Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 7:09:19 GMT 7
Disability Royal Commission first hearings announcements
The first round of hearings will focus on education and examine existing policies and procedures, with a focus on the Queensland Government’s education system. The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has announced the start of its first public hearing in early November, with Senator Jordon Steele-John highlighting the short time frame and lack of available support for witnesses.
Running from 4-7 November 2019, the first week of hearings will be held at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre in Queensland. The Disability Royal Commission will have Chair of the Royal Commission, Ronald Sackville AO QC, along with Commissioners Roslyn Atkinson AO, Andrea Mason OAM, and Dr Rhonda Galbally AC. Commissioner Sackville says the first round of hearings will focus on education and examine existing policies and procedures, with a particular focus on the Queensland Government’s education system. The hearing will also examine Queensland’s inclusive education policy and its impact on the experiences of students with disability. In September, there was a Community Forum in Townsville with around 150 people attending to share their lived experiences as either a person with disability or as a parent or advocate for people with disability. The Royal Commission is committed to being accessible to all. In doing so, the Commission has adopted the principles of trauma-informed engagement to assist in recognising and understanding the effects of all types of trauma and to avoid re-traumatisation. ‘It is important that we make a start on the complex and important task ahead of us, and, in doing so, we will be ensuring that any individuals involved in the first hearings are appropriately supported. This includes through the Commission’s internal counselling and support team, including social workers and counsellors,” says Commissioner Sackville. “We are pleased to see the National Counselling and Referral Service has commenced operations to support those who may be affected by the material explored at the hearing. “The service, being delivered by the Blue Knot Foundation, offers free counselling support for people with disability, their families and carers, and anyone affected by the Disability Royal Commission. “All witnesses appearing at this first hearing will be able to access separate legal representation through the legal financial assistance scheme administered by the Attorney-General’s Department.” The Disability Royal Commission wants to hear from all Australians about their experiences of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability. This means there are many different ways for people to engage with the Commission, and can make a submission via email, phone or mail. Dr Kerri Mellifont QC will be conducting the Townsville hearing, assisted by Brisbane-based Junior Counsel. The Commission will also be holding hearings around Australia, along with private sessions, community forums and workshops. A few day before the announcement, Senator Jordon Steele-John expressed his shock on social media citing sources who confirmed to him that two Senior Counsel, that were appointed to the Commission, Chris Ronalds AO SC and Michael Fordham SC, have resigned. Senator Steele-John says, “Extremely concerning to see such senior figures leaving before Commission has even begun. “This comes amid rumours - again from multiple sources - that the chair, Ronald Sackville AO, intends to hold the first public hearing in the week of the 4th November. If true, this timeline is completely impractical and irresponsible. “Legal and emotional supports to be provided by the Royal Commission are not yet fully developed. Similarly, peak [organisations] have raised multiple red flags about their preparedness to support survivors giving evidence as they're yet to receive funding promised. “There is no way the Royal Commission hearings can go ahead until these senior legal roles have been replaced and our advocacy organisations are properly funded by [Government] to support survivors through the challenging and potentially triggering experience of giving evidence.” The Commission’s interim report is due on 30 October 2020, with a final report to be finished 29 April 2022. To make a submission to the Disability Royal Commission, head to their website for more information. They have a dedicated page explaining how to properly submit to the Commission. The submission process has been translated into Auslan and is also available in Easy Read documents. If it is difficult to use the form, you can provide your submission by phone on 1800 517 199, or +61 7 3734 1900 between 9am to 6pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) from Monday to Friday. You can also email or post a submission to the Commission at DRCenquiries@royalcommission.gov.auor send a letter to GPO Box 1422, Brisbane, Queensland 4001. The Commission is currently in the processes of creating more accessible application formats. www.disabilitysupportguide.com.au/talking-disability/disability-royal-commission-first-hearings-announced
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2019 8:21:56 GMT 7
'We are not bloody ready': Call for delay to disability royal commission
