PWDA
E-Bulletin
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If you have trouble viewing this
email, click here to read it on our website Issue 79 July 2012 - ISSN 2202-0705 Welcome to PWD’s
E-Bulletin. This e-bulletin goes out to members and interested others
regularly by email. For members who do not have access to email, a printed
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contact PWD on pwd@pwd.org.au Are you a Member of PWD? Do you believe
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will ensure that your voice is heard in the processes that affect your life. Join Today! Disability Rights Defenders There is now a NEW way
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Regular donations help us pursue essential projects, such as systemic and
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Pacific and in providing information and training to people with disability
and their associates. If you’d like to know more about the Disability Rights
Defender Program, click here. Contents
New South
Wales News
Other State
and Territory News
National
News
International
News
The Inside
Story PWD Media
Releases PWD Training
Opportunities Upcoming
Events About PWD Privacy
Statement Contact Us |
New
South Wales News
As reported in PWDA’s May/June
edition of E-bulletin, on 10 May 2012 the NSW Government announced a
series of changes to the regulation of boarding houses. These include:
These changes are being included in
a new Act, called the Boarding Houses Act 2012. An Exposure Draft Boarding
Houses Bill 2012 and a Position Paper were released on 29 June, which
sets out the NSW Government’s concerns about the current regulatory framework
and how the Bill seeks to address these concerns. Copies of those two documents are
here: * Exposure Draft Boarding House
Bill (PDF - 1.1 Mb) * Exposure Draft
Boarding House Bill Position Paper (PDF - 69 kb) Further information can be obtained
by contacting the Boarding House Reform Team, Ageing, Disability and
Homecare, Department of Family and Community Services at: BoardingHouseReform@facs.nsw.gov.au
or on (02) 8295 4608. You can also obtain a copy of the
Bill by going to the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office website at: http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/bills The NSW Government intends to
introduce a final Bill in the Spring Session of Parliament, 2012. PWDA will
be making a written submission and we encourage others to have their say on
these important reforms. Comments and submissions are due by Friday
10 August 2012, and may be sent by email to BoardingHouseReform@facs.nsw.gov.au
or via mail: Boarding
House Reform Team PWDA is
funded by ADHC to provide advocacy services to people with disability living
in licensed boarding houses in NSW, and strongly advocates for the rights of
the residents to live lives free from abuse and exploitation. Please click here to read more
about these services PWDA Training: Sexuality and
Human Rights In mid-May, PWDA successfully delivered its 2-day Responding to Sexual Assault
training to Wesley Mission staff in Sydney. The course aims to challenge
myths surrounding sexual assault and people with intellectual disability,
build participants’ capacity to support victims of sexual assault, as well as
explore ways to decrease the vulnerability of people with intellectual
disability to this crime. As reported in the PWDA
May/June E-Bulletin, PWDA has received funding from the Department of
Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) to provide a four session/4 week
training program on Sexuality and Human Rights to all interested residents of
licensed boarding houses(LRCs) in the Metro South region of Sydney. Since March 2012, we have rolled out the training to
residents at Smiths Hall LRC, Carinya Marrickville LRC and Franks LRC, and in
the next months will be engaging with residents at Denroma LRC, Miller Lodge
LRC, Carinya Arncliffe LRC, Kelvinside LRC and Cavendish Lodge LRC. PWDA has
also run a one day session for staff who work with
residents through the ADHC funded Boarding House Reform Program, and will be
offering the same to the owners and managers of boarding houses. PWDA is pleased to report that the training has been very
well received by residents, and has provided them with the opportunity to
relate and interact with advocates and others about these important issues in
a safe and supportive environment. PWDA has also delivered a number of
trainings on Human Rights, Sexuality, Abuse and Neglect to residents of licensed
boarding houses in Sydney’s Inner West and Hunter region. If you are interested in finding
out more about PWDA’s training options please contact us on one of the
numbers listed at the end of this E-Bulletin or email training@pwd.org.au. 15 local councils in NSW have opted to conduct their
own local elections on 8 September 2012 without the support of the NSW
Electoral Commission. These councils
are Botany Bay, Cessnock, Coffs Harbour, Fairfield, Gunnedah, Kempsey, Lake
Macquarie, Lane Cove, Maitland, Narrabri, Newcastle, Penrith, Port Stephens,
Shoalhaven and Sutherland. PWDA has written to these Councils reminding them of their
obligations to provide accessible elections to people with disability. If you
are a person with a disability who lives in one of these constituencies and
are concerned about whether your needs will be accommodated you should contact
your local council as soon as possible.
