Wedged become wedgees as Christian Porter plays an NDIS trump

A funny thing happened on the way to delivering the full NDIS: the wedged became the wedgees.

Once upon a time the Coalition was politically outclassed as it introduced the $22 billion dis­ability scheme and a Medicare levy rise to partially pay for it.

That was then. In a move of breathtaking dexterity, Social Services Minister Christian Porter has turned a weakness into a virtue. There were plenty of sceptics in the disability sector about whether the ­Coalition would fully commit to the NDIS, despite all evidence pointing to the fact it would.

To convince doubters, Porter has created a special account into which the government will pour its cuts and savings from the broader welfare sphere. The money will go towards plugging a roughly $5bn a year hole in the scheme’s funding which the government says was left by Labor. Some of the savings come from the disability pension.

The Coalition is now in the unique position of being able to make savings in the bigger welfare portfolio while delivering the NDIS as promised.

Labor figures have admitted the politics are “clever”. For his part, Bill Shorten is faced with a quandary: object to the full-funding of the NDIS, support the savings or come up with a better way.