The discrimination against our vulnerable in Australia, and a class action from 2016 settled in NSW after ten years of abuse in a disabilities house. The disabilities people won an out of court settlement.
Who matters here? Do disability lives matter in Australia? Even black lives do not seem to matter of the first nations people, in Australia at all when it comes to the justice system…. Discrimination is still alive and well in Australia even for the most vulnerable and for the non verbal in disabilities they might not be able to speak but they can still cry out in pain... Their cries must not go unheard the cries of the discriminated against in prison cells and the cries of those in disabilities who are assaulted and abused and no one listens!
Greatly upset today hearing about the aborigine woman, Veronica Nelson, an article in the Guardian notes 25 April 2022, as she (a Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, and Wiradjui and Yorta Yorta woman) who was put in prison for shop lifting (no one should be in prison for shop lifting!) in Victoria who was crying out for help three times because she was in pain and in the need crying out for her dead father “daddy! Daddy!” as she died in pain, and yet the police and guards, ignored her cries for help and did not go into her, and nobody heard her or went to her, as she died alone in the prison cell.
Today it goes to court as it should – it was a gross despicable and discriminatory thing that the law did letting someone who was yes addicted to heroin but who also had a condition medical that caused her to vomit and be in pain and dehydrate from the condition – they did not open the cell door but talked to her through it they did not show any compassion or human kindness – they discriminated against a first nations person as if she were nothing. Veronica’s cries are heard recorded and played in court today as the case appears before them, I heard it on the news and to hear her cry for her father broke my heart. I weep for her family.
Will that happen to my vulnerable non verbal son when he goes into disabilities care, if he gets sick, if he is harmed or in pain - will they ignore his cries? What about the cries of the 7000 in disabilities who were seriously harmed in disabilities care last year with only one prosecution. Many non verbal in disabilities cry out but no one hears them or knows why they are crying or what for and they die too. Die through neglect and lack of care, or abuse. No one hears them cry. This has to stop. What happened to that aborigine woman was wrong and should not have happened. Victoria had tightened laws on bail, but why should she be in prison anyway. Because again discrimination by the police and our justice system. Discrimination happens to those with disabilities too. Discrimination by police who refuse to investigate when your disability non verbal child is attacked or harmed. Discrimination by a law system and justice system who make it clear that our children do not matter if they have a disability. Perhaps the judges grew up in a world where someone with a disability had no value, especially an intellectual disability. Why are they not allowing charges to stick on workers who hurt those with disabilities in their care? Why do they keep saying not enough evidence even when there are eye-witnesses. If a policeman was assaulted the courts seem to charge offenders for that. It is not dropped due to lack of evidence. Who matters here?
Parents need to take action and help each other, fight the injustice in the law system against out disabilities children. They need protection and they need CCTV cameras in places of care. AT least they had cameras in the prison where this aborigine woman has died – still difficult to get justice but there is more chance of it.
In the past there have been class actions against organizations who harmed those with disabilities.
There was a class action against a disability house for abuse of its disability clients brought in 2013… settled in 2016 in McAlister v State of New South Wales- settled outside of court – not so long ago
A class action lawsuit which was settled outside of court was filed on behalf of 70 residents of the Grand Western Lodge in Millthorpe, New South Wales, Australia – a licensed premises for people with disabilities. My worst nightmare as a parent to know that the abuse was happening and allowed to happen. The good thing with this that with the law the disability vulnerable persons here had a voice.
The class action was brought against the manager of the premises, his company being the operator of the license given to them by the state of NSW and the action was also against the State of New South Wales! Go them.
The NDIS had already started in 2012, so this is interesting but is a federal organization taking over disabilities now making lives harder for those vulnerable by cutting funding. The awful thing is the residents claimed that between 2000 and 2011, they were physically assaulted, confined to their rooms for extended periods, paid very little for work they performed ( this is still happening today brought to light in the lates news in NSW the disability people being paid $2.50 for working for a disability provider organizations – how kind to treat them like slaves!) and these disability persons at this Lodge in Millthorpe, NSW, were also given high doses of psychotropic medications. This is despicable what happened to these poor vulnerable people. How frightening to know this is allowed by our government and state governments doing little about it.
Thank God they got a class action against this disability place and against the NSW State. The lawyers were Maurice Blackburn. The disability people won this class action and lucky for the State government it was settled out of court or more would have been in the media. WE need more of these class actions to make disability providers, and our State Governments and Federal Government accountable for how they treat our disability children and adult children. They walk away scott free these days (no reference to our Prime minister Scott Morrison) this is no real accountability occurring at all except perhaps in death of a disability person where the parent has to fight hard while suffering the grief of losing their child in care or residential care and again the disability provider and government walks away ‘Scott’ free. They need to be made accountable our political leaders, and the CEOs of all the disability providers organizations, who know what is happening to clients in their care and do not care their main focus being to make money.
It was alleged in this Class Action, that the operator failed to properly care for the health of its residents and to comply with its licence conditions, which caused the residents to suffer injuries and financial detriment. It was also alleged that the New South Wales Department of Ageing and Disability, and Home Care was negligent in its monitoring of its licensee, as it knew that the Lodge’s residents were at risk of harm but did not take reasonable step to inspect the facility.
Perhaps we parents should be getting together to take class actions against the NDIS quality commission for knowing that certain Disability Providers are putting our children at risk but doing nothing about it and the NDIS and ministers of disabilities failing to show health and safety care and never inspecting premises.
In this particular class action against the state of New South Wales (Sanson and Anthony, 2019, p.150 Connecting with Law 4th Edit.) The residents claimed compensation for false imprisonment and the injuries they sustained. A settlement was reached in 2016 and approved in McAlister v State of New South Wales [No 2] [2017] FCA 93
So glad they succeeded with their class action. The federal government under Scott Morrison, tends to cover up what really happens in disabilities and the fact funding is always being cut from clients now as the government attain their goals to take money of those with disabilities and intend show no real care, the same for care to vulnerable Aged Care residents either letting money go into the coffers of those who run the places of neglect we hear of so much of. We must stand up and fight for our vulnerable children in disabilities we must take the chance when we can. No one else will protect them or fight for them, we the parents have to, and the families of the most vulnerable should not just take injustice and lack of care for our vulnerable ones or it will only get worse.
sign my petition: change.org/disabilitycameras for greater protection for those in disabilites who cannot speak up or defend themselves from harm.
All the best
Anndrea x     sign my petition and give our disability and nonverbal children and adult children  protection     change.org/disabilitycameras

#disabilitylivesmatteroz