The future of DisabilityCare Australia for thousands of people has been thrown into doubt with the Abbott Government walking away from Federal Labor’s plans for the full roll out the scheme.

During the election campaign Federal Labor announced its priorities for the next roll out of the national disability insurance scheme from July 2016, including making Blacktown one of the first sites for the roll out.

Ms Rowland said DisabilityCare in Blacktown would have benefitted thousands of local people with a disability and their carers.

“Labor’s plan meant that 6,600 people with a disability and 2,600 carers in Blacktown would have been amongst the next in New South Wales to benefit from DisabilityCare,” Ms Rowland said.

“With Tony Abbott walking away from the DisabilityCare rollout these people and their families have been badly let down.”
The Assistant Minister for Social Services, Mitch Fifield, has confirmed he has dumped the plans to rollout DisabilityCare in Blacktown and has no idea about where DisabilityCare will be rolled out next:

JOURNALIST: Are they still going ahead or are they under negotiation again?

FIFIELD: The only launch sites which are real are those that are contained in the intergovernmental agreement between the Commonwealth and the States.

- Doorstop, 9 October 2013

This means across Australia about 130,000 people with disability, their families and carers, now have no certainty over the future of the national disability insurance scheme in their area.

SEVEN HILLS
17 OCTOBER 2013