Last week I had the pleasure of presenting our policy initiatives for the Disability Portfolio, to the ACT Disability Election Town Hall. The event was an online event hosted by the Disability Person’s Organisations, Advocacy for Inclusion, Women with Disabilities ACT, ACT Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability, and the Mental Health Community Coalition of the ACT.
As the Shadow Minister for Disability I announced that the Canberra Liberals in government would provide an additional $875,000 per year over the next four years to disability sector organisations to cope with additional demand. The additional funding will be provided as follows:
- $350,000 to Advocacy for Inclusion (AFI)
- $150,000 for ACT Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability
- $200,000 to Women with Disabilities ACT
- $175,000 to the Mental Health Community Coalition ACT
A Canberra Liberals Government will also:
- Support and prioritise the establishment of a Disability Advisory Council
- Appoint Disability Liaison officers at Canberra hospitals, including the University of Canberra Rehabilitation hospital
- Provide $6 million over 4 years for better access to government funded diagnosis services for children who are neurodivergent
- Support those Canberrans living with a disability who want to work through programs designed to increase job opportunities through grants and employment networks.
Links:
To read a transcript of my speech see here
To read the details of the policy see here
Quotable quotes:
““A Canberra Liberals government will prioritise open and transparent consultation with the disability sector. To do this, we will increase funding to disability organisations to cope with the increased requirement due to the NDIS and growth and reform,
“Whether it’s housing, health services, planning or our city services, we must do better to ensure the disability sector is heard and included in the discussion when it comes to policies that impact them,” James Milligan MLA, Liberal Disability Spokesperson