[Greens-Media] Government should address discrimination against people with disability, not punish them

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Media Release

20 November 2014

Government should address discrimination against people with disability, not punish them

The Australian Greens said today that information provided to Senate Estimates shows that employment discrimination against people with disability remains a serious issue, and that instead of punishing people with disability the Government should be addressing this discrimination.

"The Australian Human Rights Commission said in Senate Estimates that 33% of complaints made under the Disability Discrimination Act relate to employment," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on disability issues said today.

"Overall, 38% of complaints received by the AHRC in the 2013/14 financial year related to disability, which was the highest area of complaint. Other than employment, the only higher area of disability complaint was access to goods, services and facilities, which was the subject of 39% of complaints under the Act.

"This shows that there are significant issues around discrimination facing Australians with disability. Clearly these issues need to be addressed.

"Discrimination is a serious barrier to employment that limits the opportunities available to people with disability. This makes it much harder for people to pursue opportunities and makes secure employment much harder to find and retain.

"Rather than reassessing people with disability on DSP with a view to dumping them onto Newstart, as the Government will do after their Budget Measures Number 6 Bill passed the Senate with the support of the ALP, there should be a focus on working with employers to identify and eliminate discrimination.

"Issues such as discrimination and a lack of facilities and support are the reasons why people with disability can struggle to find work. Rather than working to punish people, the Government should be prioritising n these issues," Senator Siewert concluded.