Newman mum on NDIS deal

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman is tight-lipped about the details of a deal the states and territories have put to the Commonwealth for funding the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).

“There is a deal there for the prime minister,” he told ABC on Wednesday ahead of a COAG meeting in Canberra to thrash out a model for shared funding of four launch sites.

“There is a strong willingness to work with her and her government to make this happen.”

Julia Gillard reportedly has offered the states and territories more than the $1 billion she had on the table to fund the sites over four years.

The Commonwealth increased from $150 million to $300 million its contribution to a launch site in the Hunter region after the NSW government refused to increase its own funding for the trial, The Australian said.

The states would like the Commonwealth to provide 60 per cent of the funding needed. The federal government wants the states to provide that proportion.

Mr Newman said what premiers and chief ministers wanted to impress on the prime minister was that every state and territory had their own unique financial challenges.

“I’m just saying that we (Queensland) can’t at the moment put extra money in,” he said, adding that could change after 2014/15 when the state’s finances improved.

Mr Newman said he was not aware that Queensland’s bid for a launch site in the regional city of Gympie would be rejected in favour of a site in South Australia.

South Australian Labor Premier Jay Weatherill said every state and territory was facing budget pressures, but his government had allocated $212 million for disability services of which $20 million specifically was for the NDIS.

Mr Weatherill did not know yet whether SA would get a trial site.

“We have certainly made a very strong representation and we have put $20 million of new money on the table,” he told ABC radio.

The premier said everyone should make a contribution, especially those states behind the game on disability services.

But he didn’t want to point the finger at anyone in particular.

“As a group of states and territories we have acknowledged that we all need to do more, but we have also acknowledged that a lot of the heavy lifting has to be done by the Commonwealth,” he said.

Mr Newman, arriving at Parliament House, said the deal before the prime minister was “a real win” for Ms Gillard.

He hinted the deal was in line with the recommendations of the Productivity Commission.

The premier also rejected suggestions Queensland was lagging behind other states and territories on disabilities funding, saying those who met the state’s higher qualification bar for benefits were paid more than elsewhere in Australia.

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell says the Commonwealth has not offered any additional funding for the scheme.

He said it was “pretty disappointing” the federal government was quibbling about more money for the NDIS when it could easily find $50 billion for the national broadband network.

“I’m getting pretty tired frankly … of the federal government’s formula,” he told reporters.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said he wanted to see more details from the Commonwealth.

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