The NSW Electoral Commission is producing a newsletter about the
upcoming elections for people with disability which can be access via their
website at http://vote.nsw.gov.au/home
The Australian Election Commission has additional information on
their website for people with disability and for people who live in these
constituencies http://www.aec.gov.au/ Going Home Staying Home Reform On 10 July 2012 the NSW Minister for Family and Community Services Pru Goward
announced Going Home Staying Home, a reform program to guide the
future development of the specialist homelessness services (SHS) sector in
NSW. At
the announcement of Going Home Staying
Home, Minister Goward released a consultation
paper (PDF, 702KB) which puts forward the case for reform and provides a
platform to initiate stakeholder engagement and focus stakeholder input
towards the reform directions. Peak
bodies, service providers, homeless people, consumers of specialist
homelessness services and other stakeholders are invited to comment on the
strategic direction for homelessness service reform and provide feedback on
the consultation questions presented in the consultation paper. Comments are
invited before 31 August 2012. For
more information on the consultations and how you can provide input, please
visit the Going
Home Staying home webpage. Farewell Catherine Hogan, Family Advocacy PWDA would like to wish Catherine Hogan all the best in her future
pursuits after her announcement that she will be leaving Family Advocacy
mid-August. Family Advocacy is an independent disability advocacy organisation
which works across NSW with the mission to attain positive social roles for
people who have a developmental disability through the development and
support of advocacy by families and by strengthening the knowledge, role and
influence of the family. PWDA has shared a close working relationship with Family Advocacy and
Catherine for many years, and has collaborated with them on a number of
projects. This includes most recently the national Shut In campaign, for
which Family Advocacy has shown unwavering support. Catherine has worked at Family Advocacy for 17 years and during this
time has led that origination through many challenges and to many successes.
PWDA wishes her the best of luck and success in her future pursuits. Greater access to media for people who are deaf
or have a hearing impairment In late June 2012, the Broadcasting
Services Amendment (Improved Access to Television Services) Bill 2012 was
passed by the Federal Government which is set to improve the NSW Captioning
levels on free to air and subscription TV. In a media release issued in response to the passing of the Bill, Disability
Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes said the focus in the legislation
towards increasing captioning services should be applauded. “Over 2 million Australians who are deaf or have hearing impairment
will have better access to a greater range of television programs, which is
particularly important for the social and cultural participation of people
with disability in Australia,” said Commissioner Innes in the media release. Under this legislation, the Australian Communications and Media
Authority (ACMA) will regulate closed captioning on broadcast television, and
subscription narrowcast television. The legislation will also empower the
ACMA, to develop a quality standard for captioning. A draft version of the
quality standard should be open to public consultation later this year. To read the full media release from the Human Rights Commission, please
click here. Information on the new captioning requirements is available on the AMCA website. Delineate arts grant
applications now open Accessible
Arts, in partnership with the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home
Care (ADHC), is inviting applications for Delineate 2012 to boost and foster
arts and disability practice within NSW. This year,
Delineate will award six successful recipients $3500 each to support an arts
project to be developed throughout the Don't DIS my ABILITY campaign.
In 2012 applicants can apply from anywhere in the ADHC regions and Local
Planning Areas. Delineate
seeks to enrich the creative initiatives of the Don't DIS my ABILITY campaign
run by ADHC to celebrate International Day of People with Disability. The
program, first presented in 2002, aims to develop a deepening of engagement
for project participants and a focus on sustainable outcomes. Delineate
takes an approach of identifying and addressing priorities of the
National Arts & Disability strategy and through past recipients' feedback
and evaluation and welcomes a range of art forms including Dance, Music,
Theatre, Visual Arts, Literature, Hybrid/ Interdisciplinary Arts and
Community Arts. Delineate is open to:
The
Delineate program also offers a one-day, professional development forum led
by Accessible Arts at Walsh Bay.
Applications close on Monday 27
August 2012.
