Dignity for Disability is encouraging South Australians to think carefully and research thoroughly before they cast their Upper House vote tomorrow.
“Smaller parties, like Dignity for Disability, represent an important part of the democratic system in South Australia and have proven to be a powerful voice for change over time,” said Ms Vincent.

“But voters need to be aware of who they’re voting for and what those candidates stand for. With so many minor party options it is even more important than before to take a look at the policies and positions of each party before voting.”

Ms Vincent described Dignity for Disability as a transparent choice because of their track record in Parliament and comprehensive policies published on the web.
“There is no misleading or spin from Dignity for Disability,” said Ms Vincent. “Our campaign is not about what others won’t do, it’s about what we will do. We are a ‘what you see is what you get’ party.”

“My four years in Parliament has been spent consistently applying our party position that every person deserves equal treatment and to have their human rights fulfilled.
“Like me, our number one Upper House candidate Esther Simbi, is committed to work with the government of the day to achieve practical solutions for South Australians with a disability, their family carers and supporters. Simply put, Dignity for Disability is a safe vote for a better South Australia.”

“Adequate housing is a basic human right, but there are still South Australians who go without accommodation or live in poor conditions,” said Ms Vincent. “This is shameful in a place like SA where we have the ability to change that situation.”

“And with our ageing population universal design principles benefit the whole community from cradle to grave, good design improves everybody’s experience of the built environment. Wider doorways, ramps instead of steps and lower switches provide equitable use for people of all ages and abilities, and are cost effective compared to retro-fitting,” said Ms Vincent.

Dignity for Disability’s seven-part policy takes in everything from more accommodation for those most in need to ensuring environmentally-friendly and accessible future housing stock:

– Clear the unmet needs list. “The people on this list are classified by the Government as being “homeless and in immediate and high risk of harm to self or others” – yet they are denied basic services such as housing,” said Ms Vincent. “These people can’t wait for the National Disability Insurance Scheme to arrive in five years time, they need help now. Invest in clearing the list, and put an end to one of SA’s most shameful inequalities.”

– Inclusive supported accommodation and respite. “It’s essential that the unmet needs list for respite and accommodation is cleared with the provision of adaptive, innovative and inclusive supported accommodation options,” said Ms Vincent. “It’s essential that both these temporary and longer term accommodation options provide real connection to the community, and high quality, responsive service provision.”

– Create more accessible public housing. “As a group that is twice as likely to live below the poverty line, people with disabilities should be a high priority when building public housing – all ground floor properties should be made accessible using universal design principles,” said Ms Vincent.

– Environmentally sustainable public housing. “As well as moving toward accessible design in our public housing stock, South Australia should also aim to be environmentally sustainable in their public housing design,” said Ms Vincent. “All new housing stock built should be equipped with solar panels and should exceed the energy efficiency standards mandated in SA.”

– Review the Supported Residential Facilities Act. “We need to review the Supported Residential Facilities Act and make amendments that stop the current cost-cutting we see in the industry. The current prioritisation of profits puts residents in danger,” said Ms Vincent.

– Encourage accessible affordable housing developments. “New government and council supported developments such as the Ergo and Bowden apartments are a perfect opportunity to introduce accessibility measures into private developments,” said Ms Vincent. “Councils and governments should predicate their investment in such developments on the application of universal design principles.”

– Create a mandatory reporting system for people with disabilities living in care.
“A mandatory reporting regime for people with disabilities living in care or accessing care services should immediately be enacted by legislation,” said Ms Vincent. “Mandatory reporting will act as a safeguard for people who may not have the chance to speak up for themselves.”

“The requirements for voting in this state currently exclude some people with disabilities, and there is not enough being done to redress this democratic flaw,” said d4d Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC.

Dignity for Disability’s electoral reform plan has five main points:

– Introduce an Electoral Act Reform Bill. “The purpose of my Bill will be three-fold,” said Ms Vincent. “Firstly, it will remove the need for voters to mark the ballot paper – a requirement that discriminates against blind and vision impaired South Australians who are not able to vote without help from others, which compromises their independence and confidentiality. Instead, these voters should be able to cast their votes over the phone as they do in Federal Elections.

