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July 25th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the federal government has reached an agreement with two Labor states and one territory to launch the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).
The states are South Australia and Tasmania and the territory is the ACT.
Ms Gillard said the federal government had made $1 billion available for launch sites.
“I am very disappointed that we have not been able today to strike an agreement with either NSW or Victoria or indeed Western Australia on hosting a launch site,” the PM told reporters in Canberra.
Ms Gillard said an agreement with NSW would have meant 10,000 people in the Hunter region would have benefited.
If Victoria had participated some 5000 people in the Barwon region would have gained from the scheme.
“The commonwealth contribution to these launches would have been around $300 million in NSW and $100 million in Victoria,” the prime minister said.
“Unfortunately neither NSW nor Victoria was able to step forward with some relatively small amounts of additional financing to make these launches possible.”
Ms Gillard said she’d continue to work with NSW and Victoria “in the hope of seeing change”.
The PM said she had worked with her state and territory colleagues on a vision of a national disability insurance scheme.
“The next step towards this vision of fairness is launch sites,” Ms Gillard said after Wednesday’s COAG meeting.
“Making sure that around the country we see people better assisted than they are now (and) making sure that in different circumstances around the country we are best able to assess what the full model of the scheme should look like.”
Ms Gillard said the launch site in South Australia would be for young people while Tasmania’s would target adolescents and the entire region of the ACT would be covered.
She said each of the Labor jurisdictions stepped forward and was prepared to put money on the table and work with the commonwealth under agreed governance arrangements.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said the creation of a NDIS was “very important” to the nation and for his state.
“While the national disability insurance scheme has up to this point been an idea today for the first time we are seeing the first concrete steps of putting it into place,” Mr Weatherill told reporters.
The SA premier said the pilot scheme in South Australia would concentrate on young people from birth to 14 years old.
“We were particularly concerned in South Australia to focus on the early years because we believe in investment in the early years pays enormous benefits in later life for those young people.”
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said he remained committed to a NDIS.
He said Victoria had put forward a comprehensive bid for a launch site but the commonwealth put up an alternative offer late in the day.
“We need to make a legitimate assessment of that,” Mr Baillieu told reporters.
“That doesn’t diminish in any way from our commitment to a NDIS or to the enthusiasm to which we would embrace a trial.”
He said both Victoria and NSW offered a positive approach to the trial and still looked forward to getting a positive outcome.
“We will continue to have those discussions, we have advised the prime minister of that, and we look forward to reaching a final position on those.”
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said he was disappointed they could not reach agreement on Wednesday.
“I’m particularly disappointed we couldn’t reach any sort of funding agreement – not for three pilot programs that will affect around 11,000 people – but for an NDIS that when set up will actually benefit more than 400,000 people across the country,” he told reporters in Canberra.
Mr O’Farrell said there was no way he was going to “short-change” people with disabilities.
“Until this (COAG) group signs up to a national disability insurance scheme we will not be fulfilling our obligations to people across this country with disabilities.”
The NSW premier said he was prepared to keep negotiations going.
Ms Gillard said NSW and Victoria could still put proposals to her which she would consider.
She said NSW was asked to stump up $70 million and Victoria $40 million.
“I am disappointed we haven’t been able to reach agreement over what are comparatively, for governments in this country, relatively small sums, against a federal government contribution of $1 billion,” the prime minister said.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said all state and territory leaders arrived at COAG with goodwill for a NDIS because it was the “right thing to do”.
“However, today, in my judgment, was an opportunity squandered,” Mr Barnett told reporters.
“We did not make the most of what could have been achieved today.”
Mr Barnett said at least one of the NDIS trials should have been in one of the largest states.
“With due respect to the three trials that have been set up they are small-scale, they are in the small states.
“We should have seen at least one or two trials in the larger states.”
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said his state was already putting more than $900 million into disability services.
“Should we put more in? You betcha. Do we want to put more in? You betcha. Can we put more in right now? No, I’m afraid we can’t,” he said, citing a crisis in Queensland’s finances.
“We simply don’t have the money.”
But he said his state would watch the trials – which he believes will be useful – carefully.
The NSW and Victorian disability ministers will continue talks with the federal minister Jenny Macklin on Thursday regarding their possible inclusion in the trial.
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