The national organisation representing children with disability is urging the disability abuse royal commission to "hold off" on its historic first public hearing in November, arguing a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" could be lost as there is not enough support for those giving evidence. Despite advocates fighting for decades to have a royal commission, Children and Young People with Disability Australia chief executive Mary Sayers said the process since it was announced in April has been "rushed"."What's a stake is we've got a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We know that students with disability have a really rough time in school ... and they start behind and don't catch up," Ms Sayers said. "What's at stake is the future of Australians with disability. If we get it right for Australians in the early years, we get it right in the later years." On Tuesday evening, officials told the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee the royal commission was "very confident" it was "ready to go ahead". It also said legal support services are still six to eight weeks away from being fully operational and the royal commission's in-house counselling team is still recruiting. There is also no way for people to provide confidential submissions, with officials acknowledging there is "not a clear [path]" for whistleblowers to contact the royal commission. Ms Sayers, who suggests public hearings should be pushed back to January, said she was concerned about the support available for people participating in the royal commission and said there had not been enough awareness raising about what the commission was seeking to investigate, "so people feel confident to put in a submission and to understand what royal commissions are all about." The commission also confirmed it had recently lost its two most senior lawyers. Officials provided no explanation for the departure of former child abuse royal commission lawyer Michael Fordham SC and prominent anti-discrimination expert Chris Ronalds SC. Mr Fordham did not respond to requests for comment on why he left the position. Ms Ronalds declined to comment. Since the commission was announced it has been plagued by concerns from disability advocates about the appointment of two of the seven commissioners. Disability groups say commissioner John Ryan and Barbara Bennett have unmanageable conflicts of interest due to previous jobs associated with the disability sector and disability policy and have called on them to go. The government is standing by the appointments and all the commissioners have made a conflict of interest statement, outlining how they will deal with their past roles. "Under no circumstances will anyone be asked to tell their story to a commissioner with whom they do not feel comfortable," disability royal commission official secretary Toni Pirani said. Greens disability spokesperson senator Jordon Steele-John said the royal commission should listen to people with disability. "Disabled people have fought for decades for this opportunity for justice. We cannot afford to put this at risk simply because the commission wishes to be seen to be doing something. Nobody wants to have the opportunity for disabled people to tell our stories more than disabled people. If disabled people are saying 'we are not ready', then, we are not bloody ready."www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-are-not-bloody-ready-call-for-delay-to-disability-royal-commission-20191022-p5332g.htmlm.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2494210317515654&id=1415019052101458
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2019 5:34:47 GMT 7
THIS ADVOCATE REDESIGNED THE DISABILITY ROYAL COMMISSION WEBSITE SO PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY CAN ACTUALLY USE IT The website of the disability royal commission is, ironically, quite difficult for many people with disabilities to use. One disability advocate stayed up all night to build a solution.
When disability advocate Sam Connor first saw the official website for The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, she noticed a glaring issue -- it wasn’t designed well for the very people it was built to help.
The site was quite difficult for many people with disabilities to understand and use. For one, the first sentence on the homepage has more information about “His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retired)” than it does about the purpose of the royal commission. The website of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, as it appeared in October 2019. Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability The “Easy read” submission form is also 35 pages long, and requires users to install Adobe Acrobat before getting started. For many people with disabilities, that complexity is a real problem. The royal commission was set up to investigate years of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disabilities, and in order to do that, people need to understand how to tell the commission their stories. So Sam stayed up all night... and launched a new website herself. “It’s our royal commission, and it needs to be for us,” disability advocate Sam Connor told The Feed. Last night, we cracked it after looking at the #DisabilityRoyalCommission site. Inaccessible lingo, outdated information & bad content. So we've made our own, just for you. www.disabilityroyalcommission.com Right, RC staff - if this took 12 hours for under $100, what can YOU do? #auspol The site was completely inaccessible to disabled people but also to a whole range of other people who might have low literacy “There were a lot of bureaucratic words, a lot of information about things like ‘letters patent’, which is legal jargonese which people don’t necessarily understand, or need to know.” “What they need to know is how they can tell their story, how they can be supported to tell their story, what they need to do, and what’s going to happen when they do it.” The website Connor created does exactly that. The “Disability Royal Commission: Unofficial Information Site”, sets out the steps people need to take to share their stories with the royal commission - in clear, large-print text. “I did that with $100 over 12 hours, staying up all night between