Scott Morrison has been blasted for saying he and wife Jenny were “blessed” to have two children who hadn’t lived with disability.
Mr Morrison was questioned about what the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme would look like under his government by an audience member at the Sky News/The Courier Mail People’s Forum on Wednesday evening in Brisbane.
The woman, Catherine, said she had a four-year-old autistic son.
“We are grateful to receive funds through the NDIS but I’ve heard many stories of people having their funds cut recently under the current government,” she said.
“I’ve been told to give my son the best future I should vote Labor.
“Can you please tell me what the future of the NDIS looks like under your government?”
Mr Morrison then asked questions about Catherine’s son and what his name was before he spoke about his own family.
“I can’t …,” he began.
“Jenny and I have been blessed, we have to children who haven’t had to go through that,” he continued.
“And so for parents, with children who are disabled, I can only try and understand your aspirations for those children.
“And then I think that is the beauty of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.”
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Shadow Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten was quick to point out that every child should be seen as a blessing following Mr Morrison’s comment.
“ScoMo says he is ‘blessed’ to have two non disabled children. Every child is a blessing,” Mr Shorten tweeted.
“The NDIS is there to help people with disability live their lives to the fullest. The Morrison Government has slashed NDIS plans for thousands of children around Australia. Labor will fix the NDIS.”
Labor senator Katy Gallagher, who has a daughter with autism, also tweeted her disapproval.
“I am “blessed” to have a child with autism. She teaches me thinxjmtzywgs every day. Our lives are enriched by her,” she wrote.
High-profile disability advocate Carly Findlay wrote that she was putting her phone down to “quell the rage”.
“Dear @ScottMorrisonMP – please stop seeing disabled people as burdens,” she tweeted.
“It is not a tragedy to be disabled or for parents to have disabled children.
“You only show interest in disabled people when it’s a photo opp. (And even then you don’t wear a mask.) Get the hell out. Now.”
In his answer, Mr Morrison paid credit to Julia Gillard for initiating the scheme when she was Prime Minister.
“It was a very complex system, it’s bigger than Medicare now,” he said.
“It actually costs more every year than it costs to run Medicare and those costs will continue to increase.”
Mr Morrison said the thing he loved about the NDIS was that it helped people with disabilities live their best life, bringing up the example of his brother-in-law who has multiple sclerosis.
“He gets support through the NDIS to ensure that he has the wheelchair he needs and the aids he needs at home to work as a call centre operator and do things like that,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr Morrison said he believed the NDIS was worth investing in but the government was working to get assessments right.
