People with disability were barely acknowledged in the
Federal Budget – and in tonight’s Opposition Budget
Reply, we weren’t mentioned at all.
As we head into
a Federal Election, People with Disability Australia (PWDA)
is concerned this omission sends a clear and chilling
message: people with disability are not front and centre in
either major party’s vision for the
election.
However, being ignored won’t protect
us.
Cuts flagged to the public service by the
Coalition tonight and NDIS workforce by both sides are
deeply concerning. The NDIS is a frontline service and
undermining its funding and workforce puts at risk the
essential supports hundreds of thousands of people with
disability rely on to survive and participate in their
communities.
The Coalition’s plans to slash 41,000
jobs from the public sector will also threaten the
implementation of NDIS reforms and the rollout of
foundational supports. Weakening the administrative state
means weakening the systems people with disability depend
on.
“We remain concerned that cuts to the NDIS
remain on the table under the Coalition. The NDIS needs
guaranteed, long-term funding and must be recognised as an
essential service. The constant political uncertainty
undermines its ability to deliver the outcomes people with
disability and our friends and family deserve,” said PWDA
President Trinity Ford.
Employment was also in the
spotlight tonight. Workforce participation of people with
disability has lifted in recent years. Progress will stall
if the Coalition’s measures that reduce flexibility and
remove protections for the casualised workforce are
implemented. This will be compounded if they rollback the
public sector’s leadership role as a model employer for
accessibility and inclusion.
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“People with disability
will not accept being sidelined, especially when what’s on
the table threatens to pull apart the essential services we
rely on to survive,” said Ms Ford.
Despite the
urgent need for reform, neither major party has mentioned
funding for implementation of the Disability Royal
Commission’s recommendation, produced a roadmap for change
or national plan to ensure the rights and safety of people
with disability are embedded across all policies and
portfolios.
The Federal Budget and Opposition’s
Reply comes on the eve of an election where 5.5 million
people with disability and millions of our friends, families
and allies won’t just be watching but voting. PWDA is
calling on all parties and candidates to make explicit
commitments to people with disability’s rights, inclusion
and futures through:
- Guaranteed long-term funding
for the NDIS and no cuts to participant’s supports or
choice and control. - Securing a long-term co-funding
agreement with states and territories to deliver nationally
consistent Foundational Supports - Safeguarding
diversity in the public sector and not cutting public sector
jobs - Lifting income support payments above the
poverty line - Ensuring people with disability are
considered in every policy by creating a Federal Minister
for Disability Inclusion and a Department of Disability
Equality and
Inclusion.
