‘DisabiliTEA 2012’: nation wide tea party on October 26 to demand the NDIS!

Media release:

Thursday 6 September 2012

The Every Australian Counts campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will hold its second annual ‘DisabiliTEA’, a nationwide tea party, on Friday 26 October right across Australia.

We want this year’s event to be bigger and better than last year and send a clear message to Australia’s political leaders that the NDIS has strong community support.

Last year, around 35,000 people took part in more than 900 DisabiliTEA events around the nation which helped put the NDIS firmly on the public agenda.

This year, we want a massive show of strength from the Australian community to ensure our political leaders commit to the full implementation of the NDIS without further delay or equivocation.

The campaign is delighted that Julia Taylor, runner up in this year’s TV series of Master Chef and her sister Katie an Australian living with disability, have got on board to launch this year’s DisabiliTEA event.

Julia and Katie will be cooking up a storm at this year’s DisabiliTEA in October and they are sharing an exclusive recipe with everyone who registers for this year’s event.

Julia and Katie are from Queensland where the NDIS is still a long way from becoming a reality.

We’ve come a long way since our DisabiliTEA last year. The Federal Government has committed funding for the first stage of the NDIS which will be launched at sites in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT from 1 July next year.

This means about 20,000 Australians with disability, their families and carers will start to benefit from the NDIS.

But there is still a long way to go.

As a matter of urgency, we want the Prime Minister to put real money on the table to ensure the full implementation of the NDIS. We also want the Government to enshrine the NDIS in legislation as well as the new independent body that will operate it.

We want to see the NDIS locked in, for good, for all Australians, in every state and territory, so Katie and over 400,000 Australians with a disability get the care and support they need. Having 20,000 people get the NDIS in five launch sites is not enough.

That’s why your help is so important and why we’re asking you to host DisabiliTEA again in October. The more people who participate in this event, the more likely our politicians will hear our call for the NDIS.

Hosting a DisabiliTEA is easy. Last year, people hosted events in all sorts of places; at home, in their workplaces, at disability services providers, at town halls and in parks.

This year we want the whole community involved to demonstrate why the NDIS is a reform for all Australians. State and Federal MPs will be invited to community events to demonstrate their personal commitment to the NDIS.

Register today and help make DisabiliTEA a fantastic, fun community event that shines a light on why every Australian counts.

Watch Julia and Katie’s video and register to host your own DisabiliTEA in 2012.

Media enquiries:

John Della Bosca 0429 570 390  john.dellabosca@ndis.org.au

James O’Brien  0409 860 708  james.obrien@ndis.org.au

Fiona Anderson 0447 717 800 fiona.anderson@ndis.org.au

Geraldine Mellet 0431 170 715 geraldine.mellet@ndis.org.au