Australian Greens leader Christine Milne says sexism is behind accusations about Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s past work as a lawyer.

Senator Milne said there was a “group of older, white men in Australia” who did not like the idea that at last women were coming into their own.

“They’ve never accepted the legitimacy of a woman as a prime minister and they are kicking back in every which way they can,” she told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

She was commenting on the controversy surrounding the legal advice given by Ms Gillard to AWU officials, while she was a lawyer in the 1990s.

Ms Gillard on Monday held an extended press conference to tackle the allegations, stating the coalition was running a “sleaze and smear” campaign.

Senator Milne said parliament was “obsessing” over the issue because sections of the media “can’t accept the legitimacy of a woman as a prime minister and a minority government”.

“Well, get over it,” she said.

“We’ve got a minority government, we’ve got a woman as a prime minister.”

Shadow attorney-general George Brandis dismissed Senator Milne’s comments.

“I suppose Christine Milne would say that, wouldn’t she,” he told reporters.

The opposition was asking the most senior politician in the land to account for her conduct, Senator Brandis said.

“We are accusing her of doing the wrong thing,” he said.

“If we have come to the stage in this country where you can’t accuse a senior politician of doing the wrong thing merely because they are a woman without being accused of sexism, we have come to a pretty bad situation.”

The federal government has reassured people with disabilities that a planned national insurance scheme will be flexible to adapt to their needs.

Disability Reform Minister Jenny Macklin on Monday released draft legislation for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) while visiting a centre for deaf and hearing-impaired children in Canberra.

She will introduce the bill to parliament this week.

Several state governments have expressed concerns the scheme will be too prescriptive and bureaucratic, resulting in a Centrelink-type approach that would rob people of choice and control over their care.

Ms Macklin said there had been an “enormous” amount of consultation so far and that would continue in the coming months through a parliamentary committee.

“We’ve had not only consultations with the states and territories but extensive consultations with so many people who have a disability (at) many, many public forums,” she told reporters.

“Consultation on these detailed rules will occur with people with disability, their families, carers, service providers and advocates in the coming months.”

The scheme will give people with disabilities the flexibility to choose the type of care and support they receive.

The NDIS is expected to cost about $15 billion a year when fully implemented in 2018/19.

The government has set aside $1 billion to fund five launch sites around the nation from mid-2013, but future funding commitments fall outside the four-year budget estimates period.

The draft legislation sets up the framework for the scheme, including eligibility criteria, age requirements and what constitutes reasonable and necessary support.

The legislation will establish a launch transition agency as an independent body.