For more information and to download the application form and
guidelines click here. To
discuss your application or for further information contact the Project
Manager, Sarah-Vyne Vassallo, Arts Development Officer on Thursdays and
Fridays on 9251 6499, ext 105 or email anytime artsdevelopment@aarts.net.au
Youth Arts Access 2012
project The Youth
Arts Access (YAA) 2012 project is an invitation to young people 13-18 years
old with disability to engage with the arts as an audience. Members of
the YAA group will be Youth Arts Ambassadors for the duration of the project
in 2012 and will assist Accessible Arts NSW, the arts venues and arts
companies by providing valuable feedback on accessibility and the arts
performances. Youth
Arts Ambassadors will receive free tickets to several shows, events or performances
in the Sydney region, which will be facilitated and attended by
Accessible Arts staff. There will be a selection of shows to choose from,
including dates and times. Arts events will be chosen based on a number
of considerations, including art form, interest, timing, availability and
accessibility. Accessible Arts will manage ticket bookings and arrangements
in consultation with the Youth Arts Ambassadors and the arts
organisations. Deadline
for applications remain open and flexible until early August 2012. For more
information visit the YAA
website, or contact Sophie
Clausen, Access Coordinator, Accessible Arts, tel. +61 2 9251 6499 ext 107
or ac@aarts.net.au Developments in Critical Disability Studies:
Implications for research theory The University of NSW’s School of Social Sciences, the
Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) and the School of Education are presenting
an opportunity to discuss and debate developments in disability studies. The session will feature Professor Dan Goodley,
Professor of Psychology and Disability Studies, Manchester Metropolitan
University, and will take place on 13 August 2012 from 4pm – 6pm at the SPRC. The discussion will include themes of critical
disability studies and their implications for disability studies and
research. To register to attend, please email L.Dowse@unsw.edu.au or visit
the event website. |
Other State and Territory
News
Tasmania: NDIS Trial Site announced On 25 July 2012 it was announced that one of the
National Disability Insurance Scheme launch sites will be in Tasmania. This
announcement was welcomed by the Tasmanian Premier, Lara Giddings, and the Minister
for Human Services, Cassy O'Connor, who said that the announcement was a landmark
moment for Tasmanians with a disability, their families and the organisations
that work to support them. "The Gillard Government's decision to base a
launch site in Tasmania, and to progress the NDIS nationally, will give
Tasmanians with disability more control over their lives, more support and
more certainty,” said Ms O’Conner in a media release. Ms O'Connor said the launch would see support provided
to nearly 1000 Tasmanians living with a disability aged between 15 and 24 -
including both current and potential disability service clients. Ms Giddings said Tasmania was this year spending a
record $142 million on disability services, with a further $33 million from
the Australian Government. Discussions around the detail of the NDIS launch in
Tasmania from 1 July next year are said to be ongoing. For
more information, please click here. Victoria: NDIS Trial Site announced On 27 July 2012 the Victorian Government agreed to an
NDIS trial site in the Barwon region from July 2013. This came after the State’s initial refusal to sign up
to the scheme citing concerns for ongoing funding. Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu says the fresh offer of
$42 million to host a trial NDIS site in the Barwon region will benefit 5000
people with disability and their families. Victoria has also offered to increase its average spend
on support for people with a disability in the Barwon region from $19,300 to
$20,779 per person, or $17 million over three years for a trial to start in
July 2013. In addition, Victoria will pay the federal government a
one-off fee of $25 million towards the operation and service delivery of a
Geelong-based National Disability Transition Agency. To
read a full news story on the announcement, please click here. Australian Capital Territory: NDIS Expert Panel to
oversee ACT launch site rollout On 2 August 2012 the ACT Minister for Community
Services Joy Burch announced the membership of the National Disability
Insurance Scheme Expert Panel, which will guide the launch of the landmark
disability funding program in the ACT. In a media release, Ms Burch said the Expert Panel
included representatives from the community sector, and will be co-chaired by
disability advocate Sue Salthouse and Community Services Director General
Natalie Howson. Included on the panel is PWDA Secretary Craig Wallace.
Craig has been an active advocate for an NDIS for a significant period, and
has appeared frequently on local and national media on behalf of PWDA,
calling for an NDIS. Ms Burch said having a launch site in the ACT is an
exciting opportunity to influence the design of the full scheme and ensure
early take up of this important reform. The ACT Government is in discussions with the
Commonwealth about the detail of the NDIS launch in the ACT. For more
information on the NDIS in the ACT visit www.act.gov.au/NDIS. For
the full media release discussing the NDIS Expert Panel, please click here. South Australia: NDIS Trial Site to focus on children
with disability South Australia will focus its NDIS trial on 5000
children with disability aged 0-14, stated a media release issued by the SA
Department of Communities and Social Inclusion. The South Australian launch, which will start in July
next year, will benefit about 4800 children already receiving disability
services, plus newly eligible children will receive support and services as
part of the launch. During the first year, starting in July 2013, existing
and newly eligible children aged 0 -5 years will be accepted to participate
in the NDIS launch. During the second year it is planned that existing and newly
eligible children aged 0 -13 years will be included and in year three it is
planned that all eligible children aged 0 -14 can be part of the scheme.
