The Disability Information and Resource Centre

Disability Speaks have released the following:

2010 promises less than 2007 despite escalating catastrophe!

The attached advertisement will appear in the Adelaide Sunday Mail this weekend

It shows graphically how quickly the disability crisis is escalating as S.A. continues to fail to meet its responsibilities for disability service delivery.

Let’s hope that changes in our September 2010 Budget ?? and understand SA is not alone!

A 26% jump in the S.A. unmet need disability waiting lists in 12 months is horrific. It is impossible to imagine the depth of family despair behind these numbers!

Any pretence of the states stopping the catastrophic escalation while continually underfunding disability service provision must be addressed by the Federal Government. There is no doubt the states are waiting/hoping for a National Disability Insurance Scheme to remove their legal and moral obligations for disability support. Given that a National Disability Scheme (NDIS)

• Is not guaranteed and
• The final Australian Productivity Commission report is at least 12 months away and
• Further public discussion and debate will take another 12 months minimum after that and
• Implementation if it occurs will be a further two to three years after that at least and
• The Federal Government could change (again and again?) in that time and
• After five years eventually nothing may have happened despite the already established need

The Australian disability community can not be denied additional support for the next four years while boneheaded state treasurers hope the ” NDS Cash fairy” will appear to wave a magic wand to save them continuing to posture, preen and pretend what a great job they are doing while surreptitiously winding down growth in disability funding figuring the Feds will sort it out eventually. Both the ALP and the Liberals as part of the 2010 Federal Election process must urgently consider a multi billion dollar crisis management strategy

The Liberals have not released a disability policy yet (other than education) and the ALP at this stage has tabled significantly less than the new immediate support offered prior to the 2007 Federal Election which totalled some $1 billion and also demanded state matching!

What are the 2010 elections priorities? We are not sure? The Liberals must show their hand and following last weeks 3000 new aged care beds from Abbott we watched in envy as a Liberal leader with a social conscience slugged business a staggering $2.7 billion of extra maternity leave tax that pays up to an extraordinary $150,000 per annum via a 1.5% tax levy previously described by him as “a modest levy”.

Mr Abbott is yet to balance his shocking gaffe on disability cinema access with a 2010 fully funded Disability Policy.

This lift in the tax rate is the foundation on which NDS is promulgated and if it is good enough for maternity leave (which is after all by choice and only temporary) surely a short term levy is also appropriate for today’s tragic disability crisis which both leaders have spoken too in the last week?

Given Mr Abbott is touching business on community issues Gillard should follow suite NOW!!! for disability. She has after all already committed and allocated future government revenue for maternity leave.

Conversely Abbott can take the federal funds Gillard has promised for future maternity leave and direct it NOW!!! to critical disability support plus some!

While it arguable correct the national disability support services are broken, reality is they are also desperately chronically and systematically underfunded with extraordinary waiting lists and a significant cash injection would wash through the current service structures none of which are operating near capacity and to distressed unmet need waiting list clients very quickly and very effectively.

In the next four years then an orderly review and rebuilding of National Disability Services can be implemented following the Australian Productivity Commission report with a long term sustainable funding model included and the temporary measures eased. On the way through both leaders will win plenty of votes if they compel, force and demand the delinquent State Governments to meet their current obligations.

A genuine 26% jump in S.A. waiting lists must focus our national leaders acutely on the crisis that is disability in Australia today. It demands immediate action. Our leaders next jobs may depend on it?

David Holst

Chair – Disability Speaks Steering Committee

0418 555 683

www.disabilityspeaks.com.au

disabilityspeaks@internode.on.net

Are you a Carer or Provide Services to Carers in the Northern Adelaide Region? Have Your Say

Come along and Have Your Say about unmet needs and service gaps for Carers in the Northern Adelaide region.

The views collected will be included in a Carers SA independent report to Home and Community Care to help improve local service for Carers.

If you care for a family member or friend who is frail aged or is a younger person with a disability, please come along and Have Your Say at the morning Carers forum.

Are you providing service to Carers of frail older people or Carers of young people with a disability or thinking about doing so? Come along and Have Your Say in the afternoon Service Providers forum.

Venue

Central Districts Holden Room, Goodman Rd, Elizabeth

Date

2 February 2010

• 10:00 – 12:30: Carers only
• 2:00 – 4:30: Service Providers

RSVP

by 29 January: call 1800 815 549

Can’t attend? Call Phil Saunders on 1800 815 549 to make a comment or complete postal feedback.

