Advocacy – pre budget email

Today I was reading the news when I saw politicians claim the federal budget isn’t set in stone yet. So I figured, why not email a relevant minister and tell them what I’m expecting. How their behaviour hasn’t been up to standard recently.

It’s not my best work, because the past month has been a lot in my personal life, but advocacy doesn’t have to be perfect. Just do some of it (if it’s within your capacity). Feel free to use my letter as a template. Maybe you’ll remember an angle I’ve forgotten to include. Who knows who reads this stuff, but whatever, I’ve tried. That’s all we can do. 

 

minister.butler@health.gov.au

 

Dear Minister Butler,

I am concerned about the level of negative rhetoric that the government is promoting about disabled people, and potential cuts to disability support in the upcoming budget.

Given that it is your portfolio, you should know that overall, it is only a small percentage of disabled people in Australia who have access to the NDIS. If anything, the NDIS should be being expanded to ensure that all people with a disability have access to equitable supports.

The system does not support everyone. Many of us are non NDIS users not because the system claims we are not disabled, or we’re not the right type of disabled. Generally, being not the right type means our disability comes from a “health condition”, as for some reason, your government deems these non disabling. These are also conditions which are primarily faced by women, and are under-researched. Neither of these factors should exclude us from supports, and yet they do.

Language recently used by the ABC also seems to uncritically reflect government stances. In a recent article titled “Australia’s ‘lucky country’ mantle has slipped — and we’re not happy about it” they say that one of your preferred research firms “found the NDIS was the government spending program seen by Australians as producing the least value for money for Australian taxpayers”. My question is – why does the opinion of the presumably mostly non-disabled surveyed matter more to you than the opinion of the disabled? Most Australians are not literate on the complexities of living with a disability, so their opinion on what is value cannot be … valuable.

Again, as you should know given your portfolio, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability showed that one of the biggest barriers to inclusion and rights in Australia is the attitude of non disabled people. Yet here you are, having surveyed what was likely primarily non disabled people, and you are placing their uninformed opinions of higher value than that of lived experience.

You have an opportunity this week to show that, as a public servant, you are able to represent and support people with a disability. I hope that your National Press Club speech this week is full of support for the needs of disabled people in Australia.

I hope that the budget is being created without increasing hate for disabled people, but with the knowledge that both NDIS and Foundational Supports need to be wide reaching program that truly support people with a disability.

 

I look forward to seeing less hateful rhetoric on disabled people coming from this government, and a budget that respects our human rights to access support and society.