There are fears in the Australian community that disability is "infecting" and interfering with the lives of non-disabled people, a disability royal commissioner has told its closing ceremony in Sydney.
Key points:
The disability royal commission is wrapping up after four-and-a-half years
Emotions ran high at the commission's ceremonial closing, attended by people with disability from across the country
The inquiry's chair says the media hasn't given the inquiry the attention it deserves
Solidarity with all my fellow disabled folks today.
"I have also been told that there is fear — fear that disability is contaminating, infecting the lives of the non-disabled community with sight, sound, and behaviour that might disturb and interfere with non-disabled lives," Dr Galbally said.
"For example, I have been told that there is fear that having disabled students in mainstream classrooms will be detrimental to the education of non-disabled students ... yet, research presented to the commission shows this fear does not have any legitimate basis."
Worse. 'Putting your disabled kid in normal classes will interfere with bratleigh's learning!!' 'Special considerations? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THOSE CONSIDERATIONS MIGHT AFFECT MEE??'
"I can't help but think of all the people ... who talked about some of the worst things that have ever happened to them in the hope that we get the big changes that we need," advocate El Gibbs said.
Uli Cartwright, a man with intellectual disability who gave evidence to the royal commission in November 2022, said he was nervously waiting to see what happened next.
The federal government will be looking at the royal commission's recommendations "very, very closely", Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.
In an interview with the ABC, commission chair Ronald Sackville criticised a lack of interest from the media, and said many outlets appeared to give it a "pretty low priority" for coverage.
"A lot of the mainstream media have seemed to place the royal commission and its work as a pretty low priority for reporting — and I do regret this," he said.
Mr Sackville also said all Australians needed to step up to make sure change happened after the inquiry wrapped up.
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