Transcript:

Hi everyone. I wanted to speak directly today to disabled people, our families, advocates and the workers who’ve been alongside us throughout this campaign.

I know there’s a lot of grief, anger and uncertainty across our community following the passage of the NDIS Bill, and I share that. This isn’t the outcome we fought for. But I also really want to say how incredibly proud I am of our community and what we’ve achieved together.

More than 4000 submissions were made to the Senate inquiry. Disabled people shared our expertise and experiences, often sharing deeply personal parts of our lives. Advocates and organisations across the country kept showing up, providing evidence and insisting that they be heard, and it made a difference.

The inquiry was extended, more disabled people were heard, and the bill that passed is better than the one originally introduced. There are additional safeguards because disabled people and our advocates spoke up. We welcome those safeguards.

But there’s an important lesson here for Government. This bill is better because disabled people were heard. Imagine how much better the process could have been if we’d been genuinely involved from the beginning.

There’s still so much to get right. And government now has the opportunity to do things differently by genuinely working with disabled people and our representative organisations on what comes next. Because when government listens to disabled people, it makes better policy.

And serious concerns do remain. We’re still deeply concerned about changes to social and community participation supports. These aren’t optional extras. They enable us to build relationships, participate in our communities, and do the ordinary things other Australians take for granted.

And then there are foundational supports. There’s time to get foundational supports right. And governments need to use that time well. But there must be a guarantee that nobody is moved off the NDIS until appropriate and accessible alternatives actually exist and are available wherever we live in Australia. Nobody should lose something they rely on because another system is supposed to be there. It needs to actually be there. It needs to work and we need to be able to access it.

I also want to say something about the way disabled people have been talked about throughout this debate. There’s been so much discussion about cost and sustainability. Of course, sustainability really matters. We all want an NDIS that’s there for future generations, but disabled people aren’t burdens. We’re part of our communities. We work, create, volunteer, lead, care for others and contribute in countless ways.

And our right to dignity, choice, participation and support doesn’t depend on our economic contribution. We have those rights because we’re human beings just like everybody else.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that advocacy like this takes a toll. For months, disabled people have been asked to share deeply personal parts of our lives so decision makers understand what’s at stake. Advocates have listened to those stories, carried them with us and taken them into meetings, hearings and media interviews. No matter how experienced we are, that comes at a cost.

So if you’re exhausted, devastated, angry or completely wrung out right now, I hope you give yourself permission to rest. But please don’t think all that work was for nothing. It wasn’t. Our advocacy changed this bill. It strengthened safeguards. It meant more disabled people were heard. And there’s still much more we can influence about what happens next.

So we’ll look after ourselves and each other. And when we’re ready, we’ll keep showing up, speaking up and working towards the Australia we know is possible. One where disabled people are valued, supported and able to live the lives we choose. That future is still worth fighting for, and I still believe that with a united community effort, we can get there.

Thank you.