Disability Pride Month and fighting for systemic change

Abigail passed a motion celebrating Disability Pride Month and highlighting the need to urgently take action to break down structural and individual ableism.

(1) That this House notes that July was Disability Pride Month, which proudly celebrates the diversity of the disability community and their resilience and strength and calls on every level of society to fight for systemic change to eliminate ableism and the barriers people with disability face in their lives.

(2) That this House affirms that:

(a) people with disability disproportionately experience marginalisation and barriers to participation due to ableism, inaccessibility, discrimination, lack of support services and more;

(b) according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in a report titledPeople with Disability in Australia published in July 2022:

(i) 49 per cent of people with disability are not satisfied or only somewhat satisfied with their life;

(ii) there are 4.4 million people in Australia with a disability; however, only 519,000 of these people are engaged with the National Disability Insurance Scheme due to eligibility requirements;

(iii) 10 percent of people with disability aged over 15 experienced disability discrimination in the last year;

(iv) people with disability are twice as likely to experience social isolation as people without disability;

(v) half of people with disability only received informal assistance when they needed health care;

(vi) long wait times, cost, inaccessible buildings, discrimination by health professionals and a lack of communication between treating health professionals were identified as barriers to accessing health care for people with disability; and

(c) data gaps remain, which limits the ability to present a full picture of the barriers that people with disability face every day in all areas of their lives.

(3) That this House calls on all members to support the disability community by actively working to improve the lives of all people with disability, supporting increased funding for essential services, breaking down barriers to participation in society, and challenging ableism.

For the full transcript, see Hansard here.

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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Disability Pride Month and fighting for systemic change

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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