#DisabilityReforms

[newsbites]

News from Australia, July 2, 2023.

The 2023 National NAIDOC Week Awards in Brisbane honored Black excellence and community leadership.

Kelvin Kong, Australia's first Indigenous surgeon, has won the prestigious Personality of the Year award. Creative Talent Award winner Rachel Perkins used her acceptance speech to call on Australians to vote 'yes' to Voice to Parliament. Other winners included members of girl group The Sapphires and a professional netball player.

2. Thousands of people have rallied nationwide to support the Indigenous voice to parliament, despite recent polls showing a decline in the yes vote.

Organizers are hopeful that momentum will continue to build, as conversations about the referendum are happening in various settings across the country.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, criticized big companies for donating to the yes campaign, while the Liberal party campaigns for the no vote due to unanswered questions about the voice advisory body.

3. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has reached its 10-year anniversary and is servicing over half a million Australians, but reforms are necessary to ensure its long-term sustainability.

ARUMA, a major disability provider and charity, has emphasized the need for the government to work in partnership with the sector to implement sustainable reforms, addressing workforce shortages and expanding disability services outside of the NDIS.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has outlined six key areas of systemic reform, including increasing the NDIA workforce, controlling costs, improving participant experience, and targeting fraudulent activities, while rejecting simplistic approaches like co-payments or means testing.

4.Parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against the flu as cases continue to rise among children in Australia.