Albanese shoots down questions on disability royal commission response
Anthony Albanese has fought off questions over his government’s response to the disability royal commission after it fully accepted just 13 recommendations.
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Anthony Albanese has pushed back against criticism of his government’s long-awaited response to the disability royal commission, after some in the disability community said they were “devastated”.
The prime minister said his government had “accepted in principle” 130 recommendations, but was quick to shift responsibility when probed further.
“Many of the recommendations don’t go to Commonwealth government action,” he said.
“They are recommendations that go to state and territory governments, or they go to the private sector, they go to access.”
Mr Albanese was silent on calls from the disability community for legislation to protect disability rights, either as a stand-alone act or part of a broader human rights act.
“We are working through the recommendations of the royal commission in an organised, consistent way, which is what you would expect the government to do,” he said.
Of the 222 recommendations made in the commission’s report, which cost taxpayers a hefty $600m to produce, the Albanese government agreed to just 13 in full and accepted 117 in principle.
The head of Australia’s disability rights peak body on Wednesday slammed the government’s “completely disproportionate” response.
Marayke Jonkers, president of People with Disability Australia, said the government had failed to give a time frame for much-needed “meaningful change”.
“Today, us and our members are devastated, disappointed and completely caught off guard with the response to us sharing our stories over 7000 submissions,” Ms Jonkers said.
In its response on Wednesday, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and Health Minister Mark Butler announced an extra $370m for the sector on top of the $3bn allotted in the past three budgets.
Of the new funding, $227.6m would be spent to implement a new specialist disability program.
But it had not committed to a Disability Rights Act or a government minister for disability inclusion.
States and territories also released their responses on Wednesday.
The shocking report, published last September, was the culmination of 4½ years of investigation and nearly 10,000 testimonies to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
It exposed widespread rates of abuse and neglect being experienced by millions of Australians living with disability.
Key recommendations included how to stop the violence many people with disability are subjected to reform of disability service providers, changes to the law, increased access to support and leadership of people with disability in driving these changes.
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