Hundreds of people protested in cities across the country against the federal Labor government’s cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
The cuts will mean more than 160,000 people will be booted off the scheme, and denies access to about 140,000 people.
From Toowoomba to Boorloo/Perth, disabled people, their carers, family and friends and allies came out to call for billionaires and corporations to be taxed and for disability services to be expanded.
Two hundred people gathered in Magan-djin/Brisbane to hear from a range of range of speakers, including the Greens.
In Gadigal Country/Sydney, about 400 people protested at Sydney Town Hall, including people currently on an NDIS plan, their carers and family members.
Hundreds of people gathered at the State Library in Naarm/Melbourne. Chloe DS reports that many people who attended and spoke at the rally are recipients of the NDIS and impacted by the cuts.
They included Ishtar Hope, trans woman and mutual aid organiser; Hannah Thomas, activist and survivor of police brutality; Christian Astourian, a disability advocate; GI Brown, a First Nations disability advocate; and Andrew Bretherton who is an autistic with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and who is on the NDIS scheme.
After the protest ended, Victorian Police attacked and arrested a woman for heckling a politician speaking at an unrelated event. This led to the police attacking an older person, and assaulting and arresting a younger person who tried to intervene. The younger person was subsequently charged with various offences.
Those at the protest said the police went berserk. The rally organisers condemned the arrests and police’s use of excessive force.
A defiant protest took place outside the Tasmanian Parliament in Lutruwita/Hobart.
A passionate group took part in a letter-writing action in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide, led by Mary McDougal, a long-time disability activist with the support of Socialist Alliance.
Markela Panegyres said participants wrote or created postcards explaining why the NDIS should not be cut. The letters were addressed to Mark Butler, Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and they will be hand-delivered to his office in Port Adelaide. The group is also building towards a bigger action outside Labor's national conference in July.
Around 200 people gathered to protest in Boorloo/Perth, bringing together users of the scheme, those employed through it, disability rights activists and allies.
Cas Smith reports that stories were shared about how the NDIS had supported significant numbers of people and how devastating the cuts will be.
Noongar Elder Uncle Headley gave the Welcome to Country and Nova Sobieralski, a member of Socialist Alliance, was the MC.
The rally was addressed by Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John; Isabella, from Youth Disability Advocacy Network; Kat, from People with Disabilities WA; Colleen Strider, from United Workers Union Members’ First campaign; First Nations Elder Karina Abraham; and Sam Wainwright, from Stop AUKUS WA.
Steel-John said the NDIS is “the promise of justice for disabled people”.
“It is the mechanism by which we have been able, across these 10 years, to be able to access those supports and services that we need to live a life of dignity and of fulfillment. It means that we are able to get out of bed in the morning, able to meet up with our friends, able to come to events like this and protest, able to work, able to contribute to our communities.”
Reminding the protest about how disabled people had fought segregation and institutionalisation, Steele-John said the cuts are “the latest attempt” to strip away supports, cut services and “remove our ability to be out in our communities”.
