Program
Thursday 14th September, 2017
Location: NAB The Hall
Defiant Lives
Speaker:
Sarah Barton, Film Director
Defiant Lives introduces the world to the most impressive activists you’ve never heard of and tells the story of the rise and fight of the disability rights movement in the United States, Britain and Australia. Featuring exclusive interviews with elders (some now deceased) who’ve led the movement over the past five decades, the film weaves together never-before-seen archival footage with the often-confronting personal stories of disabled men and women as they moved from being warehoused in institutions to fighting for independence and control over their lives.
Friday 15th September, 2017
Location: The Hall
Welcome
Speaker:
Melissa Hale, DARU Coordinator
An Elder representing VACHO will open proceedings with a Welcome to Country. Melissa Hale, DARU Coordinator will be the MC for the day and will cover house-keeping and introduce the conference theme.
Location: The Hall
Opening address: Tracking the Victorian transition to the NDIS
Speakers:
- Martin Foley MP, Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Equality, Minister for Creative Industries
- Gabrielle Williams MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Parliamentary Secretary for Carers and Volunteers
Negotiations with the Commonwealth are ongoing as state funded disability support services are transitioning to the NDIS. It’s a messy and complex process and we’ll hear a quick update on how things are going and how the Victorian Government is planning to bridge the gaps in service provision for those who are not eligible for the NDIS.
Location: Foyer
Morning tea
A series of NDIS infomercials will be shown on the big screen during morning tea and repeated during afternoon tea.
Location: The Hall
Motor’s running and we’re ready to roll
Facilitated by: Llewellyn Reynders, Policy Manager, VCOSS
Speakers:
- Kirsten Deane, Executive Director, National Disability and Carer Alliance.
- Dean Barton-Smith, AM
- Les Cope, President of Ability Dignity Access Management (ADAM inc.), Administrator at NDIS Grassroots Facebook Group
The strength of personal stories and grassroots campaigning on the rights of people with disability touched the general public and politicians alike. This panel will reflect on how highlighting the disparity of people with disability in living an ‘ordinary life’ shamed the nation and brought the NDIS into being. We turned the narrow dusty road into a super highway- but are we there yet?
Location: Foyer
Lunch
Reel Zone is back! This year’s collection will be in keeping with the ‘gearing up for a journey’ theme so look out for your favourite driving songs and don’t be shy about letting your inner motor head shine!
Location: The Hall
Revving up empowerment in the NDIS
Facilitated by: Liz Wright, Disability Access Officer
Speakers:
- Leah Katieva, CEO at Rights, Information and Advocacy Centre (RIAC)
- Tess McCarthy, Coordinator Policy and Research Unit, Office of the Public Advocate
- Gary Kerridge, NDIS Senior Local Coordinator at Brotherhood of St Laurence
Since its inception, a fundamental principle of the NDIS has always been to promote choice and control. This panel will investigate how empowered people with disability really are in asserting these principles through NDIS processes. Are goals translated into supports through planning and does ‘reasonable and necessary’ refer to need of the participant or the NDIA’s bottom line?
Location: Foyer
Afternoon tea
A series of NDIS infomercials will be shown on the big screen during morning tea and repeated during afternoon tea.
Location: The Hall
GPS needed for the road ahead
Facilitated by: Colleen Furlanetto, Chair of Victorian Disability Advisory Council
Speakers:
The sector lobbied hard to retain independent advocacy by remaining outside the NDIS. Anecdotally, it’s acknowledged that participants achieve better outcomes through their interaction with the Agency by seeking advocacy assistance- but what will advocacy look like in the new NDIS landscape? This panel will identify the pot holes and road blocks ahead where advocacy might be called upon to hold the system to account. Might advocacy prove to be the most effective GPS for the NDIS?
Location: The Hall
Closing Address
Speaker:
Jeff Waters, Journalist, Ethical News
SDAC17 is very fortunate to have a ‘resident roving reporter’ who will be milling around all day, gathering key points and capturing themes and opinions from speakers and delegates alike. In this closing address, Jeff will present his multi-media mash up of the day with his wonderful ‘yes-I-can-do-this-with-no-time-to-prepare’ approach.
For more information about the conference program, contact DARU at:
E: [email protected]
Speakers
Dean Barton-Smith, AM
Dean Barton-Smith AM, has accumulated more than 30 years experience in the field of marketing and public affairs, strategic / corporate planning and advocacy within the telecommunication, sport, government (both state and federal), retail, health care, mental health, professional association, emergency management, transport, community and disability sectors.
Photo of Dean Barton-Smith, AM
Jeff Waters, Journalist, Ethical News
Jeff Waters was a TV reporter for 30 years and has worked in almost as many countries. Learning to film and edit his own journalism, he became the world’s first professional video journalist in 1996. His latest reporting job was as Senior Journalist, Victoria, for ABC TV News, and his video journalism has been broadcast by CNN and the BBC, as well as all Australian and New Zealand Television networks and many others. Jeff is the author of two non-fiction books, and he now works largely as a media consultant for charities and NGOs.
Photo of Jeff Waters, Journalist, Ethical News
Martin Foley MP, Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Equality, Minister for Creative Industries
Having previously worked in the public housing sector, community development and in protecting the rights of working people, Mr Foley is excited by the challenge of transformational reform for people with disability through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Mr Foley is a member of the St Kilda Football Club and hopes to see a premiership in his lifetime. He is a cricket tragic, destined to be stranded on a single century after too many innings.
Photo of Martin Foley MP, Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Equality, Minister for Creative Industries
Melissa Hale, DARU Coordinator
Melissa has a passion for disability advocacy and to see bridges built where barriers once were. Professionally, Melissa came to DARU after five years managing Deaf Victoria, where she, in conjunction with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, was a major contributor to the Auslan Interpreting in Public Hospital inquiry. She also coordinated a national conference to discuss and create a plan of action for barriers of accessing Mental Health support for Deaf and hard of hearing people.
Photo of Melissa Hale, DARU Coordinator
Sarah Barton, Film Director
Sarah’s first documentary ‘Untold Desires’ (SBS 1994) dealt frankly with the topic of sexuality and disability and was followed by ‘A Wing and A Prayer’ (SBS 2000) and the long running series ‘No Limits’ (2003). Sarah has gained recognition by winning numerous industry and community awards.
In 2010 Sarah was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to travel to England and America to research her documentary about the disability rights movement which has evolved into ‘Defiant Lives’.
Photo of Sarah Barton, Film Director
Trevor Carroll, Executive Officer, Disability Justice Advocacy
Trevor is passionate about protecting and enhancing the human rights of people with disabilities having had first hand personal experience of disability discrimination in Australia on many occasions. He uses his lived experience in his current role, leading a team of 9 disability advocates to protect the rights of people with disability on a range of issues.
Trevor is a man wearing many hats and holds several positions including Chairperson of Disabled People’s International (DPI) Asia Pacific Region and member of the DPI World Executive, Chairperson and President of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), the peak body representing people with disability in Australia and is a current member of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s Disability Reference Group after previously serving 4 years as the Co-
Photo of Trevor Carroll, Executive Officer, Disability Justice Advocacy