General News
2 August, 2024
Disability reform is going to take time
While the anger felt by many in the disability community over what they see as the government's "too little, too late" response to the disability royal commission report is understandable, it is, to some extent, misplaced.
While the anger felt by many in the disability community over what they see as the government's "too little, too late" response to the disability royal commission report is understandable, it is, to some extent, misplaced.
The royal commission ran for four-and-a-half years. Thousands of people detailed often horrific experiences of psychological, physical and sexual abuse, neglect and unconscionable discrimination.
It exposed a complex culture of blame shifting made possible by the involvement of multiple agencies, organisations, departments and jurisdictions in the delivery of disability services.
While the federal government should have responded sooner to the royal commission's report, which has been in its possession for the past nine months, this was never something that could be digested in a few days and dismissed with a sound bite.
The fact it has taken the Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth, Minister for the NDIS and Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten, and Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler so long to respond suggests they are taking the issues identified by the commissioners very seriously.
EDITORIAL
About 5.5 million Australians live with a disability. Each is an individual. The same is true of the physical, intellectual, and psychological challenges they face on a daily basis.
That's why the royal commission report comprised more than a dozen volumes and ran to more than two-and-a-half million words. That's a lot of bedtime reading.
The most vocal criticism of the government, apart from the length of time taken to respond and a storm in a tea cup over the PM's absence from a press conference fronted by three highly experienced and senior cabinet ministers, is its failure to commit carte blanche to all 222 of the report's recommendations.
Of these 84 are the sole responsibility of the Commonwealth, 85 are the joint responsibility of Commonwealth, state and territory governments, 50 are the responsibility of states and territories and three are the responsibility of the Commonwealth and non-government organisations.
It is not in the federal government's gift to unilaterally and unconditionally accept almost two thirds of what the commission has called for. That, however, has not stopped it from accepting 117 recommendations in principle and 13 in full.
Bill Shorten, who already has the herculean task of making the NDIS both fit for purpose and affordable, was never under any illusion that creating an Australia in which people with disabilities were treated with respect and dignity was going to be easy.
An example of the multiple challenges he faces is the call to phase out "segregated" special schools which was endorsed by all three commissioners.
Mr Shorten made the points on Wednesday that the recommendation called for this to be done over a generation, not overnight; that the vast majority of the people working in special schools were highly skilled and dedicated; and that the task of reforming state education systems so children with physical, intellectual and behavioural challenges could be integrated into "regular" classrooms would take a great deal of time and money.
"I would like to see every mainstream school offering inclusive education for every kid with a disability ... but, wow, there are more shades of grey here than just simply right and wrong," he said.
The Minister is correct. Complex challenges require complex and nuanced solutions; not quick and populist announceables.
Disability reform is highly vulnerable to the law of unintended consequences. There is something to be said for making haste slowly.