Disability advocacy organisations in Adelaide for the release of the Royal Commission Final Report. Image Credit: AAP
As the disability community prepared themselves for the release of the Royal Commission Final Report on September 29, key advocacy organisations came together to hold space for the deep impact this report will have. Meeting in Adelaide in the early hours of Friday, the representatives of these organisations sat quietly together in a small office of the CBD as they combed through the report for the first time. Their job that day was to be the voice for our community in the wake of this report, getting ready to front media cameras shortly after the Minister’s press conference. What the public would have seen through the media lens, was the hurt and shock these leaders were feeling as a culmination of the past four and a half years.
The press coverage on Friday helped give a national voice to the disability community and our initial responses to the report. ABC News wrote that while our community agrees this is only the beginning of a journey to an inclusive future, the recommendations need to be followed through with and people with disability must be given space to lead that process. In their article of the report, The Conversation wrote that the way forward is to ensure people with disability, including those with intellectual disability, must lead reparation design and development. This is a unified message from the disability community that we will continue to advocate for into the future.
Nothing about us, without us.
The Final Report on the Disability Royal Commission report runs to 12 volumes, 5000 pages and 222 recommendations, with certain recommendations relating to segregation – such as on housing, employment and education – attracting significant attention. Initially, DANA is focusing on recommendations regarding advocacy funding in our reporting to members and will broaden our focus over time as we plan to update DANA members and the wider disability community on what recommendations have been made to help increase our capacity and capability to advocate for the rights of people with disability.
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