Media Release 6 Jan 2015:
‘Greatest area of need for people with disability left unmet by Government’ said Matthew Wright, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) and spokesperson for the disability peaks.
Responding to claims in The Australian newspaper by Minister for Social Services, Scott Morrison that the new peaks funding ‘supports the area of greatest need’, Matthew Wright said “The department has cut or not provided funding to the highest population groups of people with disability in Australia’.
Both the NDIS quarterly report and Disability Support Pension (DSP) statistics show consistently that intellectual disability, autism (also the fastest growing disability), mental illness and physical disability are the four most prevalent types of disability.
‘All of these groups including the National Council on Intellectual Disability, Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4), and Physical Disability Australia have not been funded as part of this process’.
Bob Buckley, Convenor of A4 said “No other disability organisation at the national level has any effective track record of representation or advocacy across the full spectrum of people living with autism. People with some of the worst disability outcomes are again left without funded support.”
Support to over 200,000 Australians with a disability will be ceased as part of the process, and any protection from adverse action for the most vulnerable Australians will be lost’.
“Intellectual disability is consistently one of the top three primary conditions in DSP and NDIS data” said Mark Pattison, CEO of National Council on Intellectual Disability.
We are still urgently seeking a meeting with Minister Scott Morrison, said Matthew Wright.
The disability peaks support the push for a Senate Inquiry into the process that has led to people with disability being left without essential support.
Please direct all media enquiries to Mr Matthew Wright on 0428 608 861.
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