Skip to main content

Budget Direct

The 2019-2020 Budget has allowed the Coalition to send another direct hit to people with disabilities. 

With the Liberal Government choosing to reallocate between 1.6 and 3 billion dollars that had been earmarked for NDIS it has caused much anxiety within the disability community. 

It is no secret that disability services have been underfunded by at least 30 million dollars per annum for the last two decades and with the government choosing to take away this funding from disability services the gap is only going to get wider. 

The Morrison Government claims that the funding is being reallocated due to the slower than expected roll out of the scheme but if you ask me that is a sign the government should be putting more money into the NDIS and not less.

I have been a recipient of government funded services for the past 36 years however with the NDIS roll out I am experiencing more funding insecurity than ever before. 

Disability services are not like renting a car or taking out house and contents insurance. It is not something that can be handled with a cut price budget. 

People with disabilities are not asking for a blank cheque but we do ask for our government to give us the funding we require to live lives of equal dignity to the rest of our fellow Australian citizens. 

Waiting up to two years for vital pieces of equipment creates a budget direct hit not only for the individuals with the disability but for government funded services that need to support us. 

So to all the politicians in our country please remember to budget for the human cost not just the bottom line. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sexuality Through the Ages

 It is twenty years this year since I was first approached by the School of Occupational Therapy to speak on the topic of transition to adulthood, disability, and sexuality. Since that time I have expanded to deliver disability education across Australia and yet disability and sexuality is still the most common topic I get asked to speak on.  With this in mind I am going to shock you all by saying I wish I had never had to speak on the topic. Sexuality is such a fundamental part of life that from the teenage years till death it should be assumed that anyone engaged in helping a human being with the occupation of life should automatically include the topic of sexuality.  Society has conflicting views when it comes to talking about and expressing sexuality. Add the word disability into the mix and people tend to run away or shut their eyes.  I started my sexual life like all young people by going through puberty. In the mid-nineties the environmental factors and condit...

More Than Politics

 Every election our vote is about more than politics; it says I am part of this nation and my voice will be heard.  This election is about Team Australia. Which leader has a plan to build Australia's future and who wants to divide us? This election is about more than politics; it is about stable leadership. It is about aiming high, looking forward, and thinking big.  My life has been about disability rights. I am living proof that disability rights is more than politics and this election people with disabilities' votes matter.  If I was American I would die. Medicare is the envy of the world. No less than two American presidents have tried to bring in an Australian Medicare style system. Universal healthcare is a human right.  All leaders have been saying that we live in uncertain times and as a result, thinking about acting in Australia's defence becomes about more than politics. We need to make Australia impenetrable to anyone that wishes to do us harm. We nee...

Lights! Camera! Rhyme Time!

Chris Van Ingen and William McInnes on set of Rhyme Time Photo credit: Charlie Kinross  For regular readers of this blog it is no secret that acting is my life, and my life is acting. I can now share with you a joyful experience I had shooting a film called Rhyme Time . Rhyme Time  is a thought provoking, sweet comedy about an old school librarian coming to terms with an ever changing modern world.  Throughout my career I have been lucky enough to be billed alongside great casts such as Rachel Griffiths, Claudia Karvan, and Matt Nable to name a few.  Rhyme Time continues my blessed luck working with Australian legends such as William McInnes from Blue Heelers , Sea Change , and NCIS Sydney fame. William is joined by Emily Havea best known for her work in Wentworth . The cast was rounded out by an amazing group of adorable and rambunctious children that completely stole the show and made the final act of the film one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. Lastly I ha...