If we're talking about dollars here, have you any idea of what its costing the Australian Taxpayer to financially support disability bludgers who display no disability doing backyard cash jobs welding, scaffolding, driving trucks and making illegal additions/repairs to houses?

Yes Wakatak we are talking dollars here. But apart from that your comment has nothing to do with the subject under discussion: the article is about help for carers of the severely disabled, not about abuse of Disability Allowances. Sorry you missed the point totally (or didn't understand it). If you have problem with the abuse of the welfare system, report it to Centrelink rather than whinging.

Like many, Wakatak has absolutely no comprehension of what carers give up, do and endure. And the sad thing not so much that they don't care, it's that they feel hostility because of fear they are being 'got at'.

[Deleted for abuse.]

A National Disability Insurance Scheme will provide basic services. It will allow a newly diagnosed child the receipt of essential therapies and early intervention. It will allow struggling families an amount of respite. It will provide physically disabled people a daily shower. It will allow ageing parents the peace of mind of seeing their family member settled before they die. But it will do more. It will grant every Australian the right to feel secure in the knowledge that should the unthinkable happen to them or theirs, supports are in place to assist. It will mean that the oft-quoted belief in the land of the fair go is no longer a delusion. It will mean we can all hold our heads higher because we have made a more just and humane society. It will mean that collectively we have taken responsibility for ALL our citizens and not just cost shifted to certain families. Finally, our country is mature enough for an NDIS.

So many so called "caring" people have a strange disability. It is a form of blindness that makes them see only bags of money, for their pet hobby horse, every time they look at government.

I for one am getting sick of having to fund every bleeding heart dream on earth.

I did not find it too difficult to care for my aging mother, up until she could no longer stand, a couple of weeks before her 99 birthday. As one would expect, she did not require care for long after then.

I can not see why some people believe caring for their family is a duty of government.

Wakatak, thank you for your contribution. It is really important that people who have no experience of disability are able to ask these questions.
Firstly, the National Disability Insurance Scheme is not about income support. It would have no impact on the payments made by Centrelink. In very simple terms, we are talking about providing a child with a wheelchair. If you are ill, or need medical assistance, Medicare provides for you to see a doctor, or be admitted to a hospital should you need it. If you were injured in a car accident, or at work, youwould be provided with a wheelchair if you needed it. However a child born with a disability will be placed on a waiting list for a partially funded chair. They need to be at school, learning the same things as everybody else, and not sitting at home waiting for a chair.

Secondly, if you know people who are defrauding the state through Centrelink, you should report them. Nobody disputes this. It is offensive to people with disabilities that this occurs.

However the one or two individuals defrauding are supported in this by those who know about it and allow it to happen. The hundreds of thousands who are legitimately receiving the payment are not dishonest as a result. The two groups are unrelated.

For how long was it, Hasbeen, that you cared for your mother? A year or two or five? Jean has clocked up forty-two years and she lives in fear of what happens to the person she has devoted her life to when she is no longer here. Even the most caring parent has difficulty continuing in that role when no longer on earth. Did you give up your career, your financial security, your superannuation, your retirement and possibly your marriage to care for your mother? The "bleeding heart dream" has been adopted by just about every other developed country around the globe. Australia is recognized as having the worst disability support system in the western world. It is not that we don't care for our disabled family member or wish to continue to do so. It is just that we should not have to sacrifice every other aspect of our lives to do it. And if the correct supports were in place, we would not have to. Supports such as the aged care facility you were able to place your mother in when her care needs became too much for you to meet. The point is that there is no equivalent place in the world of disability because supports are not in place. This why we must have an NDIS.

Dear Hasbeen
I am sorry for the loss of your mother, but since you raised it, I would like to ask you a question. Who cared for her in the few weeks prior to her death? As I read it, you also reached the limit of your capacity to provide for her.
Aged care is different to caring for a child with a disability. Firstly, because aged care is at the end of life, and by definition, finite.
Secondly, the chances are higher that an ageing person has assets to assist in the financing of their health and support needs. After a lifetime of earning, they are significantly better off financially. Further, they have already had an opportunity to develop skills, have a career, marry, raise a family, live a life.
And finally, it actually does not matter whether the individual being cared for is old or young, frail or disabled. Nobody is saying they do not wish to care for their family member. We are simply saying there are limits to the ability of one individual to do everything - provide full time medical and parenting care, earn a living, attend to household duties, participate in the community, sleep.
Many people do not understand the significant impacts of caring on an individual, and without experience of this, perhaps the best answer is to read the report. The Productivity Commission are fiscally conservative. Even they make it very clear that the current arrangements are grossly unfair.
Once upon a time other members of the community would have been able to assist in such matters, and it would not come down to funding. Now that all of those people are at work trying to pay for the roof over their head, it becomes a matter of dollars. Unless you are going to volunteer a day a week to assist your neighbour, the NDIS is the best way of managing this as a community.

I am astonished at the bile being cast about by Hasbeen and Wakatak at such a reasonable suggestion: more financial support for unpaid carers. Which incidentally I am not, so I cannot even begin to imagine what the life of an unpaid carer is like. But, consolidated revenue gets wasted so often on pointless and redundant pursuits, an allocation to this enormous but largely voiceless sector seems only fair and reasonable. While writing this I have also considered the plight of the underpaid carers as well, e.g. carers working in nursing homes etc. So many genuinely hard working people (unpaid and underpaid) doing so much to maintain simple human dignity for their charges. I cannot understand the mentality of those who think this is not a fair and reasonable thing to get behind.

When are you people going to wake up.

There is no money.

We are borrowing a hundred + million a day to tread water.

If you want to talk about money for something, you should at least tell us what area you want to take it from to use on your project. It is totally pointless bleating that we should do more, when we do not have the capacity to do what we now try to do.

