The Anthony Albanese government’s decision to savage the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) ranks high in the scale of betrayals by neoliberal Labor governments.
Each one has torn down the reforms made by the previous Labor government in an attempt to curry favour and satisfy the insatiable greed of the billionaire class.
Just as the Bob Hawke government introduced tertiary fees in 1986 after the Gough Whitlam government abolished them in 1974, so the Julia Gillard government savaged the single parent pension in 2013.
As hard as the Coalition cuts back spending when it is in office, Labor, since 1983, has been consistently cutting social spending.
Now it’s the NDIS, established by the Gillard government in 2013 that Albanese Labor is seeking to demolish.
Under the ruse of “returning NDIS to its original intent”, Labor will throw at least 160,000 people off the scheme and force them to rely on the meagre charity of state governments for support.
The Chris Minns Labor government in NSW has already warned people with disability expelled from the scheme that they should not expect much.
NDIS has never been a perfect system.
The assertion by the architects of the NDIS that only a marketised scheme could deliver choice and control to participants was never true and in fact lies at the heart of its many problems.
Conceived as an attempt to privatise support services for people with disability, the iron law of “reasonable and necessary” has meant many NDIS participants miss out on funding needed for inclusion and dignity.
Nevertheless, it has also given participants some measure of choice and control, which was never previously available for people with disability.
Profit has no part in disability support. All providers should be from the community sector.
In the balance sheet of government spending, the $50 billion a year spent on NDIS ranks well below the military, which is due to come in at $63.4 billion in 2026-2027, rising to $112 billion in 2035-2036.
Where is the national clamour to buy fewer missiles to lower the national debt?
Alternatively, Labor could tax the super profits of the Australian gas export industry. A flat 25% tax would yield $17 billion a year according to The Australia Institute, while a 2% wealth tax on those with over $5 million would raise $41 billion a year.
Labor’s outrageous attack on some of the most vulnerable in Australia must be resisted.
Unions and working people must say no! In the name of solidarity, Labor must be forced to back down.
[Graham Matthews is a member of the Socialist Alliance and an NDIS participant.]