A quick email I fired off, because it pisses me off when the government claims people with a disability get supports. I’m tired of all of us who are unsupported being ignored. This includes pieces from this email to Mark Butler and this email to Melissa McIntosh. Remember, most issues in this area are not really ever resolved – you can keep reusing the same information in advocacy emails, no need to reinvent the wheels each time. Save yourself time and energy. This only took me a few minutes. Article I reference in the email: this one.
Sent to: jennifer.mcallister@aph.gov.au
Dear Minister,
I note your comments in the ABC article “NDIS minister says government ‘not contemplating’ need to delay cuts” today, specifically “the government will not leave people without support”.
The government, your government, already leaves people without support.
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 current 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.
I have participated in design sessions regarding foundational supports in Queensland, where I live, and the consultation was a farcical scam. They didn’t even write down the feedback the community gave in the consultations.
I have zero confidence that foundational supports will provide any value to the disability community.
I have tried multiple times to get non NDIS supports. State and local governments have failed me, and the NDIS routinely rejects people with my disabilities, claiming they are only “health conditions”, as if that magically means they don’t disable those living with the condition(s).
The NDIS Bill as proposed is just going to condemn people to the life I live, one of unsupported disability, where I face choices non disabled Australians would never have to face. Most people can’t even comprehend the choices we have to make to get through a day. And we have to do this every day, knowing there are no supports for us.
I would sincerely like to know what your government plans to do to start genuinely supporting people with a disability in Australia, as the current track record and projected path is utterly depressing.
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