2018-10-29
Monday, 29 October
The Australian Greens will put a motion to the Senate on Monday 12 November calling on the government to immediately return all funds diverted from the NDIS for drought relief back to the scheme until their allocation has been debated by the Senate.
Disability rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said there was no justification for taking money away from the NDIS to provide drought relief to farmers, especially considering the funds in questions were still the subject of a bill before the Senate.
“There are so many other ways this government could be finding money to help our farmers get through this tough time,” Steele-John said.
“Why not scrap 19 of the 58 Joint Strike Fighters Australia has agreed to purchase from the United States? They’re not doing much to support disabled Australians or our farmers.
“For a total saving of $4.085 billion this would more than cover the cost of providing much needed drought relief and ensure that all funding allocated to the NDIS remained available to participants on the scheme.
“Alternatively, the government could address multinational tax avoidance – a huge problem in Australia given more than a third of the largest corporations paid zero tax here in the last financial year – to ensure there is more public funding available for disaster relief.
"This government needs to prove that the NDIS will be fully funded before it considers repurposing any funds that might be made available to disabled Australians.
“Taking money from one disadvantaged community to give to another is just bad policy, and in a wealthy country like Australia shouldn’t even be on the table. On behalf of the Australian Greens I’m calling on the opposition and the crossbench to support this motion.”
Media contact:
Tim Oliver (Senator Steele-John) – 0448 316 387