Page 2881 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The national disability insurance scheme is a major and complex national reform. It is often described as the most significant economic and social reform in Australia since the introduction of Medicare. The ACT was the first jurisdiction to sign up to the NDIS and the first jurisdiction to have all eligible participants covered by the scheme. We signed up to the NDIS because of the promise it delivers to make a better life for people with disability, a better life in which an individual’s choices and preferences are respected and accepted, and a better life because it more closely resembles what those of us without a disability would see as an ordinary life.
The NDIS, at its core, enshrines the right for people with disability to participate in community, social, economic and daily life activities. The stated aims of the NDIS include that people with disability are able to purchase supports and services that will help them achieve their goals, to help them lead a life they choose. The NDIS can achieve this because of the fundamental principle in its design that people with disability have choice and control, individual autonomy and the right to participate fully in society. This key design feature of the NDIS is very deliberate and aligns the scheme with article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Australia became a signatory in 2008.
Article 3, which outlines the general principles of the convention, states as the very first of these principles that there will be:
Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons …
Choice and control are therefore fundamental to the way the NDIS is supposed to operate, which represents a break from previous welfare approaches. This is what makes the NDIS so groundbreaking. The scheme does this by providing people with disability the power to use their funds in their plan to purchase services that reflect their lifestyle and their aspirations.
Sexuality is a key aspect of human development and identity. It is now well understood in the human rights community and more broadly in society that people with disability are no different in this regard, even if others in the community are uncomfortable with the idea of people with disability as sexual beings. It is sad that we continue to hear that people with physical and intellectual disabilities in today’s society are often regarded as non-sexual adults. Disability stereotypes add to the difficulty and stigma experienced by people with disability. Quite often, individuals with intellectual disabilities and/or psychosocial disabilities are thought to have limited social judgement and therefore to lack the capacity to engage in responsible sexual relationships. This reasoning has contributed to mass involuntary sterilisation of persons with cognitive impairments. But while physical and cognitive disability may significantly alter function, they do not eliminate basic drives or the desire for love, affection and intimacy.
In my opinion piece earlier this week in the Canberra Times I noted that the Canberra community had been fortunate to have Jenni and David Heckendorf with us for a long period of time. They have now moved to sunny Queensland. They have written about
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video