TIM PALMER: After 24 hours of political ping-pong, the issue over how to pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme appears to be settled, for now at least.
The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has offered conditional support for increasing the Medicare levy, prompting the Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring that legislation forward. But Mr Abbott doesn't want the increased levy funding it to become permanent, and is vowing to repeal it once the budget returns to strong surplus.
From Canberra, Simon Cullen reports.
SIMON CULLEN: Just yesterday the Prime Minister was gearing up for an election campaign fight over how to pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
JULIA GILLARD: Australians will have an opportunity to make a choice in September this year.
SIMON CULLEN: But it now appears the matter will be settled well before voters go to the polls.
JULIA GILLARD: I will bring to the Parliament the legislation to increase the Medicare levy by half a per cent.
SIMON CULLEN: Julia Gillard initially said she'd wait until the next parliament to bring on the legislation, arguing there needed to be clear bipartisan support for how to pay for the scheme, the Government now calls DisabilityCare. But the legislation will now be introduced in around a fortnight's time, prompted by Tony Abbott's conditional offer of support for the move.
TONY ABBOTT: We are prepared to consider a supporting - a modest increase in the Medicare levy to make sure that this happens as soon as possible. We do want to see this come into the Parliament in this term, there's five weeks of parliament remaining, and I don't see why we can't get this dealt with.
JULIA GILLARD: The Leader of the Opposition today has said he is prepared to support an increase in the Medicare levy. The Leader of the Opposition has changed his mind on this matter and I welcome that change of mind.
SIMON CULLEN: But Mr Abbott's offer of support is not without strings. The Medicare levy increase would only provide about 60 per cent of the Commonwealth's ongoing contributions for the scheme and the Coalition is demanding to know where the rest of the money will come from.
TONY ABBOTT: No one should ever give this particular government a blank cheque. But on this particular subject I am prepared to take the Prime Minister at her word. 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.
SIMON CULLEN: The Finance Minister Penny Wong says this month's budget will include the details the Opposition Leader is after.
PENNY WONG: Our budget will make clear further structural savings, that build on the previous structural saves, some of which he opposed, to ensure we can fully fund this DisabilityCare into the long term.
SIMON CULLEN: And she's challenged the Coalition to put forward its own savings plan.
PENNY WONG: If Tony Abbot's going to say 'we'll put up your saves' I think he should be asked where his are, because some of the savings measures which benefit the budget over the long term, which is what we're talking about, are the very things he opposes.
So here he - on the one had he wants more structural saves but he is opposed to private health insurance, the savings measures, he's opposed the baby bonus saves measures and now he's saying 'oh but you've gotta put more on the table'.
SIMON CULLEN: If the Coalition does win the election it'll be up to them to decide how to pay for DisabilityCare in the long term. Mr Abbott has already signalled that he'll seek to remove the Medicare levy increase once the budget's back into a strong surplus and the policy can be funded without it. But that could be a while off if the Government's recent downgrade of revenue forecasts persists in the long term.
With the Coalition now backing the levy increase the Government won't need the votes of crossbench MPs even though many of them have declared support.
John Della Bosca who heads the disability lobby group Every Australian Counts has paid tribute to both sides of politics in reaching this point.
JOHN DELLA BOSCA: Today is a day we can reflect and see the best of Australian politics. We've seen the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, inch towards having a bipartisan position on the funding of a National Disability Insurance Scheme, the most contentious and difficult part of the scheme.
SIMON CULLEN: At a state level there's growing momentum for the full scheme to be rolled out nationally with Tasmania today joining New South Wales, South Australia and the ACT in signing up to the plan.
The state's Premier Lara Giddings hopes the remaining states will still follow suit.
LARA GIDDINGS: Critically important for those who are living with a disability in our community, to know that they will get the help they need when they need it. So this is a historic day, this reform is as big as Medicare in its day and is absolutely fundamental.
TIM PALMER: Tasmania's Premier Lara Giddings ending Simon Cullen's report.