Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader and Human Services spokesperson
Today’s Report on Government Services data shows Tasmania lagging behind the rest of the nation in delivering support to people with disability.
The data highlights the challenge in accessing the NDIS for some Tasmanians, with only 75% of potential NDIS participants enrolled in the scheme. We are well behind other states, and a step backwards from 2020 when 80% were enrolled.
Tasmania has the highest rate of 50 to 64 year old NDIS participants in residential aged care facilities*, and the highest rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under the age of 49 in these facilities.**
This data confirms what disability advocates and those living with disability have been saying. There is still not enough support available. Far too often people are left unassisted, or placed in a facility that's not designed for them.
The State and Federal Liberals penny-pinch in providing necessary supports to people with disability. There is no starker example than the Gutwein and Morrison governments’ decision to let COVID rip.
Peter Gutwein’s decision to open Tasmania’s borders to a new and highly infectious strain of coronavirus and do nothing to slow its spread puts those living with disability at grave risk. Many have been forced to enter self-imposed lockdown to keep themselves safe.
Despite the increased risk to the lives of people with disability, we've heard very little about it from the Premier. Instead of putting their lives first, the Liberals have pushed ahead with a return to school that won’t be safe for students who have a disability.
Tasmanians living with disability, their families and carers are right to be angry and scared. They are being deprioritised, dismissed and abandoned in the face of a life-threating pandemic by the Liberals.
*Tasmania has 87.4 NDIS participants in aged care facilities per 10,000 of population. The national average is 68.1%
**Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under 49 are in aged care facilities at a rate of 6.2 per 10,000 of population in Tasmania. The rate is zero for non-indigenous people of the same age.