[Greens-Media] Greens welcome important NDIS investment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Greens welcome important NDIS investment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability

The Australian Greens have welcomed the announcement of the First Peoples Disability Network Australia ten point plan for the implementation of the NDIS in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

"This ten point plan will help ensure that the NDIS supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders effectively. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders face many barriers to accessing adequate disability services." Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues said today.

"I am pleased the Government has committed funding to the First Peoples Disability Network to help implement this plan.

"It was clear from the Senate Committee Inquiry that there is a strong need for the NDIS in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and that there are extra barriers that Aboriginal people are facing when it comes to living with disability. We know that support and care provisions are also very limited in remote and regional areas.

"This is yet another reason why WA should join up to the NDIS, so the work being done to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability can be included in any launch site in Western Australia.

"I am also pleased the Government is working towards implementing a Greens recommendation from the Senate Inquiry into the NDIS, that a launch site be created that 'focuses on delivering the NDIS to one or more rural and remote Aboriginal communities'.

"A launch site in a remote community was identified by an number of people during the Senate Inquiry, including the First Peoples Disability Network Australia, as being invaluable for ensuring service delivery in rural and remote areas and across cultural and language differences.

"To this end, the commencement of the first stage of the NDIS in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory from July 2014 is significant.

"This is another important step towards a truly national scheme to ensure all Australians with disability have the support, services and choices they deserve," Senator Siewert concluded.