It was a perfect storm. An early Friday morning start after a late night working the previous evening. John Lennon’s Gimme Some Truth had just kicked in on the earphones. The person sitting next to me on the tram clearly had a different definition of “personal space” than I did. I had picked up the wrong keys when leaving the house and was wondering how I was going to get into the office when I finally got to work. In short, I had my grump on.
Then I read it. An article in The Age that, at first, seemed hopeful and maybe even positive, entitled as it was: Victoria Urged to Negotiate on NDIS. Perhaps, I thought, there is a momentum for good gathering behind the NDIS. Given the principles of the scheme – as discussed in my previous post, A Poverty of Will – this would be something to kick start my day. Reaffirm my faith in humanity on a Friday morning at the end of a long week.
It didn’t go well for me. Basically, the article conveyed a subtext of party political game playing. Hmmm. No reaffirmation there. Then I got to the final line of the article. It was a comment from Joe Hockey. The statement said:
The Coalition would introduce ''a full NDIS when [it could] afford it'', requiring a ''strong surplus''.
I let fly with a mouthful of expletives that Deadwood lord of profane, Al Swearengen, would have been proud of. This had two immediate effects: first, I felt better and, second, it resolved the issue of my overly close neighbour, who got up and moved. I went looking for a can of peaches to celebrate.
There is a vile deception in Hockey’s statement. Firstly, it paints the NDIS as a cost – a net drain – on the Australian economy and community. This is in spite of the report from the Productivity Commission – an organisation not known for a leftist, humanist agenda – that argues for long-term economic benefit in such a scheme. Indeed, in August 2011, the Productivity Commission report in disability care and support stated:
Governments could not feasibly do absolutely nothing. They would need to patch up their systems to arrest the vicious cycle produced by systems in crisis. In effect, all governments face future liabilities with their current unstable systems. The implication of this is that the upfront fiscal costs, while significant, are partly offset by eliminating the hidden future liabilities of the current system. Moreover, from an economic perspective, the benefits of the NDIS will exceed the costs.
In this context, it becomes plain that Hockey is using the myth of affordability to drive an ideological agenda, or maybe even worse, a crude party political agenda on this serious human issue. Given both the societal and economic benefits of the NDIS, the question is not, “Can we afford to do this?” The question is, “Can we afford not to do this?” Like the hopeless magician whose hidden playing cards fall out the arms of his dusty jacket, Hockey’s vulgar illusion deserves to crumble before a sniggering audience.
But the NDIS is more than an economic program. It is intrinsically bound to a fulfilment of the human rights of disabled people. The Coalition, however, is seeking to position the NDIS as a discretionary spend. Something we really should do, if we ever have the money. A bit like that trip to Fiji we promise ourselves every year. Or maybe buying a ski boat. If the economics of the Coalition’s stance on the NDIS are laughable, its ethics should send one dry-retching. A society is best judged by how it treats its vulnerable. Hockey and Co would have us believe that human rights and empowerment for the disabled are a luxury – and a luxury that sits behind middle class welfare in order of priority. As though the rights of disabled people are something to be traded off against the gravitas of a budget surplus. If a government does not exist to invest in a scheme like this (where a return is predicted in any event), why does it exist at all? As Al Swearengen himself might say, if that’s your version of a civil society, “Then take your civilization and get the fuck out of here!”
Pleeeeease, turn me into a real little boy
I wonder how many people with a disability read Mr Hockey's comments and think: if only my disability was discretionary, if only it would go away until I could afford better care and support? If the Coalition does come to power and if they do shelve the NDIS on financial grounds, we shall all have to save our pennies as a nation, so maybe one day we can buy back our soul ... [fades to static]
No comments:
Post a Comment