Labor to 'very seriously' consider disabled reform

Stephen Lunn, Social Affairs Reporter, The Australian, 7th October 2010

Disability reform, including a national no-fault insurance scheme, will be a key social policy priority for the Gillard government.
Jenny Macklin yesterday told The Australian that the government will take "very seriously" any recommendation made next year by the Productivity Commission, for a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Community Services Minister met the commission's expert panel on long-term disability care and support in Sydney yesterday, with a future NDIS high on the agenda.
"I wanted to attend this first meeting after the election to indicate to them that as senior minister I'd be taking responsibility for this area and also to show the importance that both I and government attach to it," Ms Macklin said.
She said the government was waiting for the commission's draft report early next year before its final report mid-year, at which time "the government will look very seriously at the recommendations".
With an estimated 760,000 people under the age of 65 living with a severe or profound disability, support for changes in the way the disabled receive assistance is mounting.
During the election campaign, Julia Gillard said introducing an NDIS would be a "very, very major shift . . . but the status quo can't stay".
And in flagging-up the government's second-term agenda on September 28, Governor-General Quentin Bryce made a specific reference to disability as "a national priority that needs a national response".
"The government therefore looks forward to giving careful consideration to the Productivity Commission's forthcoming report on a national disability insurance scheme," Ms Bryce said.
Ms Macklin said disability reform was one of her top portfolio priorities for the current term.
"Like the Prime Minister, I know the current system is not good enough, and we know we need a new approach," Ms Macklin said.
"In the meantime, we have put in place some other significant reforms, including substantial improvements to the disability support pension."