Given the National Disability Insurance Scheme stands almost alone as the greatest legacy of the last Labor Government, it seems counter-intuitive for Bill Shorten to be the person putting its future in doubt.
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While this point has been made, repeatedly, by those on the Government benches in the days since the budget, it seems this view is also widely held within the Labor caucus.
There was widespread reporting on Monday of a split in the shadow cabinet over Mr Shorten's non-negotiable rejection of the Turnbull Government's budgeted 0.5 per cent Medicare levy increase.
This was particularly significant given, until Monday, the ALP has remained surprisingly leak free in opposition.
One shadow cabinet minister reportedly said "the view in shadow cabinet was overwhelmingly to back all of the Medicare levy [rise] given the amount of revenue it would raise".
The 0.5 per cent increase, which would take the levy to 2.5 per cent, is designed to help fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Julia Gillard signed off on a similar .5 per cent increase, which took the levy to 2 per cent, also to assist with the cost of the NDIS, when she was Prime Minister in 2013.
Mr Shorten is standing firm, saying his party will only sign off on a .5 per cent increase for those earning above $87,000 a year. While an excellent strategy in terms of a "class warfare" narrative, this does raise the question of whether or not the alternative PM can recognise a good deal when he sees one.
His position has already drawn criticism from disabled groups who want the issue of how the billions of dollars needed for the NDIS will be raised sorted out once and for all.
John Della Bosca, the former NSW Labor health and disability minister, has played a key role in bringing the scheme to life after becoming the campaign director with disability group "Every Australian Counts" following his departure from politics.
"Labor is free to make whatever points they want about the broader issues in the taxation scheme," he said after Mr Shorten's budget reply. "But most people in the disability community would very strongly represent to the opposition that whatever points they make, do not do anything that would compromise the bipartisanship for the full funding for the NDIS."
While Labor can, and no doubt will, continue to argue the scheme was fully funded on their watch, this is open to question with a $6 billion funding hole coming to light in 2014.
Scott Morrison has indicated the Government won't be spending money on the NDIS it doesn't have and, for the moment, that appears to be pretty final.
If Mr Shorten believes there should be a safety net to protect low income earners from the worst effects of a levy increase he should say so and work towards a solution, not play politics with an issue that demands bipartisan support.