days at work,” she said. “You’d think with half a billion dollars they’d have the resources to find out how to do it.” The unofficial Disability Royal Commission information site put together by Sam Connor While the official royal commission website does include some accessibility features, like Easy Read and Auslan translations of key documents, Connor is concerned about other oversights. “There’s a lot of assumptions in there, that people have things like access to a computer. Like, it says that before you start typing into this form, you’ll need to save it to your computer, open it in Adobe Acrobat, finish it and email it to us.” “For a lot of those things, you need support. What happens if you’re living in a group home and you’re being abused by a support worker, and you need to ask that support worker to open the form and help you type it?” The Easy Read instructions on the official royal commission website ask readers to download and install software. Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability Greens Senator and spokesperson for disability rights Jordon Steele-John told The Feed that Connor’s work should be applauded. “She spent twelve solid hours and $100 bucks of her own to do something the royal commission should have already done, and that’s build a website that’s accessible for disabled people,” he said. “What I think is really sad about the whole thing is we’ve done this before -- we had the child abuse royal commission.” “That’s really seen as the gold standard of how you run a royal commission, and it seems that instead of learning from that and building on its work, they’ve started from day zero and rushed the whole thing into existence.” “We didn’t give them half a billion dollars to do the bloody minimum and get the job over and done with.” Steele-John told The Feed that he’s concerned about the preparedness of the disability royal commission to go forward with hearings, the first of which is scheduled for next month. As of last week, the royal commission reported that it was still in the process of “scaling up” and hiring for services like support hotlines, counselling and legal advice for people making submissions. “At the moment, the royal commission is not really living up to its commitment to put disabled people at its centre,” Steele-John said. “If it did, it wouldn’t go ahead with the November hearings.” “Concerns were expressed again and again and again, and they simply said thank you for your comments, we’re going ahead anyway.” The royal commission told The Feedit expects to have an upgraded website by the end of this year. “The website was set up at the outset of the Royal Commission to ensure information was available as quickly as possible. The understanding has always been that the website would be updated as soon as practicable.” A spokesperson said the current website had been reviewed by Vision Australia, adheres to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines enabling screen readers to be used, and provides transcripts, captions and Auslan translations “where appropriate”. “We have been consulting extensively on our draft accessibility statement, including extending our round of public consultation due to demand." We are now in the process of finalising the Accessibility Strategy in response to the feedback received. “We have not received any complaints about the accessibility of our website via our email or phone lines but would encourage anyone with feedback or concerns to contact us directly via email DRCEnquiries@royalcommission.gov.au or call us on our Hotline, 1800 517 199 or +61 7 3734 1900.” To date, the royal commission has received 200 submissions, and 1,234 calls to its hotline. Steele-John and Connor hope their criticisms will help address the accessibility issues, before it’s too late. “The commission remains an opportunity to get justice for disabled people,” Steele-John said. “All I want as an MP is to be able to look people in the eye and say this commission is fantastic -- tell your story, you will be safe and supported. The last thing I want to be doing is spending any time criticising this commission.” “Everybody wants this commission to succeed, nobody more than disabled people.” www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/this-advocate-redesigned-the-disability-royal-commission-website-so-people-with-a-disability-can-actually-use-it
|
|
|
Post by nomadic on Nov 1, 2019 13:45:47 GMT 7
Clearly Centrelink staff designed it. Because they think that no one is disabled.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2019 14:02:59 GMT 7
Clearly Centrelink staff designed it. Because they think that no one is disabled. More like they know exactly how many are disabled and didn't want it all getting out! Hahaha.....if they can't use the website our secrets are safe. She's done good work that advocate. Be interesting to see if it becomes the official site sometime over the next three years. Cheers bear
|
|
|
Post by nomadic on Nov 4, 2019 16:37:53 GMT 7
Heard on the radio that they are still taking submissions with no time limit for now so the following link can be used to tell your tales of abuse or especially neglect by Centrelink as I did today. It covers many things and seems to me that it covers abuse by Centrelink even if not by their name. Under the terms, they are as guilty as anybody. So please everyone here take your time and tell them your horrors as you have told us here. disability.royalcommission.gov.au/submissions/Pages/default.aspx
|
|
|
Post by rainyday on Nov 4, 2019 18:21:15 GMT 7
It is clear they just want us to go away and die, we are a burden on society and on the taxpayers.. that is the message they are sending to the non disabled Australian citizens. We will be despised just like they want people to despise the unemployed.