Have you noticed the riots in Grease, France, Spain, & the UK in response to budget cuts. They have been trying to keep all noisy wheels greased with money they did not have for some time. We are heading in the same direction.

My daughter gets to keep just over $3.00 per hour of her income, after paying all the costs, including child care, of earning. There is no fat left in young families to pick up any more costs of the "wouldn't it be nice" desires of people who want to do good.

It's tine to get real people, & do a bit of arithmetic.

If you want to cut something, I'd have no problem with higher education, or the public service personally, but some won't like that, I'm sure.

Oh, for your interest, I had mum for 34 years, & never claimed a cent. It only started getting hard after my third heart attack. Like some with kids, I was worried she may out live me. I suppose I was lucky there. I still don't feel there are too many others who could afford to give me a hand out, to make my lot easier, when they are mostly struggling themselves.

I wholeheartedly agree with this article: the current system of disability "support" is broken and totally inequitable. You are looked after if you are lucky enough to get a disability from a car accident, but not if you are born with a disability or get a disability from some other form of accident: the productivity commission report into this notes that if someone you love falls off their house roof or a ladder in the garden, making them a paraplegic, (not covered by insurance), the best thing you can do for them under the current system, is to put them in a car and drive it into a tree: then and only then will their wheelchair and other necessary equipment be paid for. This system is totally unfair and unjust.
The federal government needs to urgently get on with fixing the system, and if this means increasing the medicare levy by a small amount, then just do it. I would love see to Tony Abbot even attempt to oppose a national disability insurance scheme.
Progress on this is way too slow: carers need to be vocal and demand media attention on this, on behalf of the cared-for (difficult as it is with carer duties).

I know Jean Tops because I am the carer for a ninety years old very fragile person.
If I was not capable of caring for this person, the "system" would have to find a bed and nursing.
Does anyone know who Akataka's carer is? Obviously not paid enough.

Yes, sorry, I should have asked who is the Carer for Wakatak.
That person doesn't get paid enough.

RE NDIS
I am amazed that some people just do not understand what carers give up in life, to be a carer is a full time job endless day and night. am a full time carer of my son who was born with autism and epilepsy.
He is full on. The one thing in my life that I miss is the spontaneity of being able to do something for myself on the spur of the moment, like being asked out for a coffee in half an hours time - this is not possible. Every move in our house is programmed so someone is with my son 24/7 you cannot just get up today and think what a wonderful day I think I will go out to the movies and dinner, lucky you! We don't have that that choice or luxury, everything has to be planned down to the last 1/2 hour. Could you live your life like this? Dependent on others to help you so you can have some time off, but only when you can get the help which is in such short supply and cost so much money can you have a bit of a life away from your caring duties. Even then your mind is on your person, it is hard to take away the thought that someone else is trying to care for them so you can have a break. What we are hoping with the NDIS is that the insurance scheme can provide some dollars to allow our family to have a break away from caring so we can all try to have a life outside of our caring duties, we have other children and they feel deprived of a normal life as our lives revolve around our disable son's every move. Hopefully the NDIS can sort out the problem with availability of respite for parents which is in very short supply in Victoria. Only then will we be able to have the rest we deserve so we can soldier on and take care of him.
regards

I hope this humanitarian crisis of carers who sacrifice everything to care for a child into adulthood and beyond is helped by this levy. It is not appropriate in a wealthy country for lifetime carers to die not knowing what will happen to their adult disabled child. It is not right that some parents die not knowing what will happen to their adult child or person with a disability and that some have resorted to taking the life of themselves and their adult person with a disability because society just does not care. Far from dole bludgers they save the tax payer over $100,000 by caring for their person at home while they often live in poverty. They fund kinders, libraries schoools sport etc while they get nothing. It is high time their contribution was recognised. Stephy.

Enjoyed the article; well argued (and I support the proposed scheme), however I think it’s a big leap to infer that the PM is not supportive due to her comments that you listed. Equally, be mindful (re 'words of hope' for people with disabilities)- it is easy for an Opposition to espouse strong support however, as has been witnessed MANY times before, can change in a heartbeat when in Govt….

Re NaomiMelb – well explained and compassionately (and professionally) done so given the strong statements from others.

I am surprised, and saddened, by the negative comments.Surely the critics can't understand the issue/s.

After 40 years I am no longer a primary carer - It's been 14 months. I'd forgotten what it was like to be an "ordinary" Australian. My Mum lived with us for 40years, passing away last year aged 100yrs.

Our disabled son passed away 6 years ago, aged 40 years. Having high needs and complex medical issues, we had to fight for every service he ever had - including health, education and guardianship.

Both my husband and I have deteriorating health. We have 3 other children, 9 grandchildren and, 3 great-grandchildren to whom we have not been able to devote much time - until now.

Aged care, and care of the disabled, are 2 entirely different things.

Aged care spans 5/10 years, profound disability spans a lifetime - yours, or theirs. Care of my Mum, though intensive, was a "breeze', compared to our son, especially when you are doing the two, together.

Critics seem concerned about "rorting" - but the profoundly disabled are not the ones who have, historically, done that. The proposed NDIS builds in assessment and other provisions to prevent systemic abuse.

It is not about the aged - Their care needs are different and that sector is more responsive.

The NDIS addresses a growing problem, and builds in security to prevent the crises that now exist.

The NDIS will protect future Australians who, for whatever reason, acquire a profound disability. None of us know when severe disability might choose us, or a family member/friend. It does not discriminate,

The NDIS will ensure that services are available - no matter where you live. Currently, regional Australia - which is where I live - does it tough.

It's time we gave our carers a hand-up, not a hand-out - and that includes provisions to ensure the system is not abused.

Hopefully our critics will become better informed, better disposed and more understanding, as we work our way through the legislative process.