Labor welcomes today’s commitment to roll out the National Disability Insurance Scheme across New South Wales and Victoria.

 

People with disability, their carers and families have waited their whole lives for the NDIS.

Today, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Shadow Minister for Disability Reform Jenny Macklin, celebrated the signing of these agreements with members of Down Syndrome Australia.

These agreements now provide certainty to people with disability in New South Wales and Victoria that the NDIS will reach right across those states and gives people with disability assurance to plan.

Labor built the NDIS because we heard the calls for change.

 

The current disability system is completely broken.

Labor heard clearly that we needed to put an end to Australia’s deeply unfair, inefficient and fragmented disability support services.

 

We heard that governments over many, many years weren’t making the right investments and they weren’t investing enough.

 

And that as a consequence, people with disability had been forced to live as second class citizens.

 

The NDIS is designed to fix this – to transform the lives of people with disability, their families and their carers – and it is.

 

In Government, Labor fully funded the NDIS.

 

For the first time, people with disability have their needs met in a way that supports them to live with choice and dignity.

 

When fully rolled out, the NDIS will provide support to more than 460,000 people with disability, their carers and families.

 

Labor calls on Malcolm Turnbull to quickly finalise agreements with remaining states and the Northern Territory so that people with disability right across Australia can benefit from this truly transformational reform.

 

WEDNESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2015

 

MEDIA CONTACT: LEADER’S OFFICE MEDIA UNIT 02 6277 4053

ALICE KEMBLE (MACKLIN) 0438 693 898