|
|
|
Post by nomadic on Nov 4, 2019 19:04:27 GMT 7
Yes, I'll be surprised if clink gets a go. First story on ABC news today from it was a down syndrome student being denied participation in school activities. Emotional media only is what we will hear against abusive individuals only. Sucks the public into being upset. Makes the politicians look good as they are seen to be doing something against abuse when we all here know they are the worst abusers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2019 6:22:37 GMT 7
Bullied girl hid in bin from classmates, disability inquiry hears
A 10-year-old girl with Asperger's syndrome, tormented by her classmates, ended up cowering in a rubbish bin to escape their relentlessbullying. Charlotte was also pushed from a pier and left with black eyes after being hit in the head. Their bullying finally forced her to withdraw from the private school because she could no longer cope, the disability commission was told during public hearings on Monday.The school put an individual education plan in place that was inadequate and only exacerbated her anxiety, the hearing was told. "We've had such a horrible journey. It's almost like because Charlotte's different, she's viewed as less," her mother's submission says. Charlotte is not alone. Students who are unable to curb their behaviour are excluded from school, with one boy aged six suspended six times in six months for behavioural issues. The mother of a girl with Down syndrome broke down at times as she told the commission that every day of school was difficult. "I just don't remember getting through a week where I wasn't asked to provide a resource or fix a problem at the school," she said. Now a happy, healthy and independent aged 13, her daughter is obsessed with Disney movies and has a cat, a dog, six chickens and a fish. But getting her to this point has been a constant struggle. Excluded from class activities, she was taken to a special room to colour in while her classmates were learning. She couldn't take swimming classes with the other children and missed out on extracurricular activities because she was different. It finally came to a head in year 2 when she was physically and verbally abused by her teacher. She was so "petrified" - screamed at, humiliated and forced to sit on a bath mat, the commission heard. She changed schools and, for the first time, was treated as "normal". "For the first time had access to the proper curriculum. She got homework ... she participated in everything," the girls' mother said. "It was a very normal experience." They were just two stories laid bare to the royal commission that held its first public hearings in Townsville this week. Counsel assisting Kerri Mellifont said some disabled students were subject to violence and bullying so severe they were forced to withdraw from the mainstream school system. "Those submissions and information start to paint the very real and stark picture that in many places persons with disabilities are not receiving equity in their education," Dr Mellifont said. "They are not being treated as people with the rights to an equitable education." The commission also heard while some schools embraced disabled students, other teachers feel "overwhelmed" when teaching so-called "diverse learners". They've not been given skills, training or resources they need and the relationship between schools and families can often be adversarial, the commission was told. The hearing before Ronald Sackville QC will continue in Townsville over four days this week. www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bullied-girl-hid-in-bin-from-classmates-disability-inquiry-hears-20191104-p5378y.htmlm.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2505798253023527&id=1415019052101458
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2019 6:27:41 GMT 7
More of the same.....Disability inquiry in Queensland told of bullying
The latest Royal Commission is the inquiry into the treatment of people with disabilities. A 10-year-old girl with Asperger’s was hit across the head, pushed from a pier and ended up hiding in a rubbish bin to escape harsh taunting by classmates, the royal disability commission has heard. Counsel assisting Kerri Mellifont says students are subject to violence and bullying so severe they are forced to withdraw from the mainstream school system. Submissions Dr Mellifont read to the hearing as it began in Townsville on Monday speak of students being harassed by classmates and left out of activities by educators. Students unable to curb their behaviour are being excluded from the school, with one boy aged six suspended six times in six months for behavioural issues, she said. The commission was told of one girl called Charlotte who recently withdrew from a private school because bullying became so severe she had stopped attending. “Her parents felt they had no choice but to remove her after incidents that included her being pushed off a pier and hiding in a garbage bin to escape taunting,” Dr Mellifont told the inquiry on Monday. “On one occasion she was admitted to hospital suffering severe anxiety and stress after a teacher confronted her with a false accusation that she had stolen another child’s property. “The resulting anxiety was crippling, even affecting her walking and speech.” In a separate incident, Charlotte was taken to the hospital after being hit across the head. Her injuries included black eyes. The school put an individual education plan in place that was inadequate and only exacerbated her anxiety, the commission was told. “We’ve had such a horrible journey. It’s almost like because Charlotte’s different, she’s viewed as less,” Charlotte’s mother’s submission says. The commission was told of several similar cases, in which parents fearing for the children’s safety made the “agonising decision” to remove them from school. “While parents acknowledge the benefits of attending