Disability activists want One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, to apologise because her party made a video that makes fun of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. In the video, which is part of the YouTube series “Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain,” the NDIS is called a “scam” and a “rort,” and people with disabilities are shown in an insulting way. Nicole Lee, who is the President of People with Disability Australia, says that the video is “insensitively cruel” and shows “inappropriate, inaccurate, and offensive images of how the NDIS helps people with disabilities.”
A spokesman says that the fact that people with disabilities are already abused so often makes it even worse when they are used as political pawns. People with disabilities are some of Australia’s biggest economic producers. Each year, they bring in more than $2 billion and get back $2.25 for every dollar put into the NDIS programme.
The National condition Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was started in 2013 to help people under 65 who have a permanent condition pay for the support services they need. The plan is expected to cost $50 billion a year by 2025–26. It will help more than 550,000 Australians. But the Labor party has recently asked for an independent review of the NDIS in order to show that the Coalition hasn’t been paying enough attention to the project. The results of the study should be given to ministers in charge of disability reform by October 2023.
Ben Gauntlett, who works to stop abuse against people with disabilities, called the clip “reprehensible.” He used Twitter to say that using humour to attack people with disabilities for political reasons is not a good way to improve social policies. On the contrary, it makes people feel tense, alone, and angry.
Craig Wallace, who is in charge of policy for Advocacy for Inclusion, spoke out against Hanson’s video. He said it was a clear misunderstanding of how the NDIS can help people temporarily. Wallace asked both politicians and regular people to condemn the film.
On a day when many people love and think about their lives, the movie was seen as a revolting look at the lives of very vulnerable disabled people. This made people feel hateful. The harsh and malicious image has upset a lot of people, and one person has called it especially disgusting.
Wallace was very angry about the suggestion that people with disabilities were “scamming” the NDIS. He pointed out that people with disabilities are more likely to be victims of scams, bad services, and other ways that companies try to take advantage of their situations.
People with Disability Australia and Advocacy for Inclusion both asked Hanson to apologise and take down his video. As of right now, Hanson’s office has not given a public answer.