Key Point
- One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson shared a video classifying NDIS as a fraud.
- Disability Australia President Nicole Lee said the video did not belong to Australians.
- Lee says people with disabilities already face stigma and abuse.
Australia’s premier disability rights and advocacy group said the video of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson attacking the country’s disability insurance system was “disgusting, hateful and discriminatory”, calling disability will create further abuse of people with
On Friday, Senator Hanson’s social media accounts shared a video satirizing the NDIS, as part of a series featuring cartoon characters mocking politicians and topics, sharing access to the NDIS.
The latest video labels NDIS as a “scam” and “cheating” and accuses the Labor government of overspending on the scheme. It satirically suggests that those who stick their toes may have access to NDIS funds.
“A National Disability Insurance Scheme to protect the most vulnerable sounds good on paper, but in reality the NDIS has become a scandal-plagued, fraud-ridden budget disaster. I am,” the video’s caption said.
People with Disabilities Australia said in a statement on Friday it condemned “the disgusting, hateful and discriminatory video released today by One Nation that mocks people with disabilities through ignorant and ignorant commentary”.
Speaking to SBS News, President Nicole Lee said the video was “shocking” and did not meet the community standards expected by politicians.
“The video is very disturbing. I want Pauline Hanson to understand that this is an attack on everyday Australians and what she has done today is completely and completely un-Australian.
“Especially on Good Friday, we do things like the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal for funding to help hospitals with children with disabilities.”
Mr Lee said about 20% of Australia’s population has a disability and the NDIS helps a large proportion of those people.
“People with disabilities already experience a lot of stigma, abuse, neglect and exploitation from people in their communities,” she said.
“Videos like this make our experience in the community even worse, giving people permission to promote abuse and blame us for all the problems in society.”
Lee said NDIS gives people the opportunity to have everyday relationships with friends, family and partners so they don’t have to act as caregivers.
“We don’t get more than anyone else. We don’t buy yachts. We don’t buy luxuries.”
“offensive and demeaning portrayal of the lives of vulnerable people”
Craig Wallace, a longtime NDIS campaigner and policy director for the ACT’s top agency, Advocacy for Inclusion, said the video should be condemned by everyone, including the country’s leaders. I was.
“The video provokes hatred for people with disabilities and is a particularly offensive and demeaning depiction of the lives of highly vulnerable people with disabilities released on Good Friday, a day of love and reflection for many.”
Wallace is misinformed that people can get NDIS support for temporary conditions like stuck toes.
“The reality is that NDIS is actually very limited and restricted to people with permanent and significant disabilities. I’m struggling.It’s a luxury.”
The disability scheme is set to be one of the largest expenditures of the federal budget, with NDIS costs projected to exceed $50 billion by 2025/26, surpassing Medicare’s annual costs.
A review of the system was ordered last October to rethink spending.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/deeply-disturbing-disability-group-concerned-about-pauline-hanson-ndis-video/0z4vyjzhf Pauline Hanson criticized ‘offensive’ NDIS video