These arrangements will be reviewed after the first year to make sure the
scheme is working as intended. “Under this year's State Budget, the biggest single new
spending was an extra $212 million for disability funding, which included
earmarking $20 million over the next three years for the NDIS launch,” SA
Premier Jay Weatherill said in the media release. The State Government has also promised $1million over
two years to help service providers plan and prepare for disability reform,
in readiness for an NDIS and encourage new and innovative approaches to
delivering services. |
National news
Don’t let party politics stand in the way of a strong NDIS: PWDA In a media release issued on 26 July 2012, PWDA called
on State and Territory governments to put aside party politics and stand by
their commitments towards establishing a strong and sustainable National
Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). “A strong NDIS should bring back entitlement, equity
and adequacy of resources to the disability support system, regardless of
where people live in Australia, so the fact that yesterday governments failed
to reach an agreement on the funding of the NDIS is disappointing. We hope
that this can be resolved as quickly as possible,” said Matthew Bowden, an
Executive Director of PWDA, in the media release. PWDA warmly welcomes the agreements made by governments
in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT to part-fund trials of the NDIS
starting in 2013 or 2014 and views this as a positive step towards the
realisation of an NDIS. To read the full media release issued by PWDA, please
click here. To read a news story which provides background to this
media release, please click here: Big States
yet to commit to NDIS – Sky News Online (26/07/2012). In the PWDA
May/June E-Bulletin, we reported that the National Disability and Carer
Alliance (NDCA) was successful in securing funding to coordinate an
engagement strategy with people with disability, carers and service providers
on the NDIS, with AFDO leading the engagement of people with disability to
ensure people with disability have an opportunity to contribute meaningfully
to the design and implementation of the NDIS. As part of this project, PWDA is working closely with
AFDO and other NDCA members Carers Australia (CA) and National Disability
Services (NDS) to organise and run effective, wide-ranging and inclusive
engagement activities across Australia to ensure that the experiences and
opinions of people with disability are captured and communicated to
policy-makers. Engagement activities will include public events in both
metropolitan and regional/rural areas, smaller, issue- or group-specific
roundtables and face-to-face meetings, web and social media engagement, as
well as other targeted consultations. In the coming months, PWDA, AFDO and CA will be running
a number of joint and separate public events for people with disability and
carers. The first of these public events will be a joint consultation for
people with disability and carers in Canberra on 14th August and will be led
by AFDO. People with disability and carers are invited to attend – for more
information contact AFDO directly on 03 9662 3324 or visit their website. PWDA will be running public events and consultations in
Mt Isa (jointly with CA) on 5th September, in Hobart and North Tasmania in
the week beginning 24th September, and in Sydney at the end of October.
Public events and consultations are also planned for the Hunter, Wollongong
and Armidale (jointly with CA) in the September-October period. PWDA will
also be undertaking other engagement activities and targeted consultations in
Brisbane in the week beginning 3rd September and in Darwin in the week
beginning 17th September. Exact dates and times, details and
registration information for all engagements will be available soon from the NDCA website. If you are interested in finding out more about the
NDIS Engagement Project please
contact Ngila Bevan or Gyongyi Horvath on one of the numbers listed at the
end of this E-Bulletin or email ngilab@pwd.org.au
or gyongyih@pwd.org.au Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommends ratification of
OPCAT On 21 June 2012, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommended
that the Australian Government ratify the United Nations Optional Protocol to
the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
Ratification of this treaty would oblige Australia to establish a
National Preventative Mechanism to inspect and monitor the conditions and
treatment of people in all places of detention including prisons and police
cells, juvenile detention facilities, immigration detentions centres,
psychiatric facilities and social care institutions. The UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of
Torture (SPT) would also be mandated to periodically carry out their own inspections
of places of detention in Australia. PWDA strongly supports the ratification of OPCAT and is working
through the Shut In campaign
to ensure that places where people with disability are detained will be
inspected and that people with disability as experts in their own experience
will play a central role in the monitoring mechanism. Effective implementation of OPCAT will help
to protect the rights of people with disability in detention, as well as
those at various stages of the criminal justice and health systems, and also
raise awareness of the human rights violations experienced by people with
disability in those facilities and systems. PWDA
makes submission to the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Matters On 16 July 2012 PWDA made a written submission to and participated
in a hearing of the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM)
Inquiry into proposed changes to the Commonwealth
Electoral Act 1918 to amend
the reference to ‘unsound mind’ and introduce a requirement to obtain a
letter or certificate from a ‘qualified person’ (doctor, psychiatrist,
psychologist, social worker) with respect to a person’s capacity to vote. PWDA submitted that this change would not address the inherent discrimination
of a provision which permits the disenfranchisement of a person judged
“incapable of understanding the nature and significance of enrolment and
voting”, and advocated for paragraph 93(8)(a) to be repealed in its entirety. All submissions to the hearing are available on the Parliament of
Australia website. Click
here to visit the website. Disability Inclusive Research Collaboration Conference – Research Rights: Disability Inclusion
Change On 13 - 14 June 2012, people with disability, academics, organisations
representing people with disability and interested individuals attended a
conference on inclusive research practices. The conference Research Rights: Disability Inclusion Change was
held at the University of Sydney, and was organised by a Steering Committee
including PWDA alongside other organisations of and for people with
disability, and universities and their research centres. The conference brought together researchers, policy-makers and
advocates from around Australia and internationally for this two-day event
where participants had the opportunity to workshop on designing inclusive and
participatory research, making practices and methodologies inclusive through
creative approaches, as well as making research findings accessible.
