Keywords: National Disability Insurance Scheme
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AUSTRALIA
- Lin Hatfield Dodds
- 16 May 2013
5 Comments
The 2013 Federal Budget is framed around a national disability insurance scheme, education reform, and welfare to work focused welfare spending. The jewel in the crown has to be DisabilityCare, which will make a significant difference in the daily lives of nearly half a million Australians.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 06 May 2013
13 Comments
'Never see a need without doing something about it' is the principle that guided Australia's first saint Mary MacKillop. This is also what drives successful politicians, and the NDIS is a good but rare example of this. Unfortunately few political leaders are able to see a real need and successfully legislate to do something about it.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 11 February 2013
6 Comments
Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd justifies superannuation tax concessions for the wealthy: 'We go to work, we get paid. The money is ours.' In the USA, philanthropy is common among self-made men. There is no such tradition here, where taxes are needed to fund welfare and other projects for the common good.
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AUSTRALIA
- Moira Byrne Garton
- 05 December 2012
8 Comments
In 2001, a Pakistani man granted refugee status set himself on fire outside the Australian Parliament House. Visas for his wife and three daughters had been rejected because one daughter had cerebral palsy. While immigration policy has since become less discriminatory towards people experiencing disability, important barriers still remain.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 03 September 2012
5 Comments
The Paralympics opening ceremony shows how far we've come in reversing the exclusion of disabled athletes. But they encourage physically disabled athletes at the expense of the intellectually disabled.
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AUSTRALIA
- Moira Byrne Garton
- 03 August 2012
2 Comments
Disability policy is no longer a short-term issue for political point-scoring, it is in the middle of the public policy sphere. While it is heartening that there is general consensus between political parties on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, some state premiers' bickering over funding has fuelled the distress of affected people.
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AUSTRALIA
- Patricia Mowbray
- 18 April 2012
5 Comments
At the end of each day, one of our three adult sons will ask, 'What's on tomorrow?' They don't ask this lightly. They have Down syndrome. Whether they participate in the community, go to work or remain at home depends on what funding we can access.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 24 August 2011
1 Comment
'We need to break down the silo mentality between health, welfare and education. This exists in church agencies as much as elsewhere in society. We must be committed to providing first rate health care to our patients, but also to creating a more equal society.' Text from Frank Brennan's MercyCare Oration.
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AUSTRALIA
- Moira Byrne Garton
- 12 August 2011
11 Comments
Julia Gillard this week described access to disability services as a 'cruel lottery', and declared support for proposed reforms. Her response demonstrates compassion and goodwill during a time when many citizens have expressed disgust at Labor's treatment of asylum seekers.
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