National Congress delivers a powerful message

EVERY AUSTRALIAN COUNTS
5 May 2011

This week's National Disability and Carer Congress in Melbourne delivered a powerful statement of support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

It attracted 1,000 people - disability service providers, people with disability, family carers and government officials - and it elicited strong and supportive statements from politicians.
Bill Shorten, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, opened the Congress proclaiming that "your cause is my cause" and urging unity, perseverance and discipline in driving forward the case for disability reform.


Federal Parliamentary Secretary Jan McLucas, Shadow Minister Mitch Fifield and Greens Senator-Elect Richard Di Natale all spoke supportively.


Senator Fifield said that he and the Opposition did not baulk at the additional funding for disability services proposed in the Productivity Commission's Draft Report on Disability Care and Support.


Victorian Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge said that her government fully backed the implementation of an NDIS. She has established a taskforce to look at the implications of an NDIS for Victoria.


Chair of the State, Territory and Commonwealth disability officials group, Jim Moore, argued that there was a compelling economic case - as well as a social justice case - for an NDIS.   
Strong messages of support for the NDIS were also delivered in speeches by Simon McKeon, Australian of the Year, and David Cappo, South Australian Commissioner for Social Inclusion.
While the conference generated a mood of optimism, the introduction of an NDIS - as National NDIS Campaign Director John Della Bosca noted - is far from inevitable. It requires a focussed, widely-supported and well-funded campaign, particularly between now and the end of November, the period during which the Government will be considering the recommendations of the Productivity Commission.


To succeed, the campaign requires the support of many Australians. You can register your support for the campaign at http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/ joining the almost 18,000 Australians who are calling for a National Disability Insurance Scheme. While there you can watch Bill Shorten's speech from the Congress.