Participants also gained first-hand insight into the challenges encountered
by activists and researchers in developing countries in Southeast Asia and
the Pacific in undertaking research and translating this into real, practical
projects that are both driven by people with disability for people with
disability and are built upon a strong, rights-based framework. In the spirit
of the conference, keynote as well as workshop sessions were held by
researchers with disability or a team of presenters where people with
disability were co-researchers, demonstrating first-hand how research can be
inclusive and how people with disability can bring their own unique,
‘insider’ perspective to research on disability issues. More information about the conference itself, including the PowerPoints
and notes from keynote and workshop sessions will be available in due course
from the Centre
for Disability Studies (CDS) website. March 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of Australia’s Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Human Rights Commission would like you to
share in the celebrations. To recognise how the lives of Australians with disability have changed
during this period, the Commission are compiling a series called “twenty years,
twenty stories”. These stories, which the Commission plans to turn into short videos,
will illustrate those changes, and show how the law has been used to achieve
systemic change. Email your stories of around 200 words to disability@humanrights.gov.au
and tell the Commission how the DDA has – or has not – changed the lives of
Australians with disability. The top 20 stories will be chosen to best
reflect the achievements during the 20 years, and the things we’ve learnt for
the future. For more info go to http://www.ahrcblog.com/. Social security changes from 1 July 2012 On
1 July 2012 a number of key social security changes came into effect, which
with have impact on the lives of many Australians, including people with
disability. In a media release issued on 29 June
2012, the National Welfare Rights Network (NWRN) discussed a number of these
changes, including the start of the carbon price with its
accompanying household assistance package for people on low to medium
incomes. “Over
the next four years around 68,000 young people who are not able to find work
will have to wait an extra 12 months before they qualify for the Newstart
Allowance which at $245 per week is still higher than the Youth Allowance,”
said Maree O’Halloran, Director of NWRN, in the media release. Currently
to qualify for Newstart Allowance or Sickness Allowance a person must be 21
or over. From 1 July 2012, eligibility and the parental means test for Youth
Allowance for young unemployed people will extend from people of the age of
20 to 21, and Newstart Allowance and Sickness Allowance will be closed to new
applicants under 22. For
more details on the changes and the response from the NWRN, please read the
full media release from the NWRN, available here. COAG
Reform Council report on disability and employment The
Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council 2010-11 report under
COAG’s National Disability Agreement has been released. The council found
that people with disability still faced barriers to realising their potential
to participate in employment or social activities. In the national labour
force, for example, participation rates for people with disability remained
significantly lower than for people without disability and have not improved
since 2003. One third of people with disability reported needing more support
to participate in employment. The
full report is available below: Full
Report - MS Word version 5.5MB | PDF version 2MB Overview
of the Report - MS Word version 3.5MB | PDF version 214KB Associated documents: ·
Disability
2010-11: Comparing performance across Australia – Easy English -
PDF version only 1.1MB Arts
Activated Conference: Desire and Destination Desire
and Destination, the third Arts Activated Conference, is coming up in
October 2012. The Conference will explore the experience of inclusive practices
across the Arts and Disability sectors around Australia and internationally.
