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Below is the full response we received from the Liberal Party.
Do you commit to raising the rate of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and updating DSP arrangements to eliminate barriers, disincentives, and penalties for people to earn more income from employment so they can afford the basics during a cost-of-living crisis?
Few countries provide the strong safety net available to Australians.
The Disability Support Pension is long term income support paid at the highest rate in the social security system.
In addition to base rates of income support payment, there are more than 20 supplementary payments available to income support recipients, depending on their circumstances and additional needs.
Every dollar spent is a dollar that someone earned, so it is incumbent upon us that spending on our social security safety net is sustainable into the future.
We have to make sure our welfare system is fair to the taxpayers who pay for it. It is funded by taxpayers and needs to be managed responsibly.
This responsibility extends to future generations who will have to meet the cost of the social security system in the decades to come.
Social security payment rates, including the Disability Support Pension, are indexed on a regular basis in line with living cost increases, which helps to maintain their value over time. Increases to these payment rates are automatically linked to specific price changes, such as the Consumer Price Index and wages.
Australia has a comprehensive income support system. In addition to base rates of payment there are more than 20 supplementary payments available to income support recipients, depending on their circumstances and additional needs.
On top of cash payments, our social security system also includes employment services, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme concessions and health care cards.
Do you commit to co-designing a national, staged, funded transition plan that would bring an end to segregated employment of people with disability within the term of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31; investing in employment support models that focus on individualised, tailored planning; and improving data collection about employment outcomes for people with disability?
The Coalition delivered Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031. It is a national framework that all Australian governments have signed up to and sets out a plan for continuing to improve the lives of people with disability in Australia over 10 years. The Strategy is supported by targeted action plans and a robust outcomes framework, together with a $250 million investment to help drive change for people with disability.
The Strategy’s vision is for an inclusive Australian society that ensures people with disability can fulfill their potential, as equal members of the community.
In addition, the Coalition launched the Disability Employment Strategy, Employ My Ability, to increase workplace engagement and improve recruitment practices.
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will provide practical support to help those living with disability overcome any barriers they may experience and enable them to find and keep employment.
To address housing supply constraints and support builders to get on with the job of building more homes, the Coalition will freeze any further changes to the National Construction Code for 10 years.
Do you commit to prioritising the design, piloting and staged rollout of a new NDIS navigator program; prioritising and co-designing a well-funded system of Foundational Supports; and continuing existing funding arrangements for all services, programs, and supports for which the NDIS Review proposes replacement Foundational Supports until such options are fully established and working well?
Labor promised to get the NDIS ‘back on track’, however eight months since the NDIS Legislation (Bill No. 2) passed Parliament, and over their three year term, there is little evidence of any improvements in the Scheme.
It is extremely concerning how little action has been taken against the allegedly illegal, fraudulent and criminal activity taking place within the Scheme, putting providers, support workers and other vulnerable participants at risk of harm. It’s evident that the NDIS has never been worse for Australians with a genuine disability and never been better for criminals and fraudsters rorting taxpayers’ funds.
The Coalition is focused on ensuring the NDIS remains fit for purpose and sustainable for future generations to come.
A Dutton Coalition Government will eradicate fraud and waste from the NDIS to deliver value for taxpayer dollars and provide ongoing support to those with permanent and significant disabilities and protect the safety of workers and providers.
If elected, the Coalition will continue to consult with stakeholders and carefully consider the recommendations of both the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Review.
The Albanese Labor Government is at odds with the States and Territories on what foundational supports will involve, and the disability community has been kept in the dark about foundational supports.
The Coalition will provide practical support to help those living with disability and ensure all levels of government provide the support required.
Will you commit to investing in the co-design and implementation of a targeted, properly resourced, five-year Action Plan to address the prevalence of violence against women and children with disability?
The Coalition will provide practical support to help those living with disability overcome any barriers they may experience.
Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major issue in Australia, affecting all socioeconomic and demographic groups. As a local policeman before he entered Parliament, Peter Dutton attended countless domestic violence incidents where he provided crucial support to victim-survivors.
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will make child protection and the safety of women an enduring priority.
We will invest significantly in family support services, including emergency payments to assist women and children fleeing domestic violence, which the Coalition established in 2021.
In government, we invested more than $3.5 billion in women’s safety. Our initiatives meant more frontline support, emergency accommodation and access to legal and health services for women and children in need. We have a strong track record on online safety and cracking down against image-based abuse.
The Coalition supports the 10-year National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. The National Plan sets out a path to end violence against women in one generation. It is an ambitious goal, but one our country must strive to achieve.
The National Plan sets out specific actions to deliver its outcomes, including:
- continuing to develop, implement and evaluate targeted primary prevention activities designed by, and tailored for (among other communities), women and children with disability.
- supporting women to make decisions about their own lives, particularly women with disability.
- giving women and girls with disability the tools and confidence to challenge sexism, harassment and the specific forms of violence and abuse directed at those who rely on carers and support so they can challenge violence in those contexts.
It is clear much more must be done. An elected Dutton Coalition Government will address key gaps in ending family, domestic and sexual violence and improve the outcomes of those escaping violence.
A Dutton Coalition Government will create new offences to make it illegal to use mobile phone and computer networks to cause an intimate partner or family member to fear for their personal safety, to track them using spyware or to engage in coercive behaviours. We will also ensure tough bail laws apply to these new Commonwealth offences.