There's been a few feathers flying here, with the federal Labor gov in the process of setting up a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It aims to, from what I can gather, massively increase funding to the disabled so they can get the level of care they need (for example, to pay for a wheelchair, or walking aids). Families can often end up in serious debt buying these sorts of things, and the family carers involved often are overworked, depressed, needing help themselves. There are many issues involved, I know as I was a primary carer myself for my wife. I had to buy her a walking frame from the hospital at one point and they're not cheap, it was over $100. The hospital gave her a wheelchair, just a basic one, as she was so well known by the staff there that they found one for her. The level of assistance apparently varies from state to state as well, and I assume the NDIS has the aim to standardise care across the country. I came across this description of it:
Here’s how the scheme will work.
1. It will cost about $8 billion a year more than the states currently spend on disability.
2. Payments will be given to the most seriously disabled people in Australia, based on need.
3. It will require a system for assessing just who the most in need are.
4. Those people will be able to spend those payments as they see fit. They will no longer have to apply for limited numbers of payments or pay for services only offered in capital cities. They can make up their own mind about what support they need the most.
5. Some money will be allocated on vastly improving the disability support sector.
6. In doing that, competition in that sector will increase and dodgy operators will hopefully be squeezed out. The NDIS will provide choice.
7. The Australian Government has allocated $1 billion in the budget to start the scheme. It will begin next year, helping 10,000. The year after that it will expand to help 20,000. There are some 330,000 people with disabilities that require ‘significant’ amounts of care and support.
Link
Which all sounds bloody brilliant.
But, then came the meeting between the heads of states (Premiers) and the Prime Minister to sort out some of the funding and get the beginnings of the system going. What you would think would be just a formality, especially as we're taking about the disabled here. We have however had a few state elections in recent times with loony tunes conservative gov's taking control. I dunno who's worse, the old incompetent gov's that were chucked out, or the new conservative gov's apparently on a mission from god.
So the conservative gov's use the meeting about the NDIS as an opportunity to score political points over the hapless Prime Minister Gillard. They dig their feet in, refuse to provide funding, and go back to their home states empty handed, having wrecked the NDIS before it even gets off the ground. Nice one guys, how lovely and wonderful it is to see the disabled used in a cheap political stunt. What a bunch of assholes.
Back in their home states, there is uproar at the NDIS being itself disabled because these fuckwits cared more about politics than the disabled. They finally get it into their fuckin brain that, oh yes, we're dealing with people here. No shit Sherlock. The media starts having a field day with the now hapless conservative Premiers.
Australia's disability discrimination commissioner believes conservative state leaders eventually will get on board with a national disability insurance scheme.
Graeme Innes said Australia ranked last of 27 of OECD countries in terms of the correlation between disability and poverty.
"If that was an Olympic competition Australians would never accept that, but we accept it for our population with disability," Mr Innes told ABC TV on Thursday.
"I think the leaders realise we can no longer continue to accept that and I believe they will come on board." Following a Council of Australian Government (COAG) meeting in Canberra on Wednesday, Labor governments in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT agreed to part-fund trials of the NDIS, starting in 2013 or 2014.
But Queensland, NSW, Western Australia and Victoria could not reach deals on their bids.
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(are you reading this shooter Mark?)
Surprise, surprise, Victoria and NSW have now come on board, sort of. To date Queensland, with it's merry band of conservative loonies determined to change the world, remains outside of the NDIS.
Friday's compromise by O'Farrell and Baillieu was a case of everyone grabbing for safety ropes. Victoria produced, in a complicated way, the required money. NSW recognised the per person funding level the Commonwealth demanded but only promised half the $70 million. No matter: Gillard, now confident of trials in the big states, declared all more or less well. There would be more work later with NSW, she said at a news conference where a power failure meant victory had to be claimed in the semi-dark. The gloom was a metaphor: even when she has a win, it's hard to make it seen.
The stoush over the trials was unnecessary and unedifying. The conservative premiers are determined to stir up fights at COAG, just because they can. But to do it on an issue such as disability brings them no political kudos. This was not an area in which to mud wrestle Gillard. In the end they just had to struggle out of a mire of their own making.
Link
I wonder how the disabled in QLD are feeling right now?
Campbell Newman, the QLD Premier, supposedly has the support of the Christians and other conservative type people. Seems to me he's more concerned with politics than people. Doesn't give a shit about them. How very Christian of him. If this is how he treats the disabled, imagine WTF he's going to do to the general population up there? Shame Queenslanders voted to end democracy in their last state election. He has all power up there now, can do whatever he fuckin likes and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
Fuck, and to think I was actually considering moving to QLD....
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