I had a wonderful morning welcoming local residents from all walks of life to a DisabiliTEA at Yeronga Memorial Park to support the Every Australian Counts campaign and share information on what funding a National Disability Insurance Scheme would mean to us all.

While enjoying delicious cupcakes (if I say so myself), profiteroles, carrot cake, fruit and many other goodies, it was a joy to have the opportunity to answer questions about what an NDIS was and what it would mean to those with a disability.

The NDIS will revolutionise the way people with a disability, their families and carers are supported in Australia. It will replace all the current state and territory disability systems, because they don’t work.

The NDIS will be a modern, person-centred support system, helping hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability and their families to have the opportunity to participate actively in their communities by providing targeted supports aligned to need.

The NDIS will be portable – your entitlement to support will be the same wherever you live in Australia. (About Every Australian Counts)

This morning at the Moreton DisabiliTEA parents who had a child with a disability were curious to know what an NDIS would mean for them and for their children in the future.

That was pretty much the theme of the day and perhaps what encouraged participation from new faces.

I found it remarkable that the word could spread in such a short amount of time. I put the invitation out on Monday through friends and networks and then I arrived this morning to meet some lovely local residents! It just goes to show how widespread community support is for implementing an NDIS.

For Campbell Newman to not apply for nor fund an NDIS trial in Queensland is indicative of what we have already seen from this first term state government with respect to its treatment of vulnerable people. But how can his LNP colleagues sit back and be silent on this one? He and his federal colleagues must express commitment to funding an NDIS.

MP Graham Perrett and his federal colleagues must also deliver a funding plan sooner rather than later to provide peace of mind – once and for all – to people with a disability, to parents whose children have a disability, to carers and to all of us who could acquire a disability out of the blue.

I urge you to ask sitting Moreton federal member Graham Perrett and LNP candidate Malcolm Cole how they plan to fund an NDIS.

I urge you to ask me!

Before I sign off, big thanks to my friends and to fellow Greens who came along today. It meant a lot to have you there and I’m really looking forward to officially launching my campaign and enjoying your support in the coming year.

Finally, a big shout to the beautiful, intelligent, passionate and fiercely independent Alexandra McCullum – my dear friend and flatmate – who somehow complains less than I do about the fact that Moorooka Station doesn’t have disability access; complains less than I do when her wheelchair spins out on cracks in the road because there’s no footpath for her to use; and complains less than I do about the fact that my front gate is in a seemingly constant state of disrepair. None of those things are acceptable and yet you are always smiling. You inspire me.