The latest report on disability in Australia, released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, examines the frequency of multiple disabilities and their impact on the care needs of Australians.

Dr Xingyan Wen of the Institute’s Functioning and Disability Unit said, ‘In 2003, half of all Australians with disability, or about two million people, had a combination of two or more disabilities.

‘These disabilities can include intellectual, psychiatric, sensory/speech, disability from acquired brain injury (ABI) and physical disabilities,’ he said.

The report shows that half of all children under the age of 15 who had a psychiatric disability (over 42,000 children) or ABI (over 11,000 children) had three or more disabilities.

Over one-third of children with sensory/speech (over 48,000 children) or intellectual disability (over 55,000 children) had three or more disabilities.

More than half of people aged 15 to 44 with ABI (more than 85,000 people) or intellectual disability (over 95,000 people) had three or more disabilities.

‘The more disabilities people had, the more likely they were to need help with ‘core’ daily activities such as self care, mobility and communication,’ Dr Wen said.

‘Some combinations of disabilities had more marked effects on people’s activity, participation in major life areas and the subsequent need for assistance,’ he said.

The report, Disability in Australia: multiple disabilities and need for assistance, shows a substantial proportion of care for people with multiple disabilities is provided by their family members and friends.

The report also found that people with multiple disabilities who needed very frequent assistance with daily activities were much less likely to have their needs fully met than people with less frequent need for assistance.

Support needs of people with early onset multiple disabilities vary depending on the nature of their disabilities and their life stages. As they grow older, they may have higher support needs than other people with single or late onset disability.

People aged 15 to 64 years with a mix of psychiatric, physical disabilities, and other disability were more likely than others to have employment restrictions.

Over one-third of people with three disabilities and almost half of people with four or five disabilities had profound employment restriction.

Among people with four or five disabilities, 30% of those living in households were unable to go out as often as they would like to participate in community activities, over 40% were living in institutions and a majority (77%) were aged 65 years or over.

The address and link for the pdf version of the report is:

http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/dis/dis-55-10788/dis-55-10788.pdf

The address and link for the rtf (rich text format) of the report is:

http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/dis/dis-55-10788/dis-55-10788.rtf

Shut Out: The Experience of People with Disabilities and Their Families in Australia is the National Disability Strategy Consultation Report prepared by the National People with Disabilities and Carer Council.

The report is available to download on the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website at:

www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/disability/pubs/policy/community_consult/Pages/default.aspx

If you would like  hard copies of this report, or a copy in easy English, Braille
or audio, please phone 1800 050 009 or email NDSMailbox@fahcsia.gov.au
TTY users phone 1800 555 677 and ask for 1800 050 009.

MEDIA RELEASE

June  19th  2009

WELCOME TO DISABILITY SPEAKS!

Disability Speaks was created in April 2009. Its purpose is to advocate and campaign for better support for all South Australians living with a disability and provide information regarding community forums and events.

Disability Speaks has been created to build upon the foundations achieved by Dignity for Disabled, which together with your support, helped to bring to the attention of the State Government and the broader community, the major unmet support needs for people with a disability within our State.

We are a not-for-profit, bi-partisan, self-funded  group  which has been established with the following aims:

·          To ensure a voice to people with disability in policy and service development and delivery;

·          To ensure that voice is consumer driven;

·          To ensure that consumer choice is fundamental to all policy and service options;

·          To ensure equitable representation across the disability sector in policy and service development, and

·          To ensure that important  information is widely circulated within the disability community.

Our aim is to have in excess of  10,000  online supporters by year end. To support this aim, disability organisations will be invited to assist Disability Speaks to distribute information regarding major events.

It is envisaged that this program will be perpetual and provide key disability related information to stakeholders for years to come.

Disability Speaks supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

We trust you will enjoy receiving and reading Disability Speaks information, and will support our events and functions. We would also appreciate if you would forward Disability Speaks on to your contacts, databases, friends, clients and supporters. Disability Speaks has no affiliation with any political party.

David Holst

Disability Speaks
Further information:  0418 555 683
Email: disabilityspeaks@internode.on.net

The Australian newspaper published a powerful story on the weekend outlining the need for a national disability insurance scheme.

Read the story by Susan Corrigan at

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25262629-5012694,00.html

The Letters Blog relating to the story is at

blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/disability_insurance

Another brief article summarising the push for the scheme is at

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,,25253313-643,00.html

The National Disability Insurance Scheme web-site is at

www.natdis.com.au