It will be held at Sydney's newest fully accessible arts centre, The
Concourse in Chatswood, with two full days of presentations, plenary and
break-out sessions, and performance, social and cultural programs. Desire
and Destination welcomes keynote speakers Petra Kuppers from the USA
with ‘International Disability Arts: how to fuel the Revolution’ and
Professor David Walker from Deakin University in Melbourne with ‘Flying Blind:
the confessions of a macular Degenerate’ along with a range of plenary and
breakout speakers from New Zealand, Australia and the USA. Early
Bird Registrations close 15 August 2012. To register, please click here. More
information including accessibility details are available on this
website or by contacting the Conference Convenor, Amanda Tink on
9251 6499 ext 106 or atink@aarts.net.au
|
International News
Announcement
of new funds for the Pacific Disability Forum PWDA
was extremely pleased to learn of the announcement made on 13 June 2012 by
the Minister for Foreign Affairs Bob Carr that Australia is providing $7.5
million in new initiatives to improve the rights of people with disability in
developing countries. Of this funding, $4.5 million will go to the Pacific
Disability Forum (PDF) to empower people with disability to reach their full
potential. The
PDF is the regional umbrella network of Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs)
in the Pacific. PWDA is a member of the PDF and has worked with the
forum for many years to build the capacity of Pacific DPOs to provide a
strong voice for people with disability in the Pacific. "People
with a disability are often made to feel invisible and shut out of community
life. The Pacific Disability Forum brings people with disability together to
have a stronger voice for their rights with governments, civil society and
development partners — at local, national and international levels,"
Senator Carr said in a media release. Over
the past year, Australia's partnership with the PDF has helped 13 DPOs across
nine Pacific Island countries to raise awareness about disability rights in
the Pacific. As a result, people with disability have been able to participate
equally in developing national disability policies in Niue, Tuvalu, Palau,
Tonga and Kiribati. To
read the full media release from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, please
click here. Working
Paper 16: Poverty and Disability The
Working Paper 16 in the on-going series from the Leonard Cheshire Disability
and Inclusive Development Centre, University College London, UK is now
available online. This
paper critically reviews and synthesises the currently available evidence
base regarding the relationship between disability, poverty and health. While
it is widely asserted that disability and poverty are closely linked, this is
the first review that explicitly asks: ‘What is the current evidence base for
the link between disability, poverty and health in low-and middle-income
countries?’ The
working paper can be accessed at the following link: New
signatories to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) PWDA
welcomes the news that Estonia has ratified of the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol
(OP) on 30 May 2012. Prior to Estonia, Mauritania ratified the
CRPD on 3 April 2012. This
brings a total of 113 States Parties to the CRPD, while the OP has 65
ratifications. The number of signatures to the CRPD is 153 while the OP has
90 signatures. Please
click the link to check the List
of Signatories and State Parties. This
section needs updating to at least include:
Devaluing People with Disabilities:
Medical Procedures that Violate Civil Rights PWDA would like to draw readers’
attention to a new and important resource just released from the National
Disability Rights Network (NDRN). Devaluing
People with Disabilities: Medical Procedures that Violate Civil Rights is
a report intended to provide a crucial but missing link in the discussion
about how society can and should make medical decisions that uphold the
constitutional rights and inherent dignity of people with disability. The NDRN is a US non-profit
membership organisation for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy
(P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP). Collectively, the
P&A/CAP network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services
to people with disability in the States. To access the report, please
click here to visit the NDRN website. PWDA submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee This October the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) will
draw up a list of questions to ask the Australian government next year when
it evaluates the progress of Australia in implementing the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Civil and political
rights such as the right to be free from ill treatment and arbitrary
detention, to be recognised as a person before the law and to participate
politically in society are basic human rights. The existence of a
disability does not lessen these entitlements, yet all too often disability
is used as a ground to deny these fundamental freedoms to people with
disability. On 3 August 2012 PWDA made a
joint submission to the HRC with the International Disability Alliance to
make sure that violations of the rights of people with disability in
Australia are addressed by the Committee. The submission makes a number
of recommendations for questions that the government should be asked based on
information provided on the following issues: disability discrimination in
migration, freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
including forced sterilisation of women and girls with disabilities,
the right to liberty including the fact that Australian legislation
permits disability based detention and forced treatment, the right to
political participation highlighting observations that voting procedures are
often inaccessible to people with disability and that the law permits people
with disability to be disenfranchised, and denial of equal recognition before
the law through removal of the right to exercise legal capacity. The
submission is available here. PWDA also contributed to the submission by the National Coalition of
Community Legal Centres (NCCLC) which reviews Australia’s compliance with the
ICCPR in general. This
submission is available here. Concluding
Observations on the Australian Government’s implementation of CRC On 19 June 2012, the Committee to the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (ComCRC) published its
Concluding Observations on the Australian government’s implementation of the
children’s rights treaty. Of
particular note for children with disability were the Committee’s
recommendations urging the Australian government to:
PWDA
contributed information to assist the ComCRC in its dialogue with the
Australian government through the Child Rights Task force. Please
click here to download the report (Note: PDF only). The full text
of the ComCRCs recommendations can
be found here (Note: PDF only) ComCRPD publish first View on a CRPD case On 21 May 2012 the Committee to the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ComCRPD) published its first View on
a legal case that came before it through the Individual Communications
procedure. This procedure allows
individuals who believe that their rights have been violated, and have
already exhausted domestic legal avenues, to ask the Committee for its
opinion on their case. The Views of UN Committees contribute to the
jurisprudence that aids interpretation of human rights treaties such as the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). In HM v Sweden, the
applicant had a chronic connective tissue disorder which meant that she had
not stood for 8 years and had difficulty sitting and lying down. She was
