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.

Wednesday, 19 September

An Australian Greens motion calling for the terms of reference of a proposed Royal Commission to be expanded to cover violence, abuse and neglect of older Australians and disabled people in institutional and residential settings has been blocked.

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John succeeded in securing the votes of the entire crossbench but the motion was ultimately voted down by the Labor and Liberal parties.

Tuesday, 18 September

Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has called on the disability community, and its peak representative bodies, to lobby Prime Minister Morrison and the government to broaden the proposed Royal Commission to investigate violence, abuse and neglect of disabled people and older people in institutional and residential settings, including their own homes.

Tuesday, 21 August

Thalidomide Group Australia – a group representing forgotten survivors of the pharmaceutical disaster - said today they were thankful that after more than four years of campaigning, politicians had finally woken up to their plight.

Thalidomide Group Australia Spokesperson Lisa McManus said:

The Australian Greens will oppose renewed attempts by the Government to stop access to the Disability Support Pension for those who enter the system with a disability as a result of addiction.

“The Australian Greens and Labor managed to strike out this harsh measure with a disallowance motion last year which was supported by the Senate", Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today. 

"It is cruel and harsh to refuse the disability support pension to someone because they have a disability as a result of addiction.