Many families in Australia need our government to support the NDIS

It has been said that it "exists to help Australians with disability live ordinary - and extraordinary - lives".

But it has become a political football in a game that tells us a lot about what we value and what kind of society we want to live in.

The NDIS is a major investment in our social infrastructure. So it should be.

One in six people in Australia experience disability and over one-third of households include a person with disability.

It makes sense that we make sure people with disability and their families can fully participate in society, the workforce and our economy.

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The NDIS was introduced following a ground-breaking report by the Productivity Commission.

The report identified a failing disability support system "underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient" and imposing a significant - and rising - cost to governments.

The Commission predicted that establishing the NDIS would have wide-ranging benefits that would "significantly outweigh the costs".

It was right.

The NDIS is making it possible for people with disability and their families to get into work and succeed in their job.

It's helping children flourish in school.

It's providing people with disability support to live independently, with greater control over their daily life.

Modelling by think tank Per Capita found that in 2020-2021 the NDIS contributed $52.4 billion to the economy, and every dollar spent on the NDIS generates $2.25 of economic activity.

Initially, the NDIS had bipartisan political support and was embraced by the public.

I like to think this represented not just recognition of the economic case, but also the value we place on the lives of people with disability.

But the NDIS is now under attack, with a concerted campaign to cut supports that people need under the guise of "sustainability".

It has been particularly shocking to see cuts to the NDIS raised in the context of the cost of the AUKUS submarine deal.

With a price tag of $368 billion over 30 years, the Prime Minister says the subs are the "biggest single investment in Australia's defence capability".

And some pundits argue that when it comes to our national security "failure is not an option".

So where to find the money?

There are plenty of places we might look - not least the stage three tax cuts for those on higher incomes, which will cost $243 billion over 10 years.

Instead, the opposition leader suggested cuts to the NDIS.

It seems that when it comes to this critical investment, failure is an option.

And if we can't put a price on our national security, we can put a price on the lives of people with disability.

Nobody says the NDIS is perfect.

It's not working for everyone and any scheme needs to be effectively managed, including to ensure it's reaching the right people.

But slashing support that people need is not the answer.

The recent robodebt royal commission shone a spotlight on the terrible human cost of targeting people already experiencing disadvantage to find savings.

We have seen the consequences of valuing efficiencies over the lived reality of people who are entitled to support.

We have also seen what cost-cutting to the NDIS looked like under the previous government.

Here at Public Interest Advocacy Centre, through our work with NDIS participants and disability peak organisations, we saw the disastrous consequences of attempts to make savings and we understand what further cuts would mean.

Cuts to the NDIS mean making people with disability fight for the support they need - insisting they repeatedly justify their requests and ignoring that they are the experts in their own lives.

Cuts mean introducing inflexible policies that rule out certain types of supports, regardless of what a person needs or treating professionals recommend.

Cuts mean forcing people to accept poorer quality supports that may be risky or ineffective, or forcing people into group accommodation that is inappropriate for their needs.

Cuts mean skyrocketing appeals, with the government spending tens of millions of dollars each year on lawyers to fight people with disability.

Cuts also mean people losing trust in government and what is meant to be a world-class disability support scheme.

We must defend the NDIS: for the positive impact it has on the daily reality of people with disability and their families, and the benefits it brings to our community.

And we must defend the rights of people with disability to the support they need to live ordinary and extraordinary lives.