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Pock This Program is Captioned Live.Hello and welcome to Capital Hill. I'm Lyndal Curtis. The legislation the Prime Minister didn't intend to introduce to allow a tax rise the Opposition leader didn't want is likely to be passed by the Parliament before the election. The political tennis match played by both leaders over the last day result leaders over the last day will
result in the disability care funding not turning into a political football come the campaign. The coalition still wants a more detail before committing to pass the Medicare levy rise but it says its intention is not to set insurmountable hurdles. Joining me to discuss the day's developments are Liberal MP Jamie Briggs and Labor MP Graham Perrett.Welcome to you both.Good day Lyndal and Jamie. Hello Graham.First if there was a musical soundtrack to this story it would be "what a difference a day mation." We'll have a look at how the day unfolded.I don't want this to become the province of political tactics and games, legislation coming into the Parliament one day, knocked over in the Parliament potentially a few months later. We are prepared to consider supporting a modest increase in the Medicare levy. Let her bring the legislation into the Parliament but let her also be upfront with the Australian public about how this is going to be funded. The Leader of the Opposition has changed his mind on this matter and I welcome that change of mind. On the basis of that change of mind, by the Leader of the Opposition, I will bring to the Parliament the legislation to increase the Medicare levy by half a percent.Jamie, what are the chances of Parliament wracked by division and arguments will end with broad agreement on an enduring scheme to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable.We've always agreed with the NDIS since the Productivity Commission wanded down its report some time ago. In fact, it at the very beginning Tony Abbott and Nathan Fyfe proposed a interjoint parliamentary committee which remains Coalition policy to take it out of the realm of politics so we can work through this together and to implement it because we obviously both political major parties have identified this as a major hole in Australia's service delivery. However, what has happened over the last 12 or 18 months is the Government has had all sorts of positions on how to fund it. They've shored us up until Monday they could fund it from Julia
existing revenues. In fact, Julia Gillard utterly ruled out last December having to charge a levy. There was no expectation there was going to be a requirement for the levy. In fact, the Productivity Commission said it was a second best option. On Monday, Julia Gillard said let's have a conversation about this. On Wednesday she announced a levy. It's been a rushed ride as far as the levy goes but it is not been a rushed coalition to support an NDIS.
We thought it is coalition to support a long time and We thought it a long time and again, we would ask a long time ask Graham and the Labor Party
to support a joint parliamentary to support parliamentary committee through this detail so we can take the politics out of through this detail so we once and for all.It is clear, isn't t Graham, that both sides of politics have come quite a distance in a very space of time. Yes, it is. I'm I try not to make a not to make a habit of agreeing with everything Jamie says. On this occasion, stripping aside his lines there, we are in agreement. I think we're going to come up with something that will be - something we can talk about when we're sitting in our rocking chairs and say we did a good thing for all the people of Australia but particularly those nearly half a million Australians who have a disability. I had a look into a bit of legislation. It was 1992, eight days before Mabo when the disability discrimination ability actually comes into Parliament introduced by Minister Howe all those years ago. You think of what's happened in Australia indigenous
terms of recognition of indigenous Australians rights, I think the people with disabilities in Australia have been left behind to a certain extent and this will be a great step and I'm very pleased that Mr Abbott and the rest of the Opposition are embracing this important change.We'll talk about the money in a moment. First, Jamie, your leader, Tony Abbott, put some conditions, some more information he wants about the scheme on support for a Medicare levy. There will be, though, some things that remain unknown, won't there, because they're the sorts of things that the launch sites are intended to sort out? No. What we're saying is, firstly, let's see where the of the funding is coming from because of the because at this point in time we have no idea where because at this we have no idea where that's's coming from. we have coming from. Prior non-day morning we had no idea there would be a levy. would be a levy. That's the first requirement that we are asking for. Penny Wong I notice is out there saying don't worry, we'll find savings. The savings which have led us to $300 billion deficit we've a bit suspicious about. $300 billion debt I should say. So your viewers understand, there's three understand, there's three steps
