Transcript:

Hi everyone. As NAIDOC week draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge what’s been a really important week for DANA, for our members, and for the broader disability advocacy movement.

This year’s theme, 50 Years of Deadly, celebrates 50 years of NAIDOC as a national movement recognising the histories, cultures, achievements and continuing strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

At DANA we’re really fortunate to work alongside First Nations colleagues, members and advocates whose knowledge, leadership and lived experience really strengthened our organisation and the broader disability advocacy movement every day.

I want to sincerely thank our First Nations colleagues and members for the generosity they show in sharing their knowledge and perspectives. While NAIDOC week provides a really important opportunity to celebrate and reflect, our commitment to listening, learning and building respectful relationships continues throughout the year.

I also want to let you know that we’ve advertised a new role, a Senior Manager: Communications and Government Relations, and its closing on the 22nd of July. It’s a fantastic opportunity to join DANA’s leadership team at a time when disability advocacy has never been more important. So if you know someone with strong communications, media, government relations or advocacy experience who shares our commitment to the rights of people with disability, I’d strongly encourage you to share the opportunity through your networks.

And finally, I want to acknowledge the joint statement recently released by disability representative organisations in response to the Senate inquiry’s interim report on the NDIS Bill. The statement welcomes the committee’s recognition that governments must deliver effective foundational supports before reforms are implemented that could reduce or restrict access to the NDIS. It also reinforces the importance of genuine co-design with people with disability and ensuring those supports are properly funded, tested and available before any transition occurs. This reflects DANA’s consistent position that people with disability shouldn’t lose access to the supports they rely on until appropriate alternatives are genuinely in place.

And if you haven’t already, I encourage you to read the statement. And if you’re comfortable doing so, to share it for your own networks. Whether you’re an individual advocate or part of a member organisation, every conversation and every share helps strengthen our collective voice and reinforces the importance of getting these reforms right.

Thank you to everyone who’s contributed to this work, and thank you, as always, for everything you do to strengthen disability advocacy across Australia. I hope you’ve all had a meaningful NAIDOC week, and I look forward to continuing this important work alongside you.