Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily oas Oh now it makes sense.
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday, the first of August.
I'm zara, I'm harry. The government has handed down its long awaited response to the Disability Royal Commission, an inquiry that lasted four and a half years and heard from more than ten thousand people who spoke of their experiences of abuse and neglect. The inquiry suggested ways the government could change laws and policies to improve the lives of people with disabilities after hearing it had failed to uphold
their human rights in some instances. Today we'll take you through some of the changes that have been accepted and more importantly, what's been put on the back burner. But first, Sarah, what's making headlines?
Un Your inflation data rose by three point eight percent in the twelve months to June, up from three point six percent in May. This means prices arising at a faster rate than before. The data from the Australian Bureau Statistics found increases in the price of alcohol, tobacco, healthcare
and housing all contributed to higher rates of inflation. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the figures show that inflation is both sticky and stubborn, while Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor blamed high costs on the government's handling of the economy.
Doctors a warning of arise in STIs across Australia, urging people to get tested. The Royal College of Pathologists AUSTRALASIAS says there's been an increase in syphilis, gonerrhea and HIV over recent years. While testing rates have flatlined, data shows are nearly twenty percent jump in gonorrhea cases between twenty
twenty two and twenty twenty three. A spokesperson for RCPA, Associate Professor Caitlin Keighley, said the organization is concerned about many people being at risk unknowingly and is urging regular testing to stop a further spread of STIs.
First Nations artifacts will be returned to Queensland from Canada. A deal was struck with the Museum of Vancouver to send hundreds of historic items, including ancestral remains and sacred objects, back to Queensland Museum. The state government said the artifacts will then be returned to First Nations communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Leanne Enoch described it as a crucial step on the truth telling, healing and reconciliation journey of Queensland.
And in today's good News, Supernetball organizers have confirmed three hundred and thirty two thousand fans have shown up to games so far this season, a twenty five percent jump compared to last year. It tops out the previous record of attendance at a women's sporting season set by the A League's women's soccer season of TWI twenty twenty three to twenty twenty four. The Grand Final is set for Suncourt Stadium this weekend.
So, Harry, I remember there was this extremely long inquiry into the experiences of people with disabilities and we heard some really harrowing stories. There was a lot of media interests all about this Royal Commission. Can you just give me I guess a bit of a high level rundown about that Royal Commission.
Before I begin. I think it's just worth noting that I couldn't give it full justice in a single podcast episode. It lasted four and a half years. The Royal Commission traveled right around the country and heard from approximately ten
thousand people with disabilities. So that's around ten thousand stories that were heard during this time and it was set up in twenty nineteen and it took about four and a half years before it could hand down its final report COVID nineteen obviously disrupt things a little bit when it came around in twenty twenty, but ultimately it took so long because there was just so much evidence to sift through and there were so many people telling their
stories of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. And it's worth noting that the powers of the Royal Commission itself are quite significant, so it is the highest form of inquiry that you can possibly have in Australia, and it has the powers to request information, to call on witnesses and to consult with experts. So it does take time, and time it did take.
But then we got this Disability Royal Commission. It was really long, but it had these really rich stories of the experiences of people with disability. What did it tell us? What did it find?
The top line out of this inquiry was that people with disability suffered higher rates of violence, neglect and abuse than the rest of the population of Australia. And this was in the form of exclusion and discrimination in sectors
like housing, employment and education. And there was also some quite shocking evidence of physical and sexual abuse, so much so that the final report accused multiple levels of government of failing to meet its international obligations to protect people with disability from human rights abuses.
And those are some really serious claims, but there were you know, highlighting what was wrong. But then this Royal Commission also took it one step further and it had a bunch of recommendations about what needed to change.
That's right, and that was the essence of the final Report, and it came through with two hundred and twenty two recommendations. It's not exactly a light read, but that's because it does speak to the complexity of some of the issues that we heard during the Royal Commission and also the
depth of the inquiry itself. So some of the recommendations focused on just making sure that government policy and legislation factor in the rights of people with disabilities, noting that it had fallen by the wayside before and so for example, it said the government has a role to play in making sure that people with disabilities have more choice when it comes to housing, so they shouldn't just be offered to stay in what's known as a group home with
other people with disabilities. And I'll come back to that point, because that was a pretty key recommendation and the response was significant from the government on that one, but also on the point of housing, the recommendation said that people with disabilities need to be considered when the government's developing something like a homelessness strategy, because right now, crisis accommodation for people fleeing domestic violence is not fully accessible in
some circumstances, so they might not have adequate handrails, or might not have the bathroom facilities that someone with disability might need. And so the recommendation said that this all needs to come into the government's thinking when it's starting to develop those plans.
And so all of those recommendations, all two hundred and twenty two of them, were handed down to the government in September last year. What has the response from the government been to those recommendations.
