Disability news and resources in Oceania
This page lists the countries in Oceania with resources and recent highlights.
Countries
Recent Highlights
In Australia:
Lifeboat in the ocean: lessons from Australia Debrief exploration on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. (2023, Disability Debrief)
Our vision for an inclusive Australia Royal Commission report, providing “222 recommendations on how to improve laws, policies, structures and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.” (2023, Royal Commission) See reaction in the Guardian.
Australia’s airlines and airports urged to improve treatment of travellers with disabilities. (2023, the Guardian)
Young people with a disability are overrepresented in the youth justice system. A study in New South Wales shows that "Factors such as age of initial engagement with disability-related services, remoteness of residence, and frequency of child protection contact were strongly associated with the likelihood of a young person with disability having criminal justice contact before the age of 18". (2023, NSW BOSCAR)
People with disabilities in group homes are suffering shocking abuse. New housing models could prevent harm. “This latest report shows 17,000 Australians living in group homes are too frequently subjected to sexual misconduct, coercion, serious injury, abuse and neglect.” (2023, The Conversation) See also the lack of independent monitoring of group homes (The Guardian).
A step closer to inclusive disability research The National Disability Research Partnership Learnings and Recommendations report. (2022, NDRP)
Mental distress is much worse for people with disabilities, and many health professionals don't know how to help.
“Someone may present to a disability-specific health service, and be turned away due to a co-occuring mental health difficulty. They might then present to a mental health service and be turned away due to having a disability.” (2022, the Conversation)
Indigenous people with disabilities face racism and ableism. ‘I coined the term “racial-ableism” to capture the intersectionality of these experiences at the cultural interface.’ (2022, the Conversation)
Why do students with disability go to 'special schools' when research tells us they do better in the mainstream system? (2022, the Conversation)
Floods can worsen inequality. Here are 4 ways we can ensure people with disabilities aren't left behind (2022, the Conversation)
In New Zealand:
D*List editorial values launching a new disability magazine. (2023, D*List) The new home of disability culture in Aotearoa. (The Spinoff)
The essential numbers showing how disabled people experienced the pandemic:
“By 2022 disabled people’s high rates of vaccination, combined with self-isolation, meant this high-risk group were slightly less likely to get Covid-19 than non-disabled people. However, despite overall lower infection, they were still seven times more likely to die (11 deaths) and 3.5 times more likely to go to hospital.” (2023, The Spinoff)
‘There was no respect or effort to recognise me for who I was’:
“Artist and dancer Lusi Faiva was two when, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she was taken to live in an institution for people with intellectual disabilities. She spent five years at the Kimberley Centre, experiencing neglect, terrible loneliness, alienation from her Sāmoan heritage and a sense of entrapment which has inspired a lifetime of seeking expression and freedom.” (2023, The Spinoff)
Time to scrap ableist migration rules down under The Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello arguing for fair migration rules. (2022, Overland)
In the Pacific:
Disability and Climate change in the Pacific. Findings from discussions with disabled people in Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.
“Many of the impacts highlighted in this report relate to exclusionary practices that already exist. This ranges from discrimination within the household to exclusion from policy formation and policy implementation. For example, persons with disabilities may not be prioritised when a household is experiencing a shortage of food or water. Similarly, persons with disabilities are often not considered in disaster risk management, such as the design of evacuation procedures and evacuation shelters. Without concerted action, the impact of exclusion on persons with disabilities will become worse under climate change.” (link to pdf, 2022, Pacific Disability Forum)