“Secondly, the Bill will require that all polling booths are accessible by the next election in 2018. It is ridiculous that some voters with physical or sensory disabilities are not able to vote at their local booth.”

“Finally, the Bill will move Election Day to the fourth Saturday in October. Holding an election during Mad March simply diverts attention from the democratic process. We believe election time should be moved to a period on the state calendar that allows our elected officials to be properly scrutinised by South Australians without the distraction of a myriad of festivals and major events. It will also assist in the synchronisation of budgetary cycles.”

– Research into enrolment rates of people with disabilities. “Anecdotal evidence suggests that enrolment rates for people with disabilities are low, and that some people with intellectual disabilities don’t even realise they can vote,” said Ms Vincent. “Dignity for Disability wants to see research conducted in this area, and the creation of a Community Education Officer – Disability who can educate and inform people with disabilities on their rights and responsibilities in the electoral process, as well as promote better engagement with the political process.”

– Instate non-compulsory voting for 16 and 17-year-olds. “Giving people the opportunity to vote before they turn 18 encourages engagement with the political process and the community,” said Ms Vincent. “We want to develop our politically-minded young people and also make sure their issues are given due weight when raised with politicians.”

– Ban corflute election advertising across SA. “Corflute advertising during elections is an environmental disaster that does little more than distract drivers,” said Ms Vincent. “They are also expensive, and therefore give larger parties the campaign advantage. Dignity for Disability decided to forgo campaign corflute advertising for our candidates this election and are calling for a ban on the practice going forward.”

“Sport is a big part of Australia’s culture and a great basis for people to make friends and socialise,” said Dignity for Disability Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC. “By supporting everybody to get involved we will create a healthier South Australia and at the same time dispel stereotypes about things such as cultural difference, sexuality and disability.

“Getting physical has benefits to the physical and mental health of individuals because participating in community activities creates connection which is essential for wellbeing. This needs to be acknowledged and supported by government. Local sports clubs need to be shown how to operate without reliance on selling fatty unhealthy foods and alcohol to raise money.

“It will be a great day in South Australia when all junior, women’s and ‘all inclusive’ sports clubs have all the money they need to operate their services and it’s the government that has to hold a sausage sizzle to fund their corporate boxes and gala dinners.”

Dignity for Disability’s sport and recreation policy has three points:

– Grass roots funding to get under-represented groups involved. “Statistics consistently show that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people from regional areas, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, people with disabilities and females – particularly middle-aged and ageing women, are less likely to participate in sport,” said Ms Vincent. “The Government needs to provide a pool of funding that grass roots and community organisations can use to welcome these people and support them to engage with sporting events and clubs.”

– On ya bike ladies. “Despite the growing popularity in cycling for fitness and transport in SA, recent statistics show that uptake is slow amongst women – with less than 7 per cent of Australian women riding regularly for transport,” said Ms Vincent. “We can address the cycling gender gap by developing a female-specific program through the Office of Recreation and Sport – and resource involvement from local bicycling advocacy networks. This could help women bike riders overcome barriers to cycling through creating support networks and encouraging peer-to-peer education.”

– Concentrate Government funding on less visible elite sports. “Women’s sport and Paralympic sport is traditionally broadcast on non-commercial channels and receives little media attention, making it much harder to attract sponsors,” said Ms Vincent. “Government should provide funding for these elite athletes to give them the same chance at international success as those who are well-financed by commercial sponsorship. There should also be investment in awareness programs and staffing for organisations involved with these athletes so they can pursue better media outcomes.”

“South Australia has all the natural advantages needed to be a great cycling state,” said Dignity for Disability Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC.

“We have beautiful weather, generally flat ground and were gifted wide streets from our original town planners. The upcoming Velo 2014 conference puts Adelaide on the world cycling map, but we’re still lacking in the fundamental infrastructure and safety measures necessary to be make cycling here attractive and available to everyone.”