Well, the government initially promised to respond earlier this year. It has faced a bit of questioning, a little bit of criticism for taking so long to respond, but it's more than ten months later and we got the official response from the government yesterday, and so the federal government broke down the recommendations into two main categories, so those that fell within its powers and responsibilities and those that
fell under the scope of the States and territories. The government said one hundred and seventy two out of two hundred and twenty two recommendations were in its patch and it accepted thirteen of them and quote accepted in principle one hundred and seventeen others in quotations.
What does that mean?
So basically is the government's way of saying, in quotations, we like this idea, we intend to follow through with it, but we just need to figure out how we'll do it.
Okay, So that's the principle stuff, and we'll get to that a bit later, but can we just first go over what the government very clearly did accept, what they said they would act on immediately.
The main thing it'd agreed to do was reform Australia's disability strategy. That's the Keynote policy when it comes to the way in which the government wants to improve inclusion for people with disabilities right across Australia. It also agreed to boost the number of Osland interpreters for people who
might have difficulty with hearing. And it also wants to see better training for people wanting to become interpreters so that they can help out in more complex environments, so think in a hospital or in a court appearance, people who struggle to hear might need a bit more of an explainer or in tone when it comes to that
really technical language. And another recommendation that the government accepted was to publish data on the prescription of antidepressants and mood stabilizer medications to people with disabilities because the Royal Commission did hear that these kind of drugs were being overprescribed for people with cognitive disabilities.
It's really really interesting. And so those are just a few of the recommendations that the government did accept. What about the ones that you mentioned earlier, those ones that kind of didn't make it through.
Yeah, so that leaves about forty two suggestions that will be under further consideration or that the government has quote noted, meaning it won't take further action. So the main recommendation that won't change is what's known as and I quote here segregated settings in housing, schools and workplaces. So that's when we're thinking of specialists schools or group homes for
people with disas abilities. And before I get into it, I come back to that term segregated because I think it's important to note that some of the commissioners did take issue with using that word, and that's when we're talking about spaces specifically designed four people with disabilities outside the so called mainstream. So when the final report was
handed down, the commissioners were kind of split here. Three were in favor and four were against a proposal to scrap what some of them called specialist and some of them called segregated education for students with disabilities. So some of them had argued that these kind of specialist schools promote separation and legitimize devaluing of people with disabilities in
society and from a young age as well. So those who were defending these schools were also saying it's a way to help those people who might have more complex needs.
And where did the government fall on.
That They didn't agree to scrap it. They said that there is a place for some of these schools in Australia, and they said that it's important for quote providing choice for students with disabilities and their families. There was also a bit of discussion about group homes and some of the commissioners wanted them phased out within fifteen years. They gave a very specific timeline on this, but the government
didn't accept that. It agreed that there needs to be some reform to the way that group homes are functioning at the moment. So the government in its response said that there needs to be more opportunities for people with disabilities living in these homes to socialize and to participate in the community outside the home itself, getting them out and doing more activities, but also making sure that these kind of homes don't end up feeling like segregated spaces
from the rest of society. And just finally, another thing that the government hasn't quite committed to yet, which was a big feature of the Royal Commission's final report, was creating a Disability Rights Act, and that was to quote recognize the human rights of people with disabilities. Instead, the government spooked its own record on passing laws to improve
the rights of people with disabilities. So that's like making sure that those who aren't covered under the National Disability Insurance Scheme can get more support and funding for the services that they might need.
We've spent a lot of this podcast talking about the government, how the government's thought about it, how the government's responded, and that's of course because when a Royal Commission is handed down, it is the role of the government to respond, adopt, reject, do whatever they like with those recommendations. However, this is an issue that goes beyond just the current government of the day. What's the reaction been like so far to how the government has responded to the Royal Commission?
So the Shadow Social Services Minister Michael Suka said that the Coalition's going to be looking very closely at the government's response. As I mentioned, it's quite detailed and it does cut across state and territory politics as well as federal politics. Looking at the Greens's response, their disability rights spokesperson Jordan steel John, who is the first Senator to use a wheelchair, thinks the government could have gone further.
He described the response as quote lackluster, and said that the government's not really following through what he believes is an adequate level of action because he said that there was a bit of a desire for the government to balance the budget, so that means it's trying to focus on spending as well as responding adequately to this Royal commission.
Always a fine balance to try and get right and certainly one that people will be looking at the government to see what happens from here and how those recommendations that they have accepted are implemented. Thank you so much for joining the Daly Ods today. If you learned something from today's episode, feel free to send it to a friend. It's the way more people get to listen to the Daily Ods and we so appreciate any support you can
give us. We'll be back again tomorrow, but until then, have a wonderful day.
My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung Kalkotin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily odz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strain island and nations. We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.