McHale calls for unity in disability services funding plans

Disability Services Minister Sheila McHale has called on the Federal Government to support a joint state and territory agreement on the provision of disability services, rather than signing individual agreements with each party.

The full text of an announcement from the Minister's office is pasted below

Western Australians with a disability will be the losers amid fears that the Federal Government could walk away from the successful Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement.

Disability Services Minister Sheila McHale today joined with her State and Territory counterparts in supporting the five-year CSTDA agreement, in the face of Federal plans to negotiate on a State-by-State basis.

"The State and Territory Ministers are not prepared to be the architects of the demise of the successful CSTDA agreement," Ms McHale said.

"A Senate inquiry report has recognised the importance of an agreement, with significant funding increases to families of people with a disability.

"We, as a group, are 100 per cent committed to ensuring a multilateral-based agreement is reached."

The Minister was in Brisbane today as part of negotiations for a new five-year CSTDA agreement.

"Despite the success of the CSTDA, Federal Minister Mal Brough wants separate Commonwealth agreements with each State and Territory," she said.

"He is also keeping us in the dark over the amount of Federal funding we can expect under his deal, which is ridiculous given that the Federal Budget is just four weeks away.

"Mr Brough is ignoring the needs of people with a disability, as well as his own Senate colleagues who have supported increased disability services funding for areas of unmet need."

Ms McHale said the States and Territories would continue to push for a fair deal and were seeking another meeting with Mr Brough prior to the Federal Budget.

"The Carpenter Government is making decisions to benefit all Western Australians," she said.