Saturday, July 28, 2012

NDIS: Pressure on Campbell Newman

Pressure is building on Queensland Premier Campbell Newman to put up the cash for a trial of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Queensland after Victoria and New South Wales agreed to Prime Minister Julia Gillard's demands for a funding contribution.

Ms Gillard said Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu, on Friday, pledged the $42 million the Commonwealth had been asking for to contribute to new launch sites in the southern states.

After resisting calls from the Prime Minister to contribute, New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell also committed to the federal demands for about $20,000 for every person with a disability in the Hunter region.

But Ms Gillard said a total funding commitment from NSW was not forthcoming, instead leaving it to state and federal officials to work out the details.

While Newman's position has not changed, Ms Gillard said he had left people with a disability in Queensland in a "pretty grim state".

She said the politics has been swept aside in Victoria and NSW, but Queensland remained the state spending the least per head on disability services.

Meanwhile the LNP is preparing to take more from Queenslanders with a disability, dumping a scheme offering cabbies $6.50 for each trip with a wheelchair to prevent discrimination and reviewing a wider, decades-old taxi subsidy scheme that offers rebates for people with severe disabilities.


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