It’s not that simple Julia…
22/03/2011
Kelly Vincent MLC is warning the Gillard Government against cutting the Disability Support Pension (DSP) in the upcoming budget.
Media reports suggest the Gillard Government is planning to tighten the criteria for the Disability Support Pension to encourage more people into the workforce and save billions of dollars.
“It is as though the Gillard Government sees people with disability as easy targets,” said Ms Vincent.
“Whilst there needs to be checks and balances, the Government must ensure that those people who are unable to work because of physical or intellectual disabilities are not cut off. Simply cutting funding from these vulnerable Australians will not magically make them more able to work.”
Ms Vincent agrees with the Government that less people should need to rely on the DSP, but says there are better ways to go about moving people away from welfare and into work.
“Instead of automatically excluding people from accessing the DSP the Government should focus on providing a better system of support to help people into employment.
“People with a disability face great obstacles in finding and performing work. There are enormous issues around discrimination against people with a disability in the workplace – many employers believe a person with a disability is ‘too difficult’ to employ.
“I challenge Ms Gillard to sit for a day in disability employment agency, to see how hard it is to place people with disabilities in employment.
“There is also little to no support to help people with a disability function in the workplace. There are no laws which guarantee workplaces across Australia will be accessible. There are no guarantees of support for people with a disability to do things like go to the bathroom at work. Simple things like help with transport costs for people who are unable to catch public transport or drive are not being considered by this Government.
“People with a disability have the same desire to work as every other Australian. We all want to be a productive part of the community, but this gross lack of support has prevented many people from achieving employment.
“If the Gillard Government concentrated on rectifying this support deficit it would find hundreds of people would move off the DSP voluntarily. Such a result would not only save billions in welfare money, it would also greatly improve the quality of life for many people with disabilities.”
