Transcript:

Hi everyone! Today I’d like to start by acknowledging that the 13th of February marks the 18th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. The Apology was a really historic moment, but it’s important that we remember that for many families, the impact of forced removals are not history. They’re ongoing.

I always like to go back and listen to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s speech at this time of the year because it just reminds me of our responsibility to do better. There’s really important work ahead of us to address systemic inequities and racism that continue to impact our First Nations communities.

At DANA, we’re very proud to have First Nations leaders and staff who strengthen our work every day, but there’s so much more that we need to do, too. And we remain committed to listening, learning and working alongside First Nations communities in ways that respect self-determination and lead to real change.

Recently, I did an interview on 3CR Community Radio about an issue that is really worrying advocates and people with disability at the moment, and that’s the use of AI and automated decision making, in the NDIS.

Now, I’m a huge fan of AI. As a blind person, I rely on AI every day to assist me with things like visual descriptions and, helping with visual tasks. But of course, the NDIS is about people, and it’s about people who often have very complex needs and intersectional identities, and sometimes people who are particularly marginalised. So if decisions rely too heavily on data patterns or rigid models, whether or not they’re using AI, people could find themselves stuck with plans that don’t actually reflect the needs.

So it’s important that we get the balance right. AI needs to support human judgement, but it can never be a replacement for human decision making. Models also need to be underpinned by transparency, strong reviewing mechanisms and genuine co-design with people with disability.

And finally, I just want to remind you that the Disability Dialogue, which I’ve spoken about in previous videos, is holding its first Open Dialogue webinar event for 2026 on the 25th of February.

And this event is focusing on equal education for teens and young people with disability. So whether you’re a person with disability, a disability service provider, a disability representative organisation, or a family member of a person with disability, I really encourage you to get involved in what promises to be a fascinating and critical conversation for our community.

Registrations are open now, and if you’d like to register, you can visit www.disabilitydialogue.com.au. And if you can’t make it on the day, you can listen back to it later on.

So that’s all for this week. Thank you very much, and I will see you again next week.