“Australians with disabilities would be lifters, if there were not barriers in society that force us to lean every day. I have challenged this my whole life.” Outgoing Australian disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes delivered this speech to the National Press Club on 2 July, 2014. I acknowledge the traditional owners of this land. I … Continued
Police asked a disabled man to leave the foyer of the ABC at Southbank in Melbourne during a protest against the axing of the disability website, Ramp Up. About 20 people held a protest outside the building. Some of the protesters entered the foyer and security called police when a 39-year-old man in a wheelchair … Continued
It was announced recently that the ABC’s disability website, Ramp Up, launched in 2010, will be scrapped by the end of the month. Seed funding for the website — provided by the Department of Social Services — was scheduled to cease at the end of June this year. The previous government had expected that the … Continued
The disability movement in Australia has taken some significant steps forward over the last three years. When Kate Larsen moved from London to Melbourne three years ago, she was surprised to find that Australia was on the back foot with disability issues. Today, however, she feels Australians with disability and their non-disabled allies are more … Continued
Can we change the world with a click and a share? Engaging in online activism can’t replace putting a face to a name or chatting over a cuppa, but it can help some people with disability to participate and it can still get things done, writes Jodie van de Wetering. The internet has trickled … Continued
We like to be different, but not too different, to fit in yet still be individual. It’s a tension that gets played out in various ways. By parents who want their children to have a “normal” life, to find friends and not be teased. Yet parents can also take great pride in their children being … Continued
The reassessment of people on the disability support pension is always going to be a problem,” Ms Young said. “It doesn’t necessarily create jobs in the labour market, it doesn’t create opportunities.” Under the changes, an estimated 28,000 people on the disability support pension who are able to work more than eight hours a week, … Continued
The Human Rights Commission appears on a collision course with the Federal Government, disability advocates and those in the disability employment sector, after its decision on how wages should be assessed for workers with a severe disability. Disability Enterprises and the Federal Government have tried to delay the transition to a new wage-assessment model, but … Continued
National peak disability and advocacy groups condemn the decision by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to allow the Australian Government and sheltered workshops (also known as Australian Disability Enterprises or ‘ADEs’) to continue to discriminate against employees with disability. However, we also applaud the AHRC for placing the final nail in the coffin of … Continued
Former Telethon child Prue Hawkins has been told she is not impaired enough to get the disability support pension. A leader among WA’s disabled community, the 33-year-old wheelchair user has osteogenesis imperfecta – also known as brittle bone disease. She currently has a broken leg. Despite her severe physical restrictions, she completed a law degree, … Continued
Findings from a recent review of NDIA capabilities have led to speculation that the NDIS rollout could be delayed beyond 2019. Dr George Taleporos says although the review is useful in alerting us to current challenges, it should not be used to justify a longer timeline for implementation. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) recently … Continued
Lawyer Richard Bernstein joins Michael Short in The Zone. Australia’s fledgling National Disability Insurance Scheme is widely seen as a fair and decent public policy that’s long overdue in one of the world’s wealthiest nations. It is in the trial phase and once fully operational will cost billions of dollars each year. Only about half … Continued
The Australian Human Rights Commission this week called for an urgent audit of justice services to people with disability, as Rosie Anne Fulton, a woman detained in WA because she her disability meant she was deemed unfit to plead, became the latest person to highlight this type of human rights breach. The Disability Discrimination Commissioner … Continued
The National Disability Insurance Agency must match the task and be built to last, says Craig Wallace. Recently, Senate Estimates heard that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) was involved in not one, but at least three reviews looking into a range of issues work on the full scheme rollout, work on agency capability and … Continued
Disability advocates say the indefinite detention of an Aboriginal woman in a West Australian jail is not an isolated case. The ABC’s Lateline program last night has revealed 23-year-old woman, who suffers from foetal alcohol syndrome, has spent the past 18 months in a Kalgoorlie jail without a conviction. The Aboriginal Disability Justice Campaign says … Continued