a mainstream school, they remove their children to ensure they are safe, they are listened to, and they are free from bullying,” Dr Mellifont said. She said many parents struggled financially to home school their children as they struggled to resolve the “significant barriers” they face in educating their child. In his opening address on Monday, chair Ronald Sackville QC said education was vitally important for the life experiences of children and adults with a disability. Parents and carers of students with a disability, disability advocates and experts in inclusive education will give evidence at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre over four days this week. “We will hear from principals and heads of special education from three separate schools as well as the Queensland Teachers’ Union,” Mr Sackville said as sittings began on Monday. Queensland’s Department of Education will brief the hearings about the impact of its inclusive education policy on students with disability. thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/11/04/disability-inquiry-in-queensland-told-of-bullying/m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2505777949692224&id=1415019052101458
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2019 9:59:08 GMT 7
Disability royal commission chair's remarks attacked as 'provocative, intemperate and inappropriate'
Craig Wallace believes he being referred to in the royal commission chair's opening remarks. Critics of the disability royal commission say remarks by chair Ronald Sackville in his opening address were "provocative, intemperate and inappropriate".Key points: • Chair of the disability royal commission, Ronald Sackville, called on commentators to reflect on whether they were discouraging participation in the process • A former president of People with Disability Australia says he believes Mr Sackville is referring to him • Critics deny their comments have discouraged people from participating in the royal commission As the first hearing got underway in Townsville on Monday, Mr Sackville took a swipe at activists who had criticised the commission's processes. "Unfortunately, there are one or two commentators whose contributions often appeared calculated to discourage people from telling their stories to the commission, and also to increase the levels of anxiety," he said in his opening statement. "This is a matter for those commentators to reflect upon, bearing in mind the vulnerability of many people with disability." While Mr Sackville didn't name the "commentators" who he was referring to, Craig Wallace, the former president of People with Disability Australia and the convener of the Royal Commission Action Group, believes he is one of them. "I would be surprised if I'm not one of the people that is being singled out here, but I'm very surprised that I have been singled out," he told the ABC's PM program. The royal commission's first hearing was on Monday in Townsville.(Supplied: Marie-Claire Muir) One of the most vocal advocates to criticise the royal commission, Mr Wallace has claimed two of the seven commissioners — John Ryan and Barbara Bennett — have conflicts of interest. Mr Wallace has previously argued they should be sacked. He has called on Mr Sackville to clarify his remarks. "I think it's really important that given Justice Sackville has now made these statements about one or two commentators, he says, who are deliberately attempting to engender anxiety and discourage people from giving evidence, that he be clear about who those people are," he said. "And if he's not willing to be clear about who those people are, then I consider those comments to be actually provocative, intemperate and inappropriate." Critics deny discouraging participation Mr Wallace is refusing to engage with the royal commission while commissioners Ryan and Bennett remain in their jobs. But he denied discouraging others from participating, or creating anxiety for people who are considering taking part. "I absolutely dispute that," he said. "It is really problematic to minimise the valid concerns that disabled people have with this royal commission and to do so in this way, in the opening address, raises broader questions about the openness, transparency and ability to respond to feedback of the royal commission itself." Another prominent critic of the royal commission's process, Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, said he was perplexed by Mr Sackville's comments. "Really, the solution to people having anxiety about giving evidence before the commission is to make sure all the supports are there and all the pathways of that, and that's currently not the case," he said. Senator Steele-John lobbied for years for the royal commission but said currently there is not enough support in place for participants. "I've just had a long conversation with a man who would desperately like to give his evidence to the commission but cannot do so yet because there isn't a pathway to make confidential submissions to the inquiry presently," he explained. Advocacy group People with Disability Australia is providing assistance for people who want to put in a submission and the group's chief executive, Jeff Smith, is encouraging anyone who wants to tell their story to do so. "It would go to the heart of the royal commission if people were not coming forward, to give evidence because it would go to that issue of the legitimacy of the process," he said. "And we are keen to ensure that this is a legitimate process where people both tell their stories and in turn, and most importantly, that those stories mean that governments listen so that there is transformative change." mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-05/critics-say-disability-royal-commission-chair-provocative/11672110?pfmredir=sm
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2019 7:34:45 GMT 7
Teachers fail to cater to disabled kids.