confined to her house, and the only option remaining for her to try and
prevent the progression of her impairment was through hydrotherapy at an
indoor pool in her house. HM applied for permission to extend the building on
her privately owned property by 63 square meters in order to house the pool. The
local council refused permission as most of this extension was on land where
building was not permitted. HM appealed repeatedly and eventually brought her
case to the ComRPD. The Committee found that: ·
A state party to the
disability convention may violate the CRPD if it does not consider an
individual’s particular health circumstances in applying its national laws,
resulting in discrimination on the grounds of that individual’s disability; ·
The refusal to depart from
the Council’s building development plan was disproportionate in this case and
produced a discriminatory effect which adversely impacted upon HM’s access to
the health care and rehabilitation that she required. Her right to health, habilitation and
rehabilitation and to equality and non-discrimination had been violated (CRPD
Articles 25, 26 & 5); ·
HM’s right to live in the
community (CRPD Article 19) had also been violated as in this case the
refusal to grant her a building permit for the pool had deprived her of the
“only option that could support her living [in] and inclusion in the
community. Sweden was advised to reconsider HM’s application
for a building permit. Please
click here to read the full text of the View FRA Report:
Choice and control - the right to independent living On 7 June 2012 the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
launched a report on “Choice and
control: the right to independent living”. The report is the first to
present a European level evidence-base about how people with disability are
often excluded from society, and what needs to be done to reverse this
situation. The FRA report follows actions by other inter-governmental agencies,
including a March 2012
report (PDF only) by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
and an April
2012 report (PDF only) by the Europe Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights. These, and the FRA report, contain a wealth of information
about what the right means, how it is violated, and how it can be
implemented. The FRA report contains testimonies from people with disability across
the EU. To access the FRA report, please click
here. UN: Strengthening the protection of women and
girls with disability a priority In a media release issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
on 11 July 2012, Mona Rishmawi, the Chief of the Rule of Law, Equality and
Non Discrimination Branch in the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, said that
“Strengthening protection of women and girls with disabilities from violence
continues to be a priority.” In its resolution 17/11, the Human Rights Council requested the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a “thematic analytical
study on the issue of violence against women and girls and disability”. |
The Inside Story
Hi everyone and welcome to another E-Bulletin, It has been a sad month for PWDA as we farewelled our colleagues from
the CRRS/Hotline service, which ceased being operated by PWDA on 30 June.
Once again I would like to thank all the hard work our former colleagues put
into the CRRS/Hotline over the past 11 years, they will be sorely missed by
all of us who remain here at PWDA. This year two staff members are taking part in the City2Surf, to raise
money for PWDA at this critical time. I would like to ask you all to support
Daphnee, our Communications and Membership Development Manager, and Matthew,
one of our Executive Directors, in this brave run, and give a donation to
PWDA. Every dollar counts! To
make a donation, please click here. Finally, I’d like to remind Members to have a good read of the June
LinkUp, which should have arrived in all your homes last month. This LinkUp
contains essential information about PWDA’s plans to reenergise our
membership – and we’d really value your feedback on this. PWDA wants all
members to understand the changes we’re proposing, so everyone is comfortable
should these changes take place. So please take a moment to read through the
LinkUp and the Membership Discussion Paper. - Jan Daisley, PWDA President PWDA Membership Discussion Paper The PWDA Board has released a discussion paper which proposes important
reforms to the way we engage with members including moving to a system of
online, free membership, opening up to young people and providing new ways
for people to be more involved. Consultations are open until September. Check out the paper below and follow us on Facebook to get involved.
To read our latest LinkUp publication that looks at Membership and Engagement
click here and scroll
down to LinkUp June 2012. Membership
Discussion paper - Word 201 kb Membership
Discussion paper: Easy English - Word 1.7 MB Support PWDA in
the 2012 City2Surf The countdown has begun towards the City2Surf and PWDA is frantically fundraising to support our two gallant runners as they participate to raise money for the organisation. There are still a few weeks to go, so if you haven’t given a donation yet there is still time! If you would like to donate to the
team, please visit http://www.fundraise.city2surf.com.au/people_with_disability_australia_pwda
or contact Daphnee Cook, Communications and Membership Development Manager at
daphneec@pwd.org.au
for more information. Every dollar you can give will help us to reach our goals. Thank you for your support! |
PWD Media Releases
26 July 2012: Don't
let party politics stand in the way of a strong NDIS |
PWD Training Opportunities
PWD is
currently reviewing its trainings on offer and making changes to its existing
training packages. In the
2011/2012 financial year, PWD will no longer be issuing a training calendar
with fixed trainings but instead will be providing a training brochure
detailing the training options on offer. In addition, we will also be
marketing customised training packages that can be adapted to meet the needs
and interests of individual organisations and/or services. We will
continue to offer our 2-day Responding
to Sexual Assault training which aims to challenge myths surrounding
sexual assault and people with intellectual disability, build capacity of
staff to support victims of sexual assault, as well as decrease the
vulnerability of people with intellectual disability to this crime. Also
available is our 1-day Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) training which provides a discussion of the development of the CRPD,
the rights enshrined in it and the practicalities of implementing these
rights, as well as information about its available complaints process. PWD will
continue to provide Disability Awareness training, however in a new, flexible
format with core and optional supplementary modules. Core modules will
provide a general introduction to disability awareness, exploring the concept
of disability, the myths and facts surrounding it, as well as respectful
language and communication. Supplementary modules will include customised components
that incorporate information, case scenarios and examples applicable to the
context in which the training is delivered. PWD will
continue to focus on developing and delivering training in its expertise
areas of abuse and neglect as well as disability and human rights. In
addition, we remain open to discussing the development of specific trainings
based on interest. Click here for further
information is available from our website. Alternatively,
contact PWD Training phone (02) 9370 3100 or email
|
Upcoming Events
9-11 August 2012: Perth, WA 10th Biennial ECIA Conference and
1st Asia-Pacific Early Intervention Conference ‘Pathways to Participation: Engagement and choice for children’.