Dignity for Disability has a four-part plan for a more cycle-friendly state:

– Legislate for safety. “Dignity for Disability supports the Amy Gillett Foundation’s campaign to enshrine a metre clearance between cyclists and other vehicles in legislation,” said Ms Vincent. “This legal commitment must be backed up by other safety measures including advanced bicycle, wheelchair and gopher awareness components in all license testing and a lowering of the speed limit in the CBD to 40km/h to give bike and mobility aid users a chance amongst the taxis, buses and queued-up cars.”

– Infrastructure improvement. “While some work has been done to improve cycling infrastructure, we still see bike lanes that suddenly cease to exist half way down main roads and intersections with no safe stopping place for bicycles,” said Ms Vincent. “Dignity for Disability is calling for an immediate injection of funds across all council areas to widen bike lanes, improve road surfaces, and institute more bike boxes, more bike buttons at intersections and more bike parking to make cycling safer and convenient for people of all abilities.”

– School community engagement. “The best way to create a safer, more engaged cycling population is to start educating students and their school communities,” said Ms Vincent. “The funds for infrastructure mentioned above should be prioritised for use around schools, both for on-road infrastructure and for up-keeping wheel-friendly footpaths for younger cyclists and students using wheelchairs. An education campaign should also be delivered through schools to students and parents that explains the health, environmental and economic benefits of cycling to school. Dignity for Disability also supports funding for a program that supplies safety standard-approved helmets to students – we believe the money expended will be more than repaid through savings in the health budget from having a fitter populace.”

– Support cycle tourism. “Bicycle tourism has proved very popular, particularly in SA’s wine regions,” said Ms Vincent. “Investing in good cycling infrastructure in regional areas makes good sense when locals have less access to public transport and also adds a point of difference to the tourism offering of these areas. Rail trails, touring cycling events and paths that take in local attractions such as the beach are of most benefit.”

– Bicycle mechanics industry. “Sales of new bicycles in Australia have outstripped sales of new cars every year since 2001,” said Ms Vincent. “With government help and support, South Australia could become a world-leader in bicycle and wheelchair mechanics – this would have the dual benefit of keeping our bicycle fleet safely on the road and creating jobs for South Australians.”

“Dignity for Disability sees a bright economic future for South Australia if we embrace innovation and inclusivity,” said Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC.

Built around a formulation of ‘just economics’ – a plan that strives to not only increase the wealth of the state but also emphasizes our responsibility to include those currently overlooked by the system – the policy has four action points:

– Niche manufacturing. “The days of Holden and big manufacturing in SA are over and we need to find new industries that make more sense of our position in a global economy,” said Ms Vincent. “Niche industry and the principles of the highly successful German Mittelstadt model are the future for SA. We can be leaders in the small-to-medium-enterprise market through the making of specialised products, which the nation and the world will come to buy from us. A living local example of this is Les Brazier Vehicles – a company that specializes in adapting vehicles for disability use that is going from strength to strength.”

– Innovative industry. “Sales of new bicycles in Australia have outstripped sales of new cars every year since 2001,” said Ms Vincent. “This is exactly the kind of information we should use to determine which industries could benefit from support that encourages innovation. With government help, South Australia could become a world-leader in bicycle and wheelchair mechanics and design. Other industries prime for innovation support include medical research and alternative energy generation.”

– Ending Government waste by zapping inefficient anomalies. “Our government system is plagued by a silo mentality that results in expensive cost-shifting between departments,” said Ms Vincent. “For example, people with disabilities who need about $200 of help per day provided by the Disability department to return home safely instead languish in hospital at a cost of $1500 per day to the health budget. This inflexible, petty system is costly both in human and monetary terms. We demand a whole of government approach to make the system at once more responsive and less wasteful.”

