News
Voters living with disability are growing restless as the major parties continue leave them out of election discussions. With less than a week until the Federal Election, Powerd Media put the community’s concerns to politicians and leading advocates to find out exactly what is paramount to improving disability policy in this country.
Financial Support
4.4 million Australians are living with a disability, yet only over 1 in 10 are registered for the NDIS.
Graeme Innes is a lawyer, university chancellor and former Disability Discrimination Commissioner living with disability. He says the government needs to make the NDIS more sustainable.
“It’s doing a fantastic job for the people that are on the scheme, but only 10% of people with disabilities were ever intended to be supported by the National Disability Insurance Scheme."
When it comes to the cost of living, many people with disabilities face additional challenges that can mean spending an extra $107-$173 per week, according to the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling.
Stephanie Dower is a director, producer and access coordinator. She says the NDIS has been life changing.
“It has allowed me to have a greater career, to travel for work, to be independent. It's allowed me to have proper relationships with my parents and my sibling.”
However, Ms Dower doubts the stability of her NDIS funding.
“I fear the rug's just going to be pulled out from underneath me at any time,” she says.
The former Disability Discrimination Commissioner argues that state governments must step up and provide support for the wider disability community. “The other 90% need to be supported by the general systems in the community, which are largely run by state governments,” Mr Innes says.
A greater voice for people with disability
Jessie Price is a mother, midwife and former journalist. As the Independent candidate for Bean in the southern suburbs of Canberra, ACT, she is advocating for better systems so the community can thrive together.
Ms Price believes there are more improvements to be made before housing accommodations for people with disability can be called successful.
‘I went to a disability forum the other night and heard loud and clear that the community wants a revisit of the recommendations of the Royal Commission,” she says. “There are a lot of issues with NDIS, and…the recommendations address a lot of those. We must go back…and see what has prevented those reforms being actualised. Is it political will"?
Ms price pointed to reports of people being removed from the NDIS before foundational supports are in place.
“It is a huge dishonour on our part and disservice to not take those stories seriously and put into place the policy that those recommendations are putting forward for us.”
Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John, a member of the Australian Senate from Western Australia, has a reputation for valuing lived experience inputs from communities, believing they have the power to create change.
As the party Spokesperson for Disability, Mr Steele-John, who uses a wheelchair, agrees with Ms Price’s comments.
“Lived experience expertise is vital in getting policy right.”
" We have heard over the last three years from Australia's disability community, that they are sick and tired of being passed from pillar to post by a Commonwealth government,” he says.
“ While they [the government] bicker, people continue to live below the poverty line…that’s really what we've got to tackle in this next Parliament.”
The Greens previously announced their intention to create a Minister for Disability within the Federal Cabinet, and establish an Office for Disability and a Department of Disability.
The Department of Disability would be responsible for coordinating Federal disability services and would take responsibility for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission.
“It will give us an opportunity to actually deliver services and supports in a way that work for disabled people. It will enable us to tackle the discrimination that still exists, the ableism that still exists,” Mr Steele-John explains.
“It will give us the opportunity to actually ensure that the voices of disabled people are heard within government and that disabled community have an individual to hold accountable when government lets us down.”