Another year of inaction on disability rights

Today in Parliament, Abigail slammed the NSW Government for wasting a year since their Disability Royal Commission response, condemning its lack of urgency, political courage and refusal to genuinely co-design reforms with people with disability.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House acknowledges that last week marked one year since state and federal governments formally responded to the 222 recommendations of the landmark Disability Royal Commission released in September 2023.

(2) That this House notes that:

many of the issues identified by the Disability Royal Commission remain unresolved, with many having escalated in severity and scale, and communities left without clarity on what action is being taken and when,
over the last year, many in the disability community have voiced frustration, disappointment, anxiety and devastation at the lack of urgency and ambition from state and federal governments, with many asserting that without change, the trauma of the Disability Royal Commission would have been for nothing,
Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, who was instrumental in getting the Disability Royal Commission set up in 2019, said governments "not only kicked the can down the road" last year – they "crushed it",
on the DCJ’s website, it states that since the release of the NSW Government response to the final report of the Disability Royal Commission, the government has only held two stakeholder forums to inform implementation of recommendations:
- a Disability Royal Commission Education Roundtable with key stakeholders on 5 September 2024, hosted by the Department of Education, and
- a forum to help inform development of the next 4 year NSW Disability Inclusion Plan on 3 October 2024, held by the Department of Communities and Justice,
simply engaging in consultation through forums and information sessions does not equate to genuine ongoing co-design; People with Disability Australia (PWDA) have called for all levels of government to actually allow people with disability, their families and carers and their representative organisations to be recognised as equal partners in determining reforms flowing from the Disability Royal Commission.

(3) That this House expresses its profound disappointment at the complete lack of courage and leadership taken by the NSW government, in not only failing to implement critical reforms following the Disability Royal Commission, but neglecting to engage in genuine co-design with the disability community, families, advocates and representatives.

(4) That this House calls on the NSW government to use this once in a generation opportunity for change to drive ambitious, meaningful and lasting reforms that will not only advance but fully enshrine and enforce the rights of people with disability in our state, by taking far bolder action and empowering people with disability to lead these reforms.

7 September 2025

PUBLIC ENERGY FOR PUBLIC GOOD - SIGN THE PETITION!

Electricity is an essential service. But Labor and Liberal governments have sold off NSW’s energy assets and infrastructure, leaving us at the mercy of the private sector for our energy needs. The result has been soaring energy bills, with more and more people being forced into energy poverty.

A privatised energy system will never deliver a cheap and clean energy network - It’s time to take the power back.

As we transition to 100% renewable energy, we must learn from the mistakes of privatisation, ensure our energy assets are kept in public hands, and rein in the actions of private operators.

Communities across NSW have for too long been at the mercy of privatised power network operators who continue to put profit above people, acting recklessly and cutting corners without regard for community expectations.

Recent catastrophic power outages in regional NSW have made headlines for just this - in Broken Hill, the state’s only 100% privatised transmission network operator has failed to deliver a safe and secure energy network, leaving communities in the dark because of mismanagement and neglect in the pursuit of profit.

To build our case for bringing electricity back into public ownership, the Greens are calling for a public parliamentary inquiry into all NSW power network operators, their operation and corporate decision-making practices.

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Another year of inaction on disability rights

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