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Disability funding on agenda for national cabinet

Care providers in the NDIS putting profits over people with disabilities have been put on notice.

Care providers in the NDIS putting profits over people with disabilities have been put on notice. Photo: AAP

Ensuring the National Disability Insurance Scheme does not blow government budgets and hospital funding is adequate will be key issues for national cabinet.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is meeting state and territory leaders in Canberra on Wednesday, with disability and health funding on the agenda.

The cost of the NDIS is growing at an unsustainable 14 per cent and the federal government wants to contain the growth to eight per cent.

Without action it could start to erode other parts of the federal budget, the forecast for which will be updated in the mid-year review next week.

A new hospital agreement is also on the table.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said there was a willingness to work with the federal government on shoring up the NDIS.

“It’s important that we work through these big important issues collaboratively,” she told reporters in Canberra ahead of the meeting.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said he wanted a “proper understanding” of the future costs of the NDIS.

“Who is going to pay for it and how are we going to pay for it?” he said.

The premiers are also keen to strike a new deal on the GST carve-up, seeking a $5 billion boost to their share of revenue from the goods and services tax.

A “no worse off guarantee” was set up in 2018 by the former coalition government after a deal was struck with Western Australia.

The deal is due to expire in 2026/27.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said health and education services were at risk without a new deal on GST revenues.

“You simply cannot take hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue away from any state government without having real world consequences,” he said.

He noted it was not a problem of the federal Labor government’s making, but nonetheless needed to be fixed.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook said he supported the extension of the no worse off GST deal.

“Can I just say, Western Australia in 2018 agreed to surrender 30 per cent of its GST to the other states and since then has made a contribution of over $13 billion from WA taxpayers to the other states,” he said.

“I’m very pleased that the prime minister has committed to Western Australia getting its fair share of the GST as part of these arrangements.”

Tasmania Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he would be focusing on getting a better deal on healthcare funding, especially for rural and regional communities.

– AAP

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