Post by Banjo on Jul 16, 2011 12:08:35 GMT 7
Bishop gets it wrong on disability
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop clearly has no idea of the challenges that people with disabilities face on a daily basis. According to her blog on the Sydney Morning Herald website yesterday, 'Australia is one of the world's leading nations when it comes to disability support...' Reading that direct quote I am stunned that a politician with such seniority can write such a blanket and naive statement.
This is the very same country that leaves parents with no other choice but to relocate to the US in order for their child to receive an 'emergency education' , and the very same country where people with disabilities get paid $4 an hour to work in sheltered workshops. These things are hardly markers of '...a leading nation in disability support'.
More broadly, Bishop's article demonstrates her lack of understanding of disability services in general. If she were to read the very first page of the Productivity Commission's draft report into Disability Support Services released in February, Bishop would surely note that the Commission categorically stated: 'The current disability support system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient, and gives people with a disability little choice and no certainty of access to appropriate supports.' In effect, what the Commission states in black and white is that people with disabilities in Australia cannot be guaranteed 'freedom of choice' (that famous Liberal Party catchphrase), and in many cases, access to basic human rights. If I were generous, I would give Bishop a leave pass because the Commission's findings fall outside her portfolio.
Unfortunately, Julie Bishop is also the Shadow Foreign Minister, so when discussing disability in an international context, there is no excuse for being so misinformed. Even her Liberal Party Colleague, the Member for Pearce (WA), Judi Moylan recognises that 'The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) currently ranks '...Australia 13th, out of 19 countries on the employment rate of people with a disability.' Perhaps Bishop should have talked to Moylan in her party room before describing Australia as a 'leading nation in disability support'? If she wishes to look further afield, perhaps she can talk to Fiona Kumari Campbell who has highlighted to the Australian Council of Social Services recently that amongst OCED countries the personal income of disabled Australians is the lowest amongst all member nations. It is not hard to look up basic statistics.
To add insult to our injuries, the Shadow Foreign Minister saw fit to applaud her party and the nation for merely seeking to fulfil its obligations as an international citizen:
"I recall that former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was very proud when we signed that Convention (the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons with a Disability) in March 2007 for Australia was one of the first of the world's nations to do so."
Well, congratulations for doing the bare minimum to ensure people with disabilities have the same rights as you every single day! Would you like a medal? Or to be thanked? I am not going to thank the Howard (or any other) Government for agreeing that people with disabilities should be afforded the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
This sanctimonious attitude is reflected throughout the article. She cites a speech made by an Indonesian Student Antoni Tsaputri who was awarded an AusAid scholarship so he can attend an Australian University. 'Confined to a motorised wheelchair, Antoni gave an inspirational speech about his efforts to improve facilities and raise awareness of the needs of people living with a disability in Indonesia.' Good for him, but I wonder if Antoni also has to use his scholarship money to pay for somebody to take him to the toilet between his classes? Too many Australian University students with physical disabilities have to pay for this basic human right out of their own pocket. Does Ms Bishop regard that example as a high standard of disability support?
The many holes in Bishop's arguments lead me to wonder if she needed a feel good story to publish in her blog in order to boost her current beleaguered political status. Bishop like many other politicians think that disability services is an easy target to boost their profile, for the wider public don't understand the complexities of the issues involved. They do not know what it takes to be a '....world's leading nation when it comes to disability support'. If only wishing made it so. An alternative Deputy Prime Minister should understand this, yet she has demonstrated that she does not. Once again, the most vulnerable in society are being used to score cheap political points. For shame.
Todd Winther is a PhD candidate in political science and can be found blogging at Thoughts of a Frustrated Visionary.
www.abc.net.au/rampup/articles/2011/06/23/3251253.htm
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop clearly has no idea of the challenges that people with disabilities face on a daily basis. According to her blog on the Sydney Morning Herald website yesterday, 'Australia is one of the world's leading nations when it comes to disability support...' Reading that direct quote I am stunned that a politician with such seniority can write such a blanket and naive statement.
This is the very same country that leaves parents with no other choice but to relocate to the US in order for their child to receive an 'emergency education' , and the very same country where people with disabilities get paid $4 an hour to work in sheltered workshops. These things are hardly markers of '...a leading nation in disability support'.
More broadly, Bishop's article demonstrates her lack of understanding of disability services in general. If she were to read the very first page of the Productivity Commission's draft report into Disability Support Services released in February, Bishop would surely note that the Commission categorically stated: 'The current disability support system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient, and gives people with a disability little choice and no certainty of access to appropriate supports.' In effect, what the Commission states in black and white is that people with disabilities in Australia cannot be guaranteed 'freedom of choice' (that famous Liberal Party catchphrase), and in many cases, access to basic human rights. If I were generous, I would give Bishop a leave pass because the Commission's findings fall outside her portfolio.
Unfortunately, Julie Bishop is also the Shadow Foreign Minister, so when discussing disability in an international context, there is no excuse for being so misinformed. Even her Liberal Party Colleague, the Member for Pearce (WA), Judi Moylan recognises that 'The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) currently ranks '...Australia 13th, out of 19 countries on the employment rate of people with a disability.' Perhaps Bishop should have talked to Moylan in her party room before describing Australia as a 'leading nation in disability support'? If she wishes to look further afield, perhaps she can talk to Fiona Kumari Campbell who has highlighted to the Australian Council of Social Services recently that amongst OCED countries the personal income of disabled Australians is the lowest amongst all member nations. It is not hard to look up basic statistics.
To add insult to our injuries, the Shadow Foreign Minister saw fit to applaud her party and the nation for merely seeking to fulfil its obligations as an international citizen:
"I recall that former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was very proud when we signed that Convention (the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons with a Disability) in March 2007 for Australia was one of the first of the world's nations to do so."
Well, congratulations for doing the bare minimum to ensure people with disabilities have the same rights as you every single day! Would you like a medal? Or to be thanked? I am not going to thank the Howard (or any other) Government for agreeing that people with disabilities should be afforded the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
This sanctimonious attitude is reflected throughout the article. She cites a speech made by an Indonesian Student Antoni Tsaputri who was awarded an AusAid scholarship so he can attend an Australian University. 'Confined to a motorised wheelchair, Antoni gave an inspirational speech about his efforts to improve facilities and raise awareness of the needs of people living with a disability in Indonesia.' Good for him, but I wonder if Antoni also has to use his scholarship money to pay for somebody to take him to the toilet between his classes? Too many Australian University students with physical disabilities have to pay for this basic human right out of their own pocket. Does Ms Bishop regard that example as a high standard of disability support?
The many holes in Bishop's arguments lead me to wonder if she needed a feel good story to publish in her blog in order to boost her current beleaguered political status. Bishop like many other politicians think that disability services is an easy target to boost their profile, for the wider public don't understand the complexities of the issues involved. They do not know what it takes to be a '....world's leading nation when it comes to disability support'. If only wishing made it so. An alternative Deputy Prime Minister should understand this, yet she has demonstrated that she does not. Once again, the most vulnerable in society are being used to score cheap political points. For shame.
Todd Winther is a PhD candidate in political science and can be found blogging at Thoughts of a Frustrated Visionary.
www.abc.net.au/rampup/articles/2011/06/23/3251253.htm