Disability reform chance squandered, say advocates

Stronger commitments need to be shown to Australians with disabilities, a discrimination commissioner says, as the federal government fends off accusations of missing a chance to enact urgent reform. The government has outlined what steps it would take following the disability royal commission's final report, but said it would only implement 13 of the 222 recommendations in full. Of the total recommendations, the government has full or joint responsibility for 172 and said 130 were accepted "in principle". The government needed stronger action to ensure there were changes to the sector, disability discrimination commissioner Rosemary Kayess said. "People with disability have waited almost a year for the government to release its response and it unfortunately comes without a clear plan for action or road map for implementation," she said. "Australia needs to reframe how it thinks about disability. "We cannot end the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation experienced by people with disability unless their human rights are embedded within law, policy and practice." Some of the larger proposed reforms, such as phasing out special schools, were only "noted" in the government response on Wednesday. Ms Kayess said segregation for people with disabilities needed to be phased out. "The findings were clear that segregation and exclusion are core enablers of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability, which impedes the realisation of people's rights," she said. "Genuine change will no doubt take time, but if our leaders are serious about creating a truly inclusive society then we need to plant the seeds of change and act now." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was dedicated to implementing recommendations from the royal commission. "We have engaged substantially and I've engaged directly with (disability) communities," he said on Thursday. "We're working through the recommendations of the royal commission in an organised, consistent way, which is what you would expect the government to do." Children and Young People with Disability Australia chief executive Skye Kakoschke-Moore said the commission was a chance at genuine reform, but the opportunity was squandered. "(The response) was an opportunity for governments to really show their solidarity with the disability community ... but that opportunity passed them by," she told ABC TV on Thursday. "Everyone was quite taken aback by the sheer small number of recommendations that the government agreed to outright." Ms Kakoschke-Moore said she feared many of the recommendations would not see the light of day, despite four years of hearings. "It's entirely possible that a lot of the recommendations will be put in the too-hard basket. I think we have already seen that with recommendations that were noted," she said. The commission found "transformational change" was needed and proposed reforms across human rights law, advocacy, guardianship, schooling, employment and the justice system. Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth denied the government was delaying enacting meaningful changes in the disability sector. "I understand the frustration of people that want to see action, but I don't accept the characterisation that we're just kicking the can down the road," she told ABC Radio. People with Disability Australia interim president Marayke Jonkers said the government should accept every suggestion to completely re-imagine Australia as an inclusive society, rather than try to fit people into existing systems. "What we want to do is create a special community for all of us - whether we have a disability or not - where we know how to understand each other, how to communicate with each other, and how to include each other so we can all live up to our full potential," she said. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636