in this process. The first has been passed by Parliament. That's the framework legislation which describes what this scheme seeks to cover. We passed that in a bipartisan fashion in March. That went through unchallenged. The second part of it which we don't know yet are the rules or regulations which will actually give drill down to some of the detail about who will be eligible and thirdly and most importantly, will be the assessment tool and that is the thing which will say to people in my community who ask me "will my son or will my daughter be covered by this scheme?" Until we know the detail of that assessment tool we don't know the answer to that. Our point is let's get on and give some detail and some certainty to these people in the community because at this point in time, there's still a lot of people very unclear about whether they will be covered or not. A good example of that was the front page of the Australian newspaper today. If Graham has all the answers that would be terrific. We should have that before Parliament because that makes it very clear then who is covered, who isn't, and what this scheme will actually - the breadth of the scheme.There are, Graham, draft rules up on the NDIS website. Those rules, though, haven't been finalised. Yes. No.Is it worth the Government and Opposition sitting down, having a conversation about what the detail of that is going to look like, if you're close to finalising those rules? Yes, obviously, maybe not so much Jamie and I, but the professionals, the assessment tools is a combination of actuarial tables and people that are familiar with the DSMIV or 5, those sort of assessments in terms of disabilities. I think it is something that's normally left to delegated legislation, something left to the experts in the field, rather than political decisions. That's why it is a bit misleading of Jamie to pluck 60% out of the air just because it was in Mr Abbott's release. The reality is we have to work out which States will embrace T I'm hoping Queensland will be a little bit more adventure. The roll-out of years in terms of where States embrace this scheme and also as Jamie pointed out, who will be covered and the implications for those. There are - you know, the consideration of age and other factors. At the moment, we're talking about half a million Australians covered by disability but there are certain waves coming. There are certain things that are science meaning we are not - that thankfully science meaning we have fewer people suffering science meaning people suffering certain
disables but others that science meaning we have fewer disables but others that are on
the rise. people suffering certain disables but the rise. It is a pretty the complicated process which is the rise. It is a why we need the Stayz complicated process which sites to why we need the sites to work to calculate actuarially how and when Australians will be covered.We might now have a look at the money question. Jamie, as you said, Penny Wong, was pointing to the Government's record to the Government's record and its ability to save money. We'll hear a little from her now. On the one hand he wants more structural savings he'se opposed to the private health insurance savings measures, he's opposed the baby bonus savings measures and he's now he's saying you've got to put more on the table. We'll build on this history, this approach of having structural saves in our next budget and they will be there for all to see.Jamie, if the Government does put savings measures in its budget which will help fund this scheme in the long-term, you can quibble with what it decides to cut or, indeed, any revenue it decides to raise? No, absolutely. This is the most incompetent government in the history of Australia. This is a government that's got more revenue, 7.5% more revenue than it did last year but is crying poor. They're claiming they have a revenue downgrade when they had 7.5% from What they do each year they put in the budget far excessive forecasts of their revenue growth, last year they said 12%. growth, last year they 12%. They're get 7.35%. They spend to the 12% and surprise, surprise, there's a big gap.They also have -They've also got high terms of trade than at any time under the Howard and Costello government. Before Graham runs this line that Labor tries to get up that the Howard and Costello government somehow had this marginal money appearing, it is simply not true. Let's not forget, as Peter Costello said the other evening, before the commodity boom Bega the Howard Government had balanced the budget six times. The problem with this government is its spending, it is its incompetent ability to implement any policy, a government that put pink batts, couldn't put pink batts in people's roofs without burning people's houses down. We're hardly going to trust on any spec any announcement we make. We're going to assess T that's what the Australian people expect.Is it reasonable to expect that a Government proposing a big national scheme like the National Disability Insurance Scheme, or disability care as it is now known, does indicate how it will be funded in 2018-19 when the full scheme starts and there will be a funding shortfall between what the Medicare levy increase raises and what is needed? Obviously, that's what a good government must do and will do on budget night. That's where we'll be mapping out a lot of our forward plans. Two nights later obviously Jamie's boss Mr Abbott will be giving detailed costings as to their funding commitments. That's what good
Opposition does, that's what good government does in election years. I don't have a problem with that. We do have - we have put in structural savings. We did respond to a part
