Personal Reflections

Remembering the words of Senator Jordon Steele-John: During August 2024, When it became apparent that the NDIS Amendments Bill would be passed in the Senate, Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John expressed the frustration of many in the disability community with a searing speech highlighting the betrayal many felt as a result of this legislation. Sadly, these words were prophetic.  The total annihilation of the NDIS is now sponsored by all political parties (Except The Greens, wh

Image sourced from: “Christmas in Purgatory” A Photographic Essay published by Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan, 1974 This reflective essay emerges from a growing unease about how disability, and particularly the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), is being represented in contemporary public discourse. Over recent months, coverage from outlets such as the Australian Financial Review has increasingly framed the scheme through the language of crisis—cost blowouts, fraud, a

Tonight I’m remembering the public relations stunt to defend the NDIS Review held in Brisbane on 25 January 2024, hosted by the Department of Social Services and members from the NDIS Review Panel. I recall vividly NDIS Review Co-chair, Professor Bruce Bonyhady, and panel members Professor Kirsten Deane, Kevin Cocks and Dougie Herd, promising that no participant would be worse off as a result of their recommendations. I can still hear our concerns about recommendations, such

Essay Summary: This essay critiques the media framing of NDIS spending on community participation supports, such as assistance to go for walks, attend social activities, or access everyday services. It argues that portraying these supports as frivolous spending misunderstands the purpose of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, which is to enable people with disability to live independently and participate in community life. The analysis shows that the NDIS does

Abstract: Abuse is often imagined as something visible: Acts of violence or neglect that leave clear evidence. Yet some of the most damaging forms of abuse occur quietly within systems, policies, and everyday interactions. For many citizens with disability, these hidden harms slowly erode dignity, autonomy, and trust. This essay examines how systemic decisions within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), driven by cost-cutting, rigid bureaucratic thinking, and brok

Abstract: The initiative described in this essay, based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and...