150 shades of grey – a very different take on the NDIS Legislation

Ever wondered what the NDIS Legislation might have in common with the infamous novel Fifty shades of Grey?  Wonder no longer.  

Guerilla advocacy group The Bolshy Divas have drawn some pretty interesting parallels in their submission to the Senate Committee Inquiry.

 Here’s a sample ” …if you’re looking for a tale about power – who the dominant powers are and who has the smallest voice – you’ve got it….and just because we’re invited to make a submission – we don’t have to be…well submissive. Its our lives, after all. And isnt that what disability reform is supposed to be about? Changing the balance of power?”

You can read more of this very different submission and many more from around Australia on the Senate Committee’s website http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=clac_ctte/ndis/submissions.htm 

Letter to Ken Wyatt MP: Make Aust a first world provider

Disabilitea on wheels in NT

With close to a thousand Disabiliteas across Australia there are some wildly different variations.

The Northern Territory is taking out the earlybird prize for their version of Disabilitea on wheels.

Patriots Australia NT Chapter Motorcycle Club is inviting all motorcyclists to join them in supporting the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) campaign with a DisabiliTEA ride on Sunday 21 October 2012, leading the pack as one of the first of the 2012 DisabiliTEA events to be held across Australia.

The Patriots are a motorcycle club for regular, reserve and ex-serving members of the defence force (Army, Navy and Air Force.

The Patriots NT Chapter will meet at Caltex Berrimah at 10.00am for a 10.30am departure, riding through Darwin city centre and joining NDS NT at 11am for a sausage sizzle, complete with cups of tea, on the Nightcliff foreshore.       For more details contact Bec on 0439858770

If you have a point of difference about your Disabilitea let the coordinators know so we can promote it – geraldine.mellet@ndis.org.au; fiona.anderson@ndis.org.au; james.obrien@ndis.org.au ; katherine.mclellan@ndis.org.au

Every Australian Counts at the City to Bay

The Every Australian Counts campaign will be on the run on Sun Sep 16 in Adelaide.

1000 wheelers, walkers and runners will don their red Every Australian Counts tshirts as they unite under the NDIS banner and go the distance in the annual fun run which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Thanks to Bedford for taking the lead and also to Autism SA; Leveda; SCOSA; Dignity for Disability; SASRAPID; CARA and MINDA.

AMA listens as West Australia talks about the NDIS

No doubt about the message – Lock in the NDIS NOW!

When COAG meets next week they will be in no doubt that Australians want them to lock in the NDIS now because they will see the same message in black and white as they read  the heartfelt words of thousands of Australians.

A huge thank you to our campaigners from every corner of the nation who have responded to our call to send the PM and Premiers a message, with thousands continuing to pour in.   They come from individuals with disabilities plus parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends who all say they want the certainty of a guaranteed NDIS to ease the present difficulties with system and give them peace of mind for the future for themselves or their loved ones. They come from people who work in the disability sector, giving as much as they can, but who want change for all those they see distressed on a daily basis. And they come from those who may not be personally affected but are adamant that as a nation there must be action not talk in making a fair Australia for those with disabilities and that for them it is their foremost priority. As campaigner Hilary Nichols wrote so succintly  ”The NDIS is my number one National priority – forget the Carbon tax, the NBN or anything else. My vote will be based entirely upon the NDIS“. Or as Anna Kelly said “ The NDIS has to happen. I can’t imagine our family’s future without it”.

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Winter recess – time to see the pollies again: message from David Pearce OAM

Greetings,

You may remember me? I’m David Pearce, a Tasmanian campaigner for the NDIS.

Living with Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia has not prevented me from being a serving Alderman on the Glenorchy City Council, or the current President of Advocacy Tasmania.

Earlier this year, I was proud to speak at the NDIS: Make it Real Rally in Hobart.

Last year, I participated in a video with my local Federal MP Andrew Wilkie MP where I demonstrated just how easy it is to lobby your Federal MP about the need for the NDIS.

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Rick Neagle makes a powerful case for the NDIS

Rick Neagle is the President of Dignity 4 Disability, a political party in South Australia. He is also the father and carer of Mitchell, his 12 year old son who has autism.

For many years, Rick has been a powerful advocate for disability and has been unwavering in his support for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

In this new video, Rick makes a powerful case for the NDIS and how it will benefit people with disability, families and carers and help fix the current broken system and how the reform should be embraced by the whole nation.

We salute Rick for his tireless advocacy for the NDIS.

You can check out Rick’s message here:

http://video.everyaustraliancounts.com.au/video281

Having a choice – Julie Guilfoile & Professor Barby Singer

At last night’s launch of the WA Parliamentary Friends of Disability Reform MPs heard EAC Campaigners Julie Guilfoile & Professor Barby Singer speak out about the personal consequences of a system that leaves individuals and families little choice over the most important issues in their lives and were issued a challenge to right this. You can read their speeches here  :

Julie Guilfoile speech ; Barby Singer Final

Red Letter day for WA and the NDIS on three counts.

It was a red letter day for WA and the NDIS  on three counts yesterday. The first was when 20 WA MPs from across the political spectrum signed up to a new group called the WA Parliamentary Friends of Disability Reform. At an event hosted by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Grant Woodhams and the President of the Legislative Council Barry House the multi partisan group committed themselves to progressing disability reform, including the NDIS, in consultation with people who live and work with disability.

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