For more information, please
click here. 10 August 2012: Sydney, NSW Critical
Reflections on the Status of Women with Disabilities in a Globalised World - Symposium, organized by the UNSW
School of Education, School of Social Sciences, Women with Disabilities
Australia (WWDA) and Manchester Metropolitan University. For more
information, please
click here. 13 August 2012: Sydney, NSW Disability
community research capacity workshop. Dr Rebecca Lawthom and Professor
Dan Goodley, Manchester Metropolitan University will lead an interactive
workshop about disability community organisations and members working with
university researchers. For more information, please click here. 17 August 2012: Sydney, NSW ASID NSW / ACT 2012 State Conference
Through the looking glass: Turning all
the talk, research and planning into action! For more information, please click here.
11-13 September 2012: Lancaster, UK
2012 Disability Studies Conference: Disability, Poverty and
Neo-Liberalism. The
Lancaster disability studies conferences have brought together researchers,
practitioners, policy makers and activists from around the world, to share
and debate research, ideas and developments in disability studies. For more
information,
please click here. 17-21 September 2012: New Delhi,
India TRANSED 2012:
The 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and
Disabled People. To read the call for abstracts, click here. 24-25 September 2012: Melbourne, VIC National Youth Disability
Conference. The National Youth Disability Conference (NYDC) is now calling
for expressions of interest for presentations and workshops within the
conference program. For more information, please
click here. 27-28 September 2012: Adelaide, SA Australian Association of Social
Work and Welfare Educators (AASWWE) Symposium: Cultural Diversity: Social Work and Human Services education working
with difference. For more information, please click here. 15-16 October 2012: Melbourne, VIC 2nd World Congress on Adult
Guardianship - Guardianship and the
United Nations Disabilities Convention: Australian and International
Perspectives. For
more information, please click here. 29 October – 2 November 2012:
Incheon Songdo, South Korea
Rehabilitation International (RI) World Congress. The RI World Congress is an
international conference held every four years for the social inclusion and
implementation of rights for people with disability. For more information, please click here. 23-25 November 2012: Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. South
East Asia Conference on Accessible Tourism (SEACAT 2012) and short film
contest on Accessible Tourism (July – September). For more information please
click here or email info@beautifulgate.org.my. |
About PWD
People with
Disability Australia Incorporated (PWD) is a national disability rights and
advocacy organisation. Our membership is people with disability and
organisations made up of people with disability. Individuals and
organisations committed to the disability rights movement can join PWD as
associate members. PWD was founded
in 1981, the International Year of Disabled People, to provide people with
disability with a voice of our own. We have a cross-disability focus and
represent the interests of people with all kinds of disability. As a
non-profit, non-government organisation we increasingly depends on membership
fees, public donations, bequests and fundraising activities to maintain our
commitment to improving the lives of people with disability. PWD is a
deductible gift recipient so donations of $2 or more are fully tax
deductible. Your tax
deductible donation will mean we can continue to maintain our services. If
you are interested and would like to support PWD please visit http://www.pwd.org.au/donations.html. For information
about membership, contact PWD on email pwd@pwd.org.au
or one of the numbers listed at the end of this E-Bulletin. |
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protecting your privacy. In doing so, we commit ourselves to conforming to
the Privacy Amendment
(Private Sector) Bill 2000, which came into effect in December
2001 and the National Privacy Principles issued by the Australian Privacy
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This newsletter contains links to websites. We cannot be held responsible for
the privacy practices (or lack thereof) or the content of other websites. |
Contact us
Please note that PWD
publishes items contributed by other organisations at our discretion. While
we will assist where possible in the dissemination of information, we do not
take responsibility for the promotion or advertisement of events organised by
other organisations. If you would like to
receive PWD E-Bulletin
in an alternative format or have an enquiry, contact PWD by email pwd@pwd.org.au
or on one of the numbers listed below. People with Disability Australia Incorporated |
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