENSON:
That’s what the Government has to do in your view, what about the Opposition though? Joe Hockey for example is saying he’s not sure it is affordable. It depends on the state of the budget. Is the NDIS something that will definitely go ahead with the Opposition? Or is it in the maybe tray depending on the finances?
MITCH FIFIELD:
We’re determined to pursue the NDIS through to its conclusion. It should be possible to deliver an NDIS by a government that is managing well. The problem is, this government has been wasteful. They’ve mislead the Australian public for the past two years, saying they had the money, saying they had made provision, saying there wouldn’t be a need for a levy. And then the Prime Minister wakes up one morning and says, ‘I’ve just discovered there is no money here. We might have to look at a levy’. She is being disingenuous. Who knows if what they will announce today will be their final position.
MARIUS BENSON:
Everybody seemingly is in favour of the NDIS in principle. The only question is money. A fairly substantial question. Peter Costello for example yesterday was saying that he wouldn’t be introducing it in this form, at this time, the budget is in deficit. Do you agree with that?
MITCH FIFIELD:
I agree with Peter Costello that the budget is in deficit. Governing is all about priorities. And if you were starting from scratch working out what should be the core business of government, proper support for Australians with disability would be one of the first things that you would start with. The problem here is that proper provisioning for support for people with disabilities is the last thing the government has thought of. That is why they are now saying ‘oh look, we’ve allocated money on every other thing we can possibly think of and now we’ve run out of money, and that is why we now have to look at a levy’. What this government is saying is that people with disabilities have in fact been an afterthought.
MARIUS BENSON:
In summary, are you saying, unambiguously, vote for the Opposition, for the Coalition on September 14 and you’ll get an NDIS from us.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Vote for the Coalition and you will get an NDIS. The Coalition will always be better managers of money. The Coalition will always be in a better position to competently deliver and fund reform like the NDIS.
MARIUS BENSON:
Mitch Fifield, thanks very much.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Thanks Marius.
ENDS
Media contact: Sarah Bridger
0435 183 137 | sarah.bridger@aph.gov.au