The lives of people with disabilities have been front and centre in political discourse this year, but not for the right reasons.
During a Paralympic year, it was hoped that, as the theme for International Day of People with Disabilities suggests, steps would be made towards “amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”.
However, the failure to examine the nuances that underpin the structural and social experiences of people with disabilities has led to a deeply divided discourse that is feeding a very dangerous narrative.
The recent changes to the NDIS (introduced without widespread consultation from the public) suggest that the government is more interested in muting the voices of people with disabilities than their amplification.
Outgoing Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten has said,“Put simply, the NDIS was never intended to be the only lifeboat in the ocean when it comes to the provision of disability services in this nation”.
However, the government’s decision to wind back the scheme without the support of people with disabilities themselves is indicative of the ableist narrative that has plagued the NDIS for years.
To receive support, many people with disabilities have been forced to attempt to navigate the complex system, those who understandably don’t want or feel ill-equipped to swim through the sea of red tape being left behind.
Now, attempts to streamline the system have meant that many people with disabilities who do not so easily fit into the checklist boxes set out by the government have been left adrift.
The government has promoted the new changes, including a list detailing what items can and cannot be purchased using NDIS funds.
Whilst this may, on the surface, provide some clarity to this minefield, it is widely exaggerated. Such a list fails to consider the unique and individual experiences and needs of people with disabilities.
During an interview with ABC Radio National Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas in July, Shorten went so far as to try to justify changes in the scheme by arguing that because he “spoke to the chair of the Human Rights Committee [who] doesn’t say that this Bill disagrees with human rights”, that there isn’t a fundamental issue with the stigma these changes place upon people with disabilities.
Unfortunately, people with disabilities have been used as political fodder and used in disabling binary media narratives that further exacerbate the division between austerity and welfare.
The government may not have intended for the NDIS to be the “only lifeboat” for people with disabilities. Still, by winding the scheme back before ensuring adequate safeguards have been put in place (and without explaining these changes to the very people they affect), people with disabilities may be left worse off than when the scheme began.
The fact that the government does not even have a Minister for People with Disabilities says something about how those not on the scheme (and those who, in response to the changes, have been left worse off) are perceived: invisible, marginalised and undervalued.
The bureaucratic red tape designed to keep people with disabilities either off welfare or dependent on government support, including the NDIS, has meant that people with disabilities are no longer viewed as participating members of society.
Both sides of politics are guilty of framing disability in ways that further exacerbate the false binary of economic and social stability.
However, for many people with disabilities, the NDIS has been the difference between the cost-of-living crisis breaking the bank and participants being forced into desperate and unsafe arrangements.
The fact that family members are not permitted to provide participants with paid assistance also demonstrates how people with disabilities are perceived as a burden that must be removed rather than contributing to the household.
It also demonstrates the issues with the government’s decision to wind back the NDIS without providing an alternative, despite the state’s reluctance to foot the bill.
The government has made a habit of arguing that the premise of the NDIS was optimistic and that the scheme’s present condition is the result of the LNP’s mismanagement.
Former Australian of the Year and disability advocate Dylan Alcott has defended the scheme, saying, “It’s not broken — it’s bloody great”.
However, the article linked above, published by the ABC, noted that Alcott is not an NDIS participant. Whilst undoubtedly there are some people who do not need to be on the scheme, having someone who is not a participant defending it so eagerly should raise deeper questions.
Feature Image: Melissa Marsden.