The Coalition’s linking of the beleaguered omnibus bill and the National Disability Insurance Scheme is emblematic of their “attack” on welfare recipients, a social services stakeholder says.
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Tasmanian Council of Social Service chief executive Kym Goodes said the bill was of a piece with the Coalition’s handling of the Centrelink robo-debt fiasco.
“We’re seeing … a federal government that appears to want to attack people who are on welfare,” Ms Goodes said.
She said TasCOSS was “appalled” that the Coalition was allegedly implying the NDIS would experience a funding shortfall if the omnibus bill was not passed.
The omnibus bill is an accumulation of several different pieces of legislation.
Most notably, the bill proposes cuts to various welfare payments, with an eye to utilising those savings to further subsidise childcare.
In a bid for upper house approval, the government tied the legislation to the NDIS, saying the savings would be funnelled into a special fund for the scheme.
Tasmanian Liberal Senator Jonathon Duniam said the revenue generated by the omnibus bill would contribute significantly to the NDIS.
“We will ensure that the 460,000 Australians living with disability … have the support they need,” he said.
Federal Bass MHR Ross Hart savaged the government for “explicitly” linking the omnibus bill to the NDIS.
“Our communities are being required to choose between funding of the NDIS or cuts to family payments, changes to paid parental leave, cuts to payments to young Australians ... and cuts to pensions,” he said.
