George Christensen MP

Federal Member for Dawson

MEDIA STATEMENT

NDIS will be properly financed under Coalition

The National Disability Insurance Scheme will be properly financed under a Tony Abbott-led Liberal National government. Tony Abbott is on the record as saying the NDIS is an idea whose time has come. His remarks followed the comments I made back in February in support of the scheme during a Liberal National Coalition Joint Party Room meeting. I told the party room about my upbringing by two parents who lived with disabilities my mother being an epileptic and having mild cerebral palsy and my father being an amputee after losing a leg to the terrible disease of cancer. I told the party room that the Coalitions in principle support was good but more meat was needed to be added to that support. I told the party room that we needed to step up on the NDIS in the face of the most disgusting politicisation of the proposal by Julia Gillard. The day before I made those remarks to the party room, Julia Gillard, after defeating Kevin Rudds bid to return to the Labor leadership, had said the next big challenge is to build the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Do they want to see that? Do they want to see us build the economy we will need for the future? To all of that, Tony Abbott will say no, no, no, no, no. Clearly, Julia Gillard was wrong. Tony Abbott says yes, yes, yes, yes to the NDIS. Since I raised that matter in the party room, Tony Abbott has committed the Coalition to the scheme, declared himself Dr Yes to the NDIS and offered the government bipartisan support to the implementation of the scheme support that Julia Gillard rejected. Today Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey told the National Press Club that it is wrong to raise false hopes on the NDIS. He is right. The Gillard Labor government has raised expectations on the NDIS and has done so without allocating enough funding to its proposed trial scheme and

PO Box 1697, Mackay Qld 4740 |

07 4944 0662 |

george.christensen.mp@aph.gov.au

without ensuring the State governments are financially able to commit to the proposal. This is a terrible start to the NDIS. I cannot help but think that, given Labors poor track record on delivery, the biggest risk to the NDIS is the current government botching it completely with cost blow-outs, slow progress and by bureaucratising the scheme so more money is spent on administration than on people with disabilities. The Liberal National Coalitions approach, on the other hand, will be one that delivers the scheme in full when the nations finances are in a position to do so and without the introduction of more taxes that burden everyone.
ENDS: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 For more information phone George on 0749440662