00:00 It is a huge report. There is so much to sift through. But I think the first thing that
00:07 people were telling me yesterday was they feel like there's a lot to support in this
00:11 report. Obviously people have poured their hearts out, shared some of their darkest and
00:15 deepest sort of experiences over the last four years. And, you know, many of them in
00:20 the recommendations they've read so far feel like that they have been, you know, listened
00:25 to and that that is reflected in this report.
00:28 Now Naz, of course, it has been a lengthy process. There have been major findings. 222
00:35 recommendations. It is a lot to take in. Just, you know, bring us up to date with some of
00:40 the major findings and recommendations.
00:43 Of course. So some of the key ones are really around the human rights and maintaining human
00:48 rights of people with disabilities. So we're talking about recommendations including strengthening
00:52 the Disability Discrimination Act, including bits around vilification and humiliation of
00:58 people. There's also going to be the recommendation to introduce a Disability Rights Act to really
01:08 enshrine the human rights of people with disability. A complaints mechanism so that people can
01:14 obviously make those complaints and have recourse. That's something that lots of people talked
01:18 about at the Royal Commission. And also, you know, recommendations around a portfolio for
01:24 disability with a dedicated minister and a National Disability Commission as well.
01:30 There were six commissioners and they didn't always agree on everything. And we did see
01:34 some key issues where there was disagreement. I'm thinking specifically about education
01:39 and segregated schools, but also around group homes and disability enterprises. That disagreement,
01:44 what does it mean for those issues going forward and how the government will now think about
01:49 responding?
01:50 Yeah, look, I think the first thing I'd say in this regard is that the division with the
01:57 commissioners, I think reflects the division that we've had for decades in broader society
02:03 around disability, around the way that people with disability are, you know, perceived the
02:08 way our lives are perceived and looked at and, you know, in society valued and the contributions
02:15 that we make valued. I think there's just a broad perspective of the way, you know,
02:20 this whole scenario plays out for different people. With this regard, we're talking about
02:27 recommendations to phase out group homes in 15 years, phase out disability enterprises
02:34 in by 2034, and then special schools and segregated education by 2051. Now, just to put a bit
02:43 of context here for people, there's about 17,000 Australians living with disability,
02:49 many of them people with intellectual disability living in these group homes, then working
02:54 in these enterprises where people are paid sort of just over $2 an hour to do things
02:59 like packing, in industries like cleaning. There's about 20,000 people working in those,
03:05 and that's what they call the ADEs or the old sheltered workshops. And again, many of
03:11 those people, people with intellectual disability. And then we go to segregated schools and people
03:16 with intellectual disability are sort of represented significantly in that regard. I don't think
03:22 we can underestimate how much people with intellectual disability are impacted by these
03:26 segregated settings. And what I'd say is, there is a consensus that the status quo cannot
03:32 remain, that the way it is at the moment is just not working. But there's just different
03:37 approaches. So for some commissioners, it's about phasing out segregation altogether.
03:41 For others, it's just a softer approach, I guess, and people wanting things like when
03:46 it comes to education, stronger relationships between special education and mainstream.
03:50 - Naz, as you point out, there is such a lot to tackle here, and it's going to take quite
03:55 some time. The government's committed to a Commonwealth Disability Royal Commission Task
04:02 Force. Just take us through what that will mean and how that will help the process.
04:06 - Yeah, so this was announced yesterday by the Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth,
04:10 and it will be a task force that's worth $4.25 million over two years, and that will coordinate
04:16 the government's response. And really, that's all the detail we have at this point. It was
04:21 only announced yesterday, so it'll be interesting to sort of see how that happens. A progress
04:26 report will be given early next year, and that's really all the detail we have at the
04:30 moment. - This is a long process, Naz, as Miriam said.
04:34 It's been years of agitating by disability advocates to get this commission in the first
04:38 place. It took four and a half years. It was very comprehensive. Now we're looking at a
04:42 task force. Are people prepared to wait longer, given they've been waiting so long already
04:48 for something to change? - Look, what I'd say is they have no choice.
04:52 This is the way the response is going to be coordinated and handled with this task force.
04:58 What I'd say is that the disability community fought very hard for this Royal Commission
05:03 in the first place, and the community is the reason why this Royal Commission happened
05:10 in the first place. And so it sees the Royal Commission as belonging to the community,
05:14 this report belonging to the community as well, and they will no doubt be making lots
05:19 of noise about the response if it's not as they see fit.
05:24 - Now, Naz, it has been a long, hard battle, as you say there. How will accountability
05:31 be factored into the process as we move forward now? Because we're looking at a lot of structures,
05:36 a lot of processes to be put into place. How are we going to make sure that some of the
05:41 things that we heard about in that Royal Commission, very disturbing and distressing things, how
05:47 will we be able to look at that? Has that been considered here?
05:51 - Look, the community has been very open in the last four years, very brave. Advocates
05:57 talked yesterday about how it was a momentous day, but it was a day of mixed emotions. It
06:02 was pride and grief, because people have really shared their deepest and darkest things that
06:08 have happened to them that never should have happened. And so this community is one that
06:14 is not afraid to be open and honest, and that's how I think accountability will be brought
06:24 about here. It'll be by the community. And the community is the reason all this happened
06:29 in the first place in terms of the Royal Commission getting up and running in the four and a half
06:33 years. And they were responsible for the incredible body of work that has now been produced. And
06:39 they will ensure by speaking up in the way they already have to make sure that people
06:45 are held accountable to make sure these recommendations are put in place.
06:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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