As a quick PSA firstly - Thankyou for all of you who provided comments to the petition, those comments (deidentified) provided the backbone of our Thriving kids submission which we should be able to publish on our website shortly. 

On the 8th September RAEN sent a letter to Mark Butler MP , copying in Jenny McAllister , requesting an URGENT meeting with a coalition of disability organisation representatives including Reimagine Australia & Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association - ANPA to raise our concerns about Thriving Kids and to present the over 15,500 signatures to our petition that indicated broad community concern too.

On 3rd of October we received a response. The response was from a staffer who had been asked to reply by McAllister & Butler and thanked us for our letter before proceeding to attempt to 'school' us on what autism and Thriving Kids is and then let us know Federal Government would be working with States.

There was NO acknowledgment of our request for a meeting. Interestingly the letter did inform us that autism is lifelong neurodevelopmental difference (Thanks we knew that) which is directly at odds with the Minister's own comments.

Next steps:
- We are working with the Tasmanian Government to further this matter and ensure a meeting is had.
- Community Members can email Mark Butler at: minister.butler@health.gov.au and let him know he should be meeting with us URGENTLY.
- You can help us get more signatures on our petition, please get anyone and everyone you know to sign, the higher the number the harder it is for them to ignore! 

Don't let them get away with this, they are ELECTED representatives. You have a right to their time.