Prime Minister Julia Gillard Wept over a Ticking Time Bomb -- the NDIS
Following her announcement of the fiscal gap, Prime Minister Julian Gillard appeared emotional in front of the parliament after introducing the DisbabilityCare levy. Choking back her tears, the prime minister presented the bill that can raise Medical levy up to 2 per cent. Contrary to the previous news she broke before, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) issue is one that hits a soft spot on Gillard.
It was only 24 hours after the government's budget came under extreme enquiry when Gillard launched another agenda drawing as much as attention. Reportedly benefitting 410,000 people initially, the scheme is set to benefit an additional 50,000 more.
The NDIS has become a sensitive topic for the PM as she has risked much of her reputation for it. Even with the pending fiscal problem, Gillard pushed for the levy knowing the risked she is putting the government under. She emphasised on the positive impact the reform will have on people.
Gillard also noted the "security and dignity'' it will provide the disabled thus the overwhelming support from the people. "Over the past six years, the idea of a national disability insurance scheme has found a place in our nation's hearts," Gillard said in front of the lower house cited in the Australian.
"In March, we gave it a place in our nation's laws. Today we inscribe it in our nation's finances." She added. Despite the safety net offered by NDIS to the disabled and potentially incapacitated, the prime minister's emotional speech did little to stir the scrutiny over the levy. Neil Mitchell expressed he was surprised by how emotional the prime minster was.
NDIS: Time Bomb
Financial experts see the NDIS as the government's desperate move to lick in governance and funding arrangements. Even with the potential benefits for the Australians, it will only be a matter of time before NDIS turns into a time bomb. Succeeding governments may be liable in paying billions for NDIS - more than what Ms Gillard and her team projected.
The agreement should cater to hundreds of thousands of disabled and potentially incapacitated people. Though, the setup is hard to differentiate from the NSW agreement. The Center for Independent Studies estimates that figures are lower compared to what they really imply.
For instance, NDIS offers $22 billion worth of benefits to more than 400,000 people. This suggests each person gets around $50,000 annually. The discrepancies in these figures versus those stated in NSW poses potential problems for future governments. There is a $2.5 million gap and before the government can provide the estimated benefits per person, they would have to pick up the tab for the gap. Not a good start for addressing the country's fiscal woes.