Perfectly Made Early Childhood Intervention

07/04/2026

Every time I hear politicians and parts of the media talk about the NDIS like it’s just a cost, I shake my head. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Because here’s the reality. Did you know that for every $1 spent through the NDIS, around $2.25 goes back into the Australian economy?

No. I bet you didn’t know that.

Because the media don’t tell you that part.

Neither do politicians who are punching down on people with disabilities, trying to score points with the public.

It is not waste.
It’s investment.

It pays the support worker who buys groceries locally.

It pays the therapist who employs admin staff.

It keeps small disability providers open in regional towns - like Mildura.

It allows carers to return to work.

It funds transport, equipment suppliers, cleaners, and countless small businesses.

Cutting NDIS supports doesn’t just impact people with disability.

It pulls money out of local communities.

It costs jobs.
It hurts regional Australia.

And the hardest part is that the people being blamed are often families and participants who are just trying to live safely and with dignity.

Slashing supports for people assessed as needing 1:1 care, or pushing 1:3 ratios where risk is catastrophic, is not reform.

It’s dangerous.

The NDIS doesn’t just change lives.

It’s supporting local economies, creating jobs, and keeping communities strong.

Maybe it’s time we stopped talking about it as a burden and started recognising it for what it actually is.

An investment in people, families, and Australia’s future. 💙

Anne Webster MP
Senator Bridget McKenzie

Sources:

https://percapita.org.au/our_media/the-ndis-transformed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-lives-in-its-first-10-years-what-will-the-next-decade-hold/

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_Insurance_Scheme/General_Issues_-_Annual_Report/Annual_Report_No_1/Chapter_6_-_Sustainability?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://afdo.org.au/the-economic-benefits-of-the-national-disability-insurance-scheme-and-the-consequences-of-government-cost-cutting/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

Well done Australian Wildlife Sanctuary for putting on this incredible event. We went there for our family experience to celebrate our son’s 3rd birthday. The kids had the best time. Thank you to everyone for all of your work in putting this together so well.
If you haven’t been, I highly recommend going!

03/04/2026

If I’m starting from square one, if I have only time to tell you one thing about PDA, this is what I would say. I would say that the most, most, most important thing is that the child knows that you are on their team.

That demands will come and they will exist and they will sometimes feel like they are right in your face, and that your grown-up is your team member when that happens.

Because you, grown-up, are going to be on a team with *somebody*.

You can be on a team with your kid, squaring off against the demand.

Or, you can be on a team with the demand, squaring off against your kid.

If you choose the latter, you choose to hold the demand’s hand, and cherish the demand. Cuddling up to a brick wall while your child stands alone and has to figure out how to fight their way through.

I’m not saying that it’s always easy to stay on your child’s team. To you, the demand they’re facing down might look like a tiny speck. Or, it might look huge but you’re simultaneously facing down your own huge demands and the thought of this little two-person team battling against overwhelming odds makes you want to quit before you’ve even begun.

But I’d rather be aligned with the underdog I love than holding hands with the demand.