Monday, 1 April 2019

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has supported calls by Thalidomide Group Australia flagging the urgent need for compensation to form part of tomorrow's federal budget.

Thalidomide Group Australia spokesperson Lisa McManus said:

"The government must take this opportunity to deliver justice for my community; If compensation is not included in the budget it will be absolutely devastating for survivors."

Senator Steele-John said:

Sunday, 5 March 2019

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has claimed the publication of draft terms of reference for public consultation on a Royal Commission into the violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect as a win for the disability rights movement and the greens, but said certain key elements are still missing.

Sunday, 17 February 2019

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said today that it was not enough for the government to allow a motion calling for an urgent Royal Commission into the violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of disabled to pass unopposed in the house of Representatives - they must vote in favour of it and take action.

MEDIA ALERT

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John will join representatives from an alliance of disability, consumer and media organisations, researchers and audio description providers to advocate for the introduction of audio description on Australian television.

Senator Steele-John will today introduce the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Audio Description) Bill 2018 to the Senate, which if passed would enable equal access to television for the 385,000 people in Australia who are blind or have low vision.

Wednesday, 6th February 2019

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has welcomed Prime Minister Morrison's commitment to funding paralympic sport, but said that the funding was ever in question is just another example of government playing politics with disabled people.

"The Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) had to put in a submission - which was way back in October last year - requesting funding for the Tokyo 2020 campaign and the long-term sustainability of grassroots disabled sport in Australia," Steele-John said.

Friday, 2 November 2018

The Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said today's hearing for survivors of the Thalidomide disaster was an historic and long overdue opportunity for justice.

"Thalidomide was a man-made and entirely preventable disaster, perpetuated by a government who failed to not only protect people but to take appropriate and timely action to mitigate the drugs impacts in Australia," Steele-John said.

Monday, 29 October

The Australian Greens will put a motion to the Senate on Monday 12 November calling on the government to immediately return all funds diverted from the NDIS for drought relief back to the scheme until their allocation has been debated by the Senate.

Disability rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said there was no justification for taking money away from the NDIS to provide drought relief to farmers, especially considering the funds in questions were still the subject of a bill before the Senate.

Thursday, 25 October

Australian Greens disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said he was relieved the NDIA had reversed an earlier decision requiring Tegan Sharp and her family to use compensation money – provided after Ms Sharp suffered third-degree burns at the hands of a support worker– to pay back more than $100,000 of her NDIS funding.

“The fact that this case has taken not only judicial, but also political and media intervention, before the NDIA backed down is simply outrageous,” Steele-John said.

Wednesday, 10 October 2018

The Australian Greens have branded an announcement the WA Government will spend $90 million on a new aged care precinct, which includes facilities for young disabled people, as a disgrace, particularly in light of the Morrison government’s Royal Commission into the aged care sector.

“The priority at all levels of government must be to urgently get young people out of aged care facilities, not build new ones,” Steele-John said.