The disability royal commission has heard people with disabilities do not receive equal education. Some teachers are "resisting diversity" in their classrooms and failing to cater for disabled students, the disability royal commission has been told. Special education teachers say despite some students having "complex needs", there is no reason they cannot attend and thrive in mainstream schools.After days of disturbing evidence from parents who say their children were relentlessly bullied, the commission on Wednesday heard from three teachers who said disabled students should be valued and welcomed in schools. However, some teachers are "resisting diversity", they told the commission. Loren Swancutt, regional head of the special education service, says reluctant teachers are failing to cater to the needs of disabled students. "Individualised adjustments aren't necessarily fore-fronted and planned for - therefore the child cannot successfully engage in lessons," she said. At least one school in Queensland has not yet introduced disabled students into their classrooms, she said. "They are currently still offering segregated classes for students with disabilities," Ms Swancutt said. The commission was told some schools managed a greater inclusive program for disabled students. "Ultimately, it's a willingness ... and a moral imperative within the key leaders of our school to turn this ship away from something that we knew was not right practice and to head into uncharted waters with nothing more than it being the socially just thing to do," Ms Swancutt said. "That's always the question that everyone asks, hoping for the magic wand. Ultimately, it comes down to culture and leadership." The teachers from Ingham, Bowen and Thuringowa all told the commission their inclusive programs were developed on their own initiatives, not through education guidelines. "A lot of academic research rigour ... was conducted .. to ensure we were heading in the right direction," Ms Swancutt said. The three teachers outlined some of the challenges teachers of disabled students face if children need help with severe medical issues. * PEG feeding (a feeding tube to the stomach), * venting (an opening for the escape of a gas or liquid or for the relief of pressure) * catheterisation (drain the bladder and collect urine" and toileting). Disabilities they deal with include autism, dyslexia mental health issues and conditions such as asthma. "Every one of those students attends mainstream classroom, every one of those students accesses the curriculum at their level, every one of those students receives the support they require for their complex needs," Catherine Morris, head of special education services at Bowen high school said. "They attend all and participate in all school events. And they are definitely valued members of our school community." Earlier, a mother of five disabled children who battled tirelessly for them to have the same rights as everyone told the commission there was a long way to go. "I would like to see the general public's perception towards the education of students with a disability change," she said. "I would like people to realise that the way students with disability are currently treated is not okay." The hearing will continue on Thursday. www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6477113/teachers-fail-to-cater-to-disabled-kids/?cs=14231
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2019 8:41:22 GMT 7
Rushed disability royal commission yet to hear from a victim or person with a disability
The royal commission into disability is underway and under fire. The disability royal commission examined education in Queensland this week, hearing stories of bullying, verbal and physical abuse and exclusion from school activities but at no point did it actually hear from an alleged victim.
