Humanity Platform

 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...

 COP27 is the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Egypt this year started on 6 November. This year's conference focuses on the theme 'Together for Implementation'. Recent UN reports show that current national climate commitments will limit warming to 2.5 to 2.8C missing the 1.5C target world leaders have agreed to.  Speaker after speaker are urging the world to move from nice ideas to real action hence the theme Together for Implementation .  There was a very inspiring speech by youth climate activist Leah Namugerwa where she called on the world to "live by the rule of nature, live for others. Trees do not eat their own fruits and rivers do not drink their own water." UN Secretary General António Guterres said “cooperate or perish”.  I can’t believe how often Al Gore, my climate superhero, has to warn the world and yet we still do nothing. In his speech he said our current level of emissions is like heating the world with 600 000 Hiroshima s...

 With 2022 being a year of elections around the world, including Australia, it makes our vote very important in the defense of democracy. Politics tragics like myself know that politics is at its best when it is a contest of ideas that represents all people. Leadership is about creating a healthy community and making sure everyone has access to healthcare. This is especially important at the moment given that we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic despite what political leaders would like for us to believe. Healthy people cannot exist without a healthy economy and a healthy community and economy cannot exist without a healthy climate.  A leader is responsible for a working economy. In my opinion, a working economy is one that works for everyone and the very fact that the gap between the richest people in the world and the poorest people keeps growing shows that our economy is not working. For decades corporate elites have talked about the policy of trickle down eco...

 There are times in our life when it's important to remember, no matter who we are and where we're from, we can all be David. Thousands of years ago a teenage boy went toe to toe with a fierce warrior to defend his nation when everyone was too afraid to. It is my belief that peace should be everyone's default position in their minds and hearts.  No individual person, government, or country has the right to attack another.  To ensure this is the case every citizen should have the skill and will to defend themselves; on the condition it is only done as an act of defense.  "So don't you be afraid of giants in your way. With God, you know that anything's possible. So step into the fight, He's right there by your side, the stones inside your hand might be small but watch the giants fall." ~ Francesca Battistelli, 'Giants Fall'. If we believe in democracy, freedom, and human rights we must be willing to join shoulder to shoulder against what the Aust...

 Thousands of Australians with disabilities fought for decades to get NDIS put in place. The difference the scheme has made in people's lives over the past few years is almost immeasurable. People who couldn't get funding now can and participants like myself have the opportunity to go to different providers or even different states much easier.  Growing up with funding models that made me rank my disability I missed out on the appropriate funding level because I scored highly on the physical disability components yet did not have the accompanying cognitive and intellectual disabilities.  When the Morrison Government announced the new independent assessments, a chill went down my spine. I immediately heard echoes of my past. The way the new independent assessment tools were explained to me it sounded like a tick and flick way of getting participants less funding.  Architects of the NDIS Scheme have said that the new approach is a way for the government to save up to 7...

 After writing several blog posts on International Women's Day, I decided to stop writing on this topic because I didn't want to be mansplaining women's issues. A conversation I had recently with a female work colleague changed my opinion on this however.  We were talking about a male colleague who had disrespected her and I naively responded, "Really? He was always so nice to me!".  My colleague then looked at me and said, "I know you have experienced prejudice because of your disability but think about it for a second. You are a white middle class man with a disability. He was hardly going to treat you the same way he was going to treat me." This short conversation I had with her made me stop and think. In 2021, gender stereotypes should not exist yet the conversations that the March 4 Justice and the Me Too movement have sparked show society that we need to work harder for true gender equality.  Men, including myself, need to work with women to make g...