– Inclusive meaningful employment. “A huge swathe of the South Australian workforce remains inactive because of poor awareness and education around the issue of disability in the workplace,” said Ms Vincent. “Rather than leaving people with disabilities who can and want to work in state-funded activity programs we need to make a real effort to get them into employment by educating business about the contribution they could make and providing more support to people in finding work.”

“In certain areas South Australia’s education policies lag years behind the rest of the world,” says Ms Vincent. “We need to bring our state up to speed and give our children the best chance of fulfilling their potential.”

Dignity for Disability identifies South Australian children with disabilities as one of the most under-serviced groups in the state and proposes four ways to address the situation:

– Compulsory training in disability for all teachers. “Given that many students with disabilities are educated in mainstream classes, it defies logic that our teachers are not compelled to do any study in the area,” said Ms Vincent. “It should be made compulsory for all South Australian teachers to study disability and gain at least a basic understanding of how different disabilities could affect a student’s behaviour and learning process. Incentives should also be offered for teachers to gain expertise in disability support and learning.”

– Offer Auslan in more schools as a Language Other Than English (LOTE). “Offering Auslan as a language option to students will not only improve the ability of students to communicate with people with hearing loss, it will also dispel stereotypes about disability and deaf people by increasing understanding of Auslan as a language like any other,” said Ms Vincent.

– Ensure interpreters are available in Deaf units. “Under the current system, deaf children are sometimes expected to learn from teachers who have limited means of communicating with them in Auslan,” said Ms Vincent. “Dignity for Disability is calling for guaranteed provision of interpreters to facilitate communication in such situations.”

– Provide support based on need, not diagnosis. “The education department’s allocation of extra funding for students with disabilities is an outdated model that relies on assumptions about particular disabilities,” said Ms Vincent. “Individual students should be assessed and funding should be allocated by need, not by diagnosis. Every student is different, and every person experiences disability differently – it is ridiculous to make assumptions about need from reading a diagnosis on a bit of paper.”

The second area of education Dignity for Disability identifies as requiring urgent attention is child protection. The party’s policy outlines two main strategies to bring about significant change:

– Create cultural change. “It seems that many of the education department’s child protection issues can be traced back to a lack of accountability and a culture of covering-up for colleagues,” said Ms Vincent.  “This needs to be targeted by strong management of the department that prioritises the wellbeing of children over the wellbeing of careers.  Strategies to ensure transparency and responsibility must be enforced by the Minister of the day, who is ultimately charged with overseeing the department.” – A non-partisan approach. “Dignity for Disability firmly believe that the momentum belatedly gained by the Department of Education in dealing with child protection matters must not be lost should there be a change of government.  Children’s lives should not fall prey to political point-scoring and cross party bickering.  We have been heartened by meetings with the education department that indicate successful systemic change will see a vast improvement in the management of employees who are before the courts,” said Ms Vincent. “It is essential that such innovation continues regardless of who forms government after the election.”

“South Australians with autism are at the mercy of a system that provides piecemeal support throughout their lifetime,” said d4d Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC. “This is frustrating for the people with autism and their families – as efforts to study, work and live independently are often foiled by inconsistent service provision.”

Dignity for Disability’s autism policy includes a four-point plan to address these problems:

– Adopt a State-wide Autism Plan (SWAP). “A state autism plan is not a revolutionary idea – Victoria adopted one in 2009, and the South Australian Public Advocate John Brayley supports the idea locally,” said Ms Vincent. “SWAP would revolutionise the lives of South Australians with autism by providing continuous and appropriate care from birth. This would be in stark contrast to the current system which is piecemeal and leaves people high and dry at certain ages.”

– Investigate the need for an Autism Act. “The Social Development Committee should conduct a review into whether an Autism Act similar to that seen in the UK would improve the employment and education prospects of South Australians with autism,” said Ms Vincent.