Global Financial Crisis and part of that process was to obviously insulate houses. Ineuro rated nearly 1.25 million people in his electorate are getting million houses Jamie that people getting the benefit of that
now. people in his electorate are getting now. He wants to have a throw away line about the few dodgy installers. That's what he tends to focus on. The reality is the Global Financial Crisis left a lot of countries around the world as basket cases and in trouble. Australia we were the fifth strongest economy in the world when Jamie got elected. We're now the 12th strongest economy. We've got AAA credit ratings from all three ratings agency. We have unemployment half of that in Europe. Put in context, Jamie. Have a fair bit of context in terms of comparing us with the rest of the world. The reality is the world has changed a little bit in terms of the return on company taxes isn't as high as it should be. Jamie intends to increase the tax on them by 1.5% so that those battlers making $150 dhou a year can have a Rolls Royce parental leave scheme. That's his commitmentment. That's his commitment. That's not class warfare. Attacking anyone who does well.In terms of structural savings, you voted against the my wife being paid to have babies. You voted against that. You voted against cleaners paying for private health insurance for me on my wage. It is hard to look a cleaner in the eye and say
you should be paying for a cleaner in the you should be paying for my
private hell insurance or giving me a baby bonusWe're about to run out of time. Quickly about to run out of Quickly and finally Jamie. The problem is with Graham's example the cleaner he talks about, the ability of them to access the public health system is put at risk because of their changes and secondly, the biggest risk for that cleaner un sustain being budget deficit.Graham, that's where we'll to leave it. Thank you very much your your time today. Thank you for joining Capital Hill. Be with us tomorrow. Goodnight. Closed Captions by CSI This program is not captioned. This program is not captioned. This program is not captioned.

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Live. Hello and welcome to this national edition of ABC News. I'm Charlotte Hamlin. Today, conditional support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Government's funding plan for the NDIS to go before parliament. We are prepared to consider supporting a modest increase in the Medicare levy.Claims an Australian-born man is being tortured in a Saudi jail. Three friends of a Boston bombing suspect charged with covering up for their mate and the Australian army in a fresh recruitment drive. A settlement has been found in a tactical wrestle over disability care. Legislation for a tax increase to pay for the scheme will be debated in parliament before the election. After a day of squabbling over timing, Tony Abbott has offered conditional support. That's enough for Julia Gillard who's announced she'll introduce the bill for a Medicare increase in Budget week. From Canberra, Narda Gilmore reports. Another signature, another State onboard. Tasmania's become the fourth jurisdiction to sign up to the full roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 2019. Here in Tasmania, this reform will assist almost 11,000 Tasmanians when it comes into its full being! cent hike in the Medicare being! The planned half helped
cent hike in the Medicare levy helped seal cent hike in the Medicare helped seal the decision for Tasmania. helped seal the Tasmania. It certainly does help alleviate Tasmania. It certainly pressure we had help pressure we had on our Budget
in those out years.Legislation to enable the increase in the Medicare levy will now be introduced to parliament this term despite initial grave concerns from the Shadow Treasurer, Tony Abbott today offered qualified support. We are prepared to consider supporting a modest increase in the Medicare levy to make sure that this happens as soon as possible.That's good enough for the Prime Minister. On the basis of that change of mind by the Leader of the Opposition, I will bring to the parliament the legislation to increase the Medicare levy by half a per cent .Tony Abbott is demanding more detail. Let her bring the legislation into the parliament but let her also be upfront with the Australian public about how this is going to be funded and who it's going to cover. I understand that the Leader of the Opposition has raised some matters of detail in those areas the Government was already working prior to my announcement about the Medicare levy yesterday.Et taken a full day of tactical back and forth between the major parties but in the end both sides agree disability care shouldn't be a political football. Parliament has five weeks to deal with the Medicare levy and it will be passed. Political editor Lyndal Curtis joins us now program Canberra. Lyndal, the legislation will be put into parliament in Budget week. Is it guaranteed to pass? There are very few guarantees in politics but this legislation is likely to pass, although the Opposition still has conditions on it, support for the increase in the Medicare levy, it wants to see how the full funding of the full scheme is guaranteed, that we may see some of that in the Budget. The Greens too haven't said if they will support this Medicare levy increase. They still want to see other tax rise options considered, including a rise to the mining tax, but the Opposition considered, including a rise to Opposition is saying behind the scenes it's not putting in place hurdles that would be insurmownable and it may be