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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-06-22 Daily Xml
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Federal Election

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:38): While Dignity for Disability is not running in the federal election, we certainly have plenty to say about this national poll. Firstly, we believe that people with disabilities have the same right to access voting, and all the information associated with it, as everyone else on the electoral roll. This means a few things, depending on the disabilities that a person might have, and how that impacts on their access to policies and announcements in the media and on websites as well as leaflets posted out to voters. Your disability, or status as a family carer, might also impact on how you vote on or before polling day.

If you have an intellectual or cognitive disability, or brain injury, for example, it may be helpful if political candidates and parties can provide policy information in the simplest language possible. Easy English is best practice, but straightforward explanations certainly help too. How our national economy operates and all the policies and laws that define how we operate as a society can be difficult to comprehend.

Explaining things clearly also assists young people voting for the first time, and electors with a non-English speaking background. It ensures not just policy experts, political journalists and politicians can understand the matters being discussed, because as we all know that many of these can be very complex. Similarly, if you have a sensory disability such vision impairment, blindness or you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may need either audio description, open captions or AUSLAN interpretation for video.

If you are blind, you can register to vote electronically over the phone at federal elections—and Dignity for Disability has brought legislation to the parliament to achieve that here in this state—ensuring that your vote remains anonymous, as the rest of the population can enjoy. This mechanism is not currently available at state elections, and it is something that we will again be attempting to change in the near future.

It is also helpful to blind and vision-impaired voters if some materials are provided in alternative formats. People with physical disabilities and medical conditions might need to vote, or choose to vote, using a postal method. You can be registered with the Electoral Commission to do this ahead of election day on 2 July but, of course, this should not be the only option. Our legislation also calls for a greater number of accessible polling booths.

If you do plan to vote on 2 July and use a mobility aid such as a wheelchair, you may well require greater accessibility at a polling booth. Currently, only about two-thirds of polling booths are partially or fully accessible, and this can be checked on the Electoral Commission's website, in newspapers next week or by calling the commission on 13 23 26.

Another consideration Dignity for Disability believes is very important ahead of casting votes is to check the commitment of each candidate and party to support the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). With the full rollout commencing here in South Australia on 1 July, we believe it is important to assess what commitment politicians in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have to the provision of the NDIS as legislated and all the funding and resources needed. We say 'as legislated' because we mean in line with the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013.

It is essential and it is an obligation that every NDIS participant have a comprehensive plan and a goal-oriented plan following meetings between the participant (and/or their family carer or advocate) with a qualified National Disability Insurance Agency planner. As the full rollout of the NDIS commences here in South Australia on 1 July (the day before election day), it is critical that the missteps that we have previously seen in reaching for bilateral agreements are overcome and that everyone eligible for an NDIS plan receives all that is necessary and reasonable for them to live with the autonomy, the dignity and the support that they require and deserve.

With these issues in mind, I certainly look forward to bringing this legislation again to parliament to make sure that future state elections are more accessible to people with all manner of needs, whether or not it be disability or another factor, and calling on federal parliamentarians and Senate hopefuls as well to think about what they might do to increase their accessibility to all voters, all of the population, because it does not matter what your disability status is, your right to vote and to have privacy and autonomy in that vote is inalienable.

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