– Education choices for children with autism. “Dignity for Disability is delighted to see Government support for the proposed Treetop Autism Specific School and a commitment to have another specialised education facility modelled on the AEIOU Centres in Queensland established at Huntfield Heights,” said Ms Vincent. “We want to make sure that no matter which party is in government these schools will still become a reality.  We’ll also press for compulsory autism training for all teachers and better support for SSOs in mainstream schools so that students with autism can have effective support in different learning environments, as their individual needs require.”

– Create a transition program for people with disabilities moving from school to work. “Young people with disabilities are under-employed in South Australia,” said Ms Vincent. “We need to better manage the transition out of school and into the workplace so these young people can find the job they’re looking for and keep it. The SA Government should assign caseworkers from the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology to help young people with disabilities find and attain employment. Funding should also be put towards a mentorship program so that these new employees have support as they negotiate the complexities of work and workplace relations.”

The practice of coal seam gas mining – known as fracking – is a probability in the region after it was identified as a site of special interest in the Government’s 2012 ‘Roadmap for Unconventional Gas Projects in South Australia’. Dignity for Disability will fight against using the unproved technology in a region that is already a productive contributor to South Australia’s through food production.

“The Limestone Coast and South-East is a region well-known for its fabulous wine grapes and top grade grazing livestock, and of course to produce these it is reliant on a steady supply of clean water,” said Kelly Vincent MLC – Dignity for Disability Party Leader.

“Fracking is still an unproven practice. Forcing chemicals and other material into the earth to force out gas might seem to make good economic sense, but we have no guarantee that our water table and aquifers will not get contaminated in the process. Dignity for Disability is calling for legislation to be passed that prevents fracking from going ahead in South Australia until a body of scientific evidence proves it is safe and sustainable.”

Dignity for Disability’s regional policy also calls for better provision of essential services in the South-East and Limestone coast area.

“With just one specialised education facility for children with disabilities and two schools offering specialised classes in the entire Limestone Coast – it is clear there are not enough provisions in the region for children with disabilities to reach their full potential,” said Ms Vincent. “This is a theme that carries over to the areas of mental health and even general health provision – services are few and far between and tend to be clustered in the larger city centres with no outreach to those in smaller townships.”

Dignity for Disability is calling for an entire re-think of regional service provision, with an emphasis put on the accessibility of services and primary care, a model which will ultimately result in less acute treatment in hospital and a lighter bill or taxpayers. The party is also encouraging Government to use the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as a chance to achieve service equality for all in SA.

“The NDIS is an opportunity for South Australia to get regional service provision right, and to give every South Australian with a disability equal access to support,” said Ms Vincent. “However, the rollout will take five years – and that will be five years too long for some. We need to act now to secure a better future for South Australians living in regional areas.”

Plans to build Australia’s biggest wind farm near Black Point on the Yorke Peninsula were recently approved – something Dignity for Disability says will greatly benefit the region if handled properly.

“We understand the plans have been welcomed by some locals and have been considered disruptive and upsetting by others,” said Dignity for Disability Party Leady Kelly Vincent MLC. “The Yorke Peninsula is their home, and every resident deserves to have a say in its future.”

“Dignity for Disability believes wind farms are an important part of our state’s secure energy future, and that the farms could have excellent economic benefits for the Yorke Peninsula by creating employment. But, if this is to be a sustainable industry the private enterprises and Government Departments involved need to take the time to properly engage with community concerns and conduct research to allay those concerns where required.”

The other major change necessary on the Yorke Peninsula identified in Dignity for Disability’s policy is better dispersal of services such as participation in community sport, education, disability support, and mental health treatment.

“The Yorke Peninsula suffers from a concentration of services that practically ignores the population living in smaller townships,” said Ms Vincent. “Specialist disability education facilities, for example, are almost all located on the north of the Peninsula, leaving children with disabilities in the south in mainstream education environments that might not help them reach their full potential.”

“Essential services must be made accessible to every individual through an overhaul of the rural delivery system. Instead of prioritising budgets we should prioritise people’s needs and provide them with support in a community setting. This approach has been proven to reduce dependency on services over time, and is therefore in the long-term economic interest of South Australia.”