|
|
NEDA News December 2009 NEDA has continued through the second half of 2009 to work on key issues affecting people from Non English Speaking Backgrounds with Disability in Australia. NEDA Staffing Changes Sadly, Dinesh Wadiwel will be leaving NEDA at the end of 2009 to pursue teaching and research work in 2010. Both NEDA and Dinesh are sad to part company, after more than 2 years of strong advocacy for the rights of people from NESB with disability. NEDA will be advertising for a new Executive Officer very soon – stay tuned for more information. Morning Tea to Celebrate Contribution of People from NESB with Disability NEDA, ADEC (Advocacy, Disability, Ethnicity, Community) and the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) will host a morning tea on the 1st December in Federation Square Melbourne to celebrate the contribution of people from NESB with disability to Australian life. The event will feature presentations from a number of people, including the new FECCA Chairperson, Pino Migliorino. NEDA’s new strategic plan, Strategic Directions 2012, will also be released at the event. Migration and Disability The issues facing migrant and refugees with disability have been placed under the spotlight with the Joint Standing Committee on Migration Inquiry into the Migration Treatment of Disability. Hearings for the committee began in Sydney on the 12th November, where NEDA made a presentation on the discrimination faced by potential visa applicants with disability. NEDA’s submission to the inquiry, which included new information on the costs and benefits of migration, and personal accounts from migrants with disability, is available at the Committee website, at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig/disability/subs.htm. NEDA was also part of a Joint Sector Position Statement. You can view this statement at http://www.disabilityrightsnow.org.au/node/14. Telecommunications NEDA is pursuing with its aim to create awareness of telecommunications issues affecting people from NESB who have a disability and their family. In October we reached a high point when Zel Iscel, NEDA’s Senior Policy Officer was recruited on the Standing Advisory Committee on Disability Issues (SACDI). SACDI is a forum established by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) to provide advice to ACCAN of the communications consumer issues for people with disability, and strategies to address them. NEDA also responded to ACCAN’s consultation paper on that organization’s role and strategies to protect and empower consumers of communication products and services. NEDA made another submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), on its proposal to implement barring of mobile premium services to the telecommunications service provider. The crucial question in this consultation was: should phones be automatically barred to mobile premium services, such as daily horoscope predictions, or should consumers request the barring? NEDA advocated for automatic barring. NEDA in the News NEDA has been in the news in November responding media interest in the issues affecting migrants and refugees with disability. A number of interviews were conducted with SBS radio, ABC Radio National and the independent radio current affairs program, ‘The Wire.” You can access ABC Online’s Story on the Migration Inquiry: http://www.australiansonline.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/12/2741065.htm?site=local You can access an MP3 of Dinesh’s interview with “The Wire” at: http://www.thewire.org.au/daydetail.aspx?SearchDay=2009-11-16&Move=Previous Women’s Issues Health and employment are the two hot issues for women lately. NEDA is progressing work to include women from NESB with disability in the national women’s health policy reforms. Zel attended the National Women’s Health Consultation in Perth and the national symposium on immigrant and refugee women’s health, convened by the Multicultural Women’s Health Centre in Melbourne. The consultations have emphasized that much needs to be done to improve the mental and physical health of Australian women in general, and even more for women from an NESB and those living with disability. NEDA also provided a submission and attended the immigrant and refugee women’s health consultation on the inquiry into pay equity and associated issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce, commissioned by the Standing Committee on Employment and Workplace Relations. NEDA participated in another consultation convened by the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) to explore the impact of the economic recession on women. At both these consultations, the difficulty for women with disability to obtain and retain employment and the little support they receive, particularly those from a NESB, became apparent to those present. Generally, it was found that the impact of the economic recession on women was minimal as they were already struggling in the boom period. NEDA at FECCA Conference Dinesh and Zel attended the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia National Conference in Shepparton Victoria in late October. Dinesh presented a paper on NEDA’s work on social inclusion, focusing in particular on NEDA’s August 2009 report This is My Home (see http://www.neda.org.au/page/cultural_and_linguistic_inclusion.html). Strategic Directions 2012 NEDA’s new strategic plan, Strategic Directions 2012, will be released on the 1st December. The plan focuses NEDA in the areas on Policy Advice, Representation, Networks and Partnerships and Organisation Capacity. The plan creates a strong basis for NEDA to continue the work it has been doing to realize its vision of an inclusive Australia where cultural diversity and disability rights are valued as essential aspects of an equitable society. Both NEDA’s strategic plan and Annual Report for 2008-2009 will be available soon at www.neda.org.au. Migrants and the Disability Support Pension Subsequent to NEDA’s May 2009 report on the issue, the ten year waiting period faced by migrants to access the Disability Support Pension has received growing recognition at a national policy level. The issue was raised recently at both the Joint Standing Committee on Migration Inquiry into the Migration Treatment of Disability and the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into Hearing Health, with a strong interest from Committee members in the issue. NEDA was also pleased to see that the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) highlighted the issue in its submission to the Migration and Disability Inquiry, stating that “the requirement that migrants have been in Australia for 10 years before their entitlement can be realised goes against the principles of equity and fairness that should underpin our social security system.” NEDA’s report on this issue, Migrants with Disability and the Ten Year Qualifying Residence Period for the Disability Support Pension is available at http://www.neda.org.au/page/migrants_with_disability_and_social_security.html. Inquiry into Hearing Health In October, NEDA submitted our response to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into hearing Health. In our submission, we highlighted the barriers to good hearing health for people from an NESB, including the lack of information in alternative formats and languages and lack of cultural sensitivity by many staff in health services. The lack of information about people from NESB who are deaf or hard of hearing was also highlighted. NEDA was invited to attend a public hearing for the inquiry on the 11th November 2009 – Dinesh gave a presentation on some of the key barriers faced by people from diverse backgrounds to receiving information and support. Canberra Multicultural Community Forum Becomes NEDA Member for ACT |
