1. 10:56 7th Feb 2012

    Tags: disability politics

    …Mr Abbott showed what he didn’t know about the National Disability Insurance Scheme when he said it’s $6 billion and we’ve got to get back in surplus.

    If he’d read the Productivity Commission report, and to be fair he may well have – it was a long report and he might have missed this table. The Productivity Commission proposed setting up a series of layers – so this figure of $6 billion, as posited by the Productivity Commission, is a figure which arrives in 2018.

    This idea that this nation is too poor and it’s too hard to find a solution is a copout, and I think there’ll be a lot of people with disabilities and their carers who’ll be contacting the Libs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a policy backflip from the Liberals in the course of the next 12 months. Because when they get out back to their electorates after saying how wonderful Mr Abbott’s negativity is, there’ll be a lot of people with disability and carers saying hang on, the Labor side, they’re saying they’ve got a plan, they’ve got stages – they’re going to do it. The Liberal side are saying well maybe we’ll have a look at it depending on whatever else.

    People with disability have had enough weasel words for decades.

    — 

    Bill Shorten on Tony Abbott’s Press Club Speech,

    At the NDIS campaign website, everyaustraliancounts.com.au.