John Della Bosca, Sydney Morning Herald, 29th April 2013
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott recently asked what the National Disability Insurance Scheme was trying to achieve, and if it would impose a cost we could not afford. The council is behind the program, in assessing a key issue for national productivity and casting judgment on its fiscal prudence.
The Productivity Commission answered the question 18 months ago ...
... PricewaterhouseCoopers found that, with NDIS supports, increased employment participation by people with disability would be an additional 370,000 people by 2050. This would increase gross domestic product by almost $50 billion by 2050, which equates to a further 1.4 per cent contribution to GDP.
... The initial financial cost of phased transition to the NDIS is high because Australia has for decades invested so little and so ineptly in this sizeable group of Australians. For them to become contributors and consumers, they need the investment kick-start of the NDIS. The Business Council needs to come to grips with that.
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