Key points:Royal commission into disability abuse failed to have any testimony from actual victims It heard stories of children being pulled along the ground and a child with Down syndrome being forcibly isolated Greens senator Jordon Steele-John led the criticism and called for witnesses to be protected And the decision to not have a single disabled person speak drew the ire of advocates and experts alike. "When you say you're going to have a royal commission that's going to have disabled people at the heart of it and then you don't have a single disabled person whose giving evidence, that's incredibly problematic," advocate Samantha Connor said. "If you can imagine the same thing happening for the deaths in custody royal commission. I mean, imagine having the union who was in charge of representing prison guards and not having a single Aboriginal person at the royal commission." Inclusive education academic Dr Shiralee Poed from Melbourne University said she was understanding of the fact it was only the first of many hearings on education to be run in the next three years but agreed first-hand accounts must be heard. "The lived experience of people with a disability must come out in this royal commission and there must be opportunities for people to talk about their experiences of the education system directly," Dr Poed said. "We've heard from some parents but their experience is often slightly different to their child's." The inquiry heard stories of children being pulled along the ground by their arms, and of deaf students being denied access to bathrooms and left in their own urine. One mother talked about her daughter, who has Down syndrome being made to stand 3 metres away from the rest of her classmates during a school dance performance. Dr Poed said she wasn't surprised by those stories and that they were likely just the tip of the iceberg. "I've had hundreds of parents contacting me this week, sharing stories that just reinforce that the education of children with disabilities across the country seems to be a very hot topic in terms of the variants in quality that people have experienced," Dr Poed said. "It makes me terribly sad because this week we've been confronted with the stories of families that have really had to fight for what is just a basic human right." Children and Young People with Disability Australia CEO Mary Sayers was in Townsville for the first week of hearings. "There were a few things that were obviously missing for us, in terms of people with disability being able to present their stories," Ms Sayers said. They couldn’t really have a #DisabilityRoyalCommission looking into education without actual real life disabled people. Could they? You can listen to teachers - to parents. But you’re not getting the whole picture. You need to know why we threw that chair that time, what made us do it - not just what happened afterward or what the system response was. You need all the story, not parts of it without us. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs. Disabled people must be on the stand. Non disabled people are not our proxies, they have their own experiences and perspective. Proximity is not lived experience of disability. If you are standing in McDonalds, it does not turn you into a hamburger. Ms Sayers' organisation was urging the royal commission to delay its start until next year due to concerns about there not being enough witnesses who had experienced poor treatment themselves and advocates on social media also questioned whether things were rushed, with no victims on the stand. In the first week of hearings, much of the evidence focused on comparing the outcomes for students with disability in inclusive 'mainstream' schools versus those in segregated special-education schools. There was ample evidence in support of inclusive education but there was no witness testimony from families whose children attended special schools, or from anyone representing special schools. "I'm not surprised parents who have their children in special education might feel as though their choices might be under attack by the royal commission, but that's certainly not the case," Ms Sayers said. She said the commission counsel had made it clear this was just the beginning of the examination of education of people with disabilities, and that many more stories and experiences would be heard. In a statement, the royal commission said it chose to focus on schools in North Queensland because they practised inclusive education on a daily basis. The statement also addressed concerns no people with disabilities had testified at this week's hearings. "This Commission absolutely recognises the importance of young people with a disability being able to speak for themselves. In future hearings we will seek to hear from young people who are willing to share their story with the commission in public hearings," the statement read. Greens senator Jordan Steele-John believes the first week of hearings validated concerns the royal commission start date was rushed. "Disability organisations felt that the date of the first hearings was too soon and that the commission was not prepared to undertake its first hearing and I think we did see evidence of that," Senator Steele-John said. One example he's pointing to — legislation to keep private testimony confidential after the three-year inquiry ends — is not yet in place. This week, commission chair the Honourable Ronald Sackville QC said the commission might have to ask the Federal Government to introduce legislation to give them that ability. Until that happens, Senator Steele-John says potential witnesses could be scared off from giving evidence. "As one woman said to me, 'Jordon, I can't tell my story if I think that in three years' time, when this is over, it'll come out to my employer and I'll lose my job'." The royal commission's next hearing will take place in the week of December 2-6 in Melbourne — the evidence will focus on people with disability living in group homes in Victoria. mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-09/disability-royal-commission-started-too-early/11688270
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2019 7:02:53 GMT 7
Our royal commission is not yet a safe place for people with disability
