General News
Gillard brought to tears while introducing disability legislation
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been brought to tears in Parliament while introducing legislation to help fund the national disability insurance scheme.
In an emotional speech, Ms Gillard spoke of some people with disabilities she has recently met, including a 17-year-old boy from Brisbane, called Sandy.
"Sandy has big dreams for his future, like any teenager, but his future also has some big needs: mobility aids that cost tens of thousands of dollars, personal care to maintain his hygiene, physical therapy to maintain his muscles and his health," the Prime Minister told the House of Representatives.
"When I met this young man he handed me a card signed by him and his mates to say thanks for what we are doing for people with disability."
The Prime Minister said Sandy and others with a disability would finally have "security and dignity" with the introduction of the DisabilityCare scheme.
"This, above all, is why Australians so overwhelmingly support DisabilityCare," she said.
"Over the past six years, the idea of a national disability insurance scheme has found a place in our nation's heart.
"In March, we gave it a place in our nation's laws. Today we inscribe it in our nation's finances.
"DisabilityCare Australia starts in seven weeks - and there will be no turning back."
When she finished, the Prime Minister was embraced by Disability Reform Minister Jenny Macklin.
"This is a reform whose time has come, a reform that will deliver significant benefits to people with disabilities, to their carers and to their families and to the wider Australian community," she said.
Opposition spokesman on families Kevin Andrews was the only Opposition MP in the House to hear the PM speak.
The legislation will increase the Medicare levy by 0.5 of a percentage point, raising $3.2 billion a year.
The money will be put in a special fund and will help roll out the scheme, which is estimated to need $8 billion a year in federal funding when it is fully operational in 2018-19.
The Opposition has said it will support the measure, but wants to see the details of how the scheme will work and who will be covered in the legislation.
What is the NDIS?
- The scheme will support more than 400,000 Australians with a disability, their families and carers
- It will help pay for carers, to give parents of children with a disability a break
- It will help pay for new wheelchairs tailored to individual needs
- It will fund home modifications to help people with a disability move around easier
- It will fund early intervention services children, like physiotherapy and speech pathology
- The increase to the Medicare levy equates to an extra dollar a day for an average income earner
- The change would collect $20 billion in its first five years
Additional Information
Country: Australia
Website: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-15/gillard-cries-while-introducing-disability-legislation/4690692
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Source: www.abc.net.au
When: 17/5/2013