Emma Bennison, CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, reflects on her experience putting together a submission to the royal commission and the support – or lack thereof – she received.In the lead up to the first royal commission hearing which commenced in Townsville on Monday (4 November) I wrote to the chair of our disability royal commission, The Hon. Ronald Sackville AO QC about my experience of making a submission. I felt compelled to make him aware of serious concerns I have about the commission’s ability to understand and adequately meet the unique needs of people with disability. While I am assured that my letter has been passed on, two weeks on, I have received no direct acknowledgement of my correspondence. Furthermore, the bureaucratic response I received after lodging my personal submission, two days beyond the promised 48 hour response time-frame, was cold and unempathetic considering the traumatic nature of the subject matter. What is missing? In summary, the information provided about the process is scant, legalistic and unclear; the counselling service is limited and difficult to access; and there appears to be a lack of awareness and empathy for those of us who have found the courage to share our stories. My submission outlined physical and emotional abuse I experienced in the special education system and in the workplace; and neglect of me in a customer service context. However, this article is not about the content of my submission, it is about the impact of the process and what needs to change. Telling my story is traumatic and exhausting For a start, it was and still is incredibly difficult to tell my story. Even for me, an experienced advocate used to calling out discrimination and inappropriate behaviour, it has been much more difficult than I anticipated. Of course, I expected I would react emotionally and be retraumatised as a result of telling my story. I anticipated that I would be doubtful and terrified before I pressed send on it. I even expected (rightly as it turned out) that making a submission would be an exhausting process which would impact on my work and family life for a period of time. What I didn’t anticipate was the extent to which writing down my experiences would bring the shame, disempowerment and terror I have successfully blocked out for 40 years to the surface in a way I have not experienced before. Nor did I appreciate the impact revisiting the experiences would have on my self confidence and self-esteem in the present. Every individual’s story will be unique and so too, their experience of its telling. I am not in any way wanting to discourage people with disability from making submissions. On the contrary, we need to be heard in order for change to occur. Our royal commission offers a unique opportunity for that to happen. Still, what has struck me is that if I, as someone who is well educated and well supported, has found this process so much more traumatic and exhausting than I anticipated, how might someone without the benefit of good support experience it. Ensuring our royal commission is a safe place Sleep has been in short supply for me recently. So I’ve had plenty of time to consider the question of what could be done to make our royal commission a “safe space” for us. Before we even get to the point of writing a submission, many of us first need to unlearn ingrained patterns of minimisation and dissociation which are often well entrenched, particularly if we have been exposed to multiple traumas. Also, society’s negative attitudes towards people with disability have left many of us feeling unworthy of being heard. For instance, my initial response was that I should not take up the time, space and resources of the commission when the experiences of others are so much more serious and worthy of scrutiny than mine. After all, I have the good fortune to be well-educated, to have a wonderful family and a fulfilling job. These struggles to feel worthy and to acknowledge our experiences are very real. So there needs to be greater acknowledgement of that in communications from the commission if the true extent to which violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation has impacted us is to be exposed. Also, for many, the workings of a royal commission remain a mystery. I have friends who work in the legal profession, but frankly, lawyers are not always best placed to provide down to earth, practical information about what those of us who make submissions can expect, how our information will be used and what will happen if we are called as witnesses. People with disability need to be involved in crafting the messaging so that the language is accessible to all, the process is clear and we feel welcome and safe to share our stories. A reliable and responsive counselling service For me though, the change which would help most is a reliable counselling service available 24 hours a day, provided by staff with expertise in dealing with complex trauma. Currently, the counselling service is advertised as being available between 9am and 6pm. However, I have discovered that even during these hours it appears impossible to come by. When I attempted to access the service recently, I was greeted by a synthetic voice advising me that the next available counsellor would be with me shortly. A brief period of hold music followed before the line went dead. I continued to wait for several minutes, but to no avail. I then called again with the same result. So at this stage, while any counselling would be most welcome, I know I’m not alone when I say that it is at 2am when I would most benefit from the expertise of an experienced trauma counsellor. I recognise the economic limitations of staffing a 24-hour service. However, my view is that this is an absolute necessity, particularly given the high proportion of people with disability who experience isolation and discrimination, including within their own home or at the hands of family, friends and support staff. So why did I ultimately decide to make a submission? In a nutshell, because in spite of all the opportunities I have had, I still feel disempowered, invisible, frightened and voiceless as a result of the abuse and neglect I have experienced. I have a strong desire to be heard and for the impact on me of the abuse and neglect to be acknowledged. I hope that the telling of my story will bring me some measure of peace and that by talking about my experience of making a submission, I have helped others feel more confident to do so. Our stories do matter. Providing our royal commission offers us a safe space in which to tell them, they can act as a catalyst for real change. While I strongly encourage people with disability to take full advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their stories heard, I fervently believe that our royal commission must urgently listen to and engage with us if it is to meet the needs of the very people it has been established to serve. probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2019/11/our-royal-commission-is-not-yet-a-safe-place-for-people-with-disability/
|
|
|
Post by Denis-NFA on Nov 12, 2019 12:31:15 GMT 7
bearA very powerful statement from the person above. Sad comment at the end though Should be a permanent setup and makes you wonder what all the various Discrimination Commissioner types around Australia actually do!
|
|