Sector asks governments to ‘put aside politics’ and support and fund inquiry
Wed 27 Feb 2019 03.59 GMT
First published on Wed 27 Feb 2019 00.51 GMT
Scott Morrison has signalled a massive expansion of the proposed disability royal commission, suggesting it should be of “a similar size and standing” to the $373m five-year institutional child sexual abuse inquiry.
It comes as disability groups have warned that questions over funding should not delay the start of a royal commission after Morrison wrote to states suggesting they co-fund an inquiry into disability services.
Despite passing a motion calling for a disability royal commission, the government is yet to set itself a deadline although Morrison said on Wednesday he is aiming to start it before the election.
The Coalition argues that support is needed from the states because they were responsible for disability services before the national disability insurance scheme was established.
On 21 February Morrison wrote to premiers asking for their in-principle support and feedback on “the most appropriate consultation pathways to progress this important matter” and “any cost-sharing arrangements that may be appropriate”.
Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania have offered in-principle support for the disability royal commission, but have yet to respond to Morrison’s suggestion they should help pay.
State governments face a choice between resisting the calls for co-funding and risk being blamed for delay or inaction, or holding out until after the federal election, because Labor has promised to spend $26m on the inquiry, and more if needed.
Morrison told reporters in Tasmania the proposed inquiry is “analogous” to the royal commission into child sexual abuse initiated by the Gillard government and will be “of a similar size and standing”.
“Let’s remember, that went for four years with five commissioners,” he said, understating its length by a year.
“The leader of the opposition [Bill Shorten] said he can do it for $27m. I don’t know what sort of royal commission he was talking about but it was clearly not one that he properly thought through.”
Morrison said in-principle support from the states was “very encouraging” but warned it took the Gillard government two and a half months to set up the child sexual abuse royal commission.
Morrison said he was working to establish the disability commission before the election, because he believes “we can get to a terms of reference and letters patent before then” but did not say how much states will be expected to contribute.
Therese Sands, the co-chief executive of People with Disability Australia and spokeswoman for Disabled People’s Organisations Australia, said the sector would “like to see this up and running as soon as possible”.
“We are pleased that the government has begun the process by writing to seek support from states and territories,” she said. “We urge those states and territories that have not already provided support to do so immediately.”
Questions of which level of government paid for the royal commission “should not get in the way of actually getting started”.
“Previous royal commissions have not had to wait for other levels of government to agree to funding, so neither should we,” she said.
Sands called on “all governments to put politics aside and to provide the necessary support, funding and resourcing” for the inquiry to “put people with disability first” and “get overdue justice for the violence, abuse and neglect we experience”.
In January 2013 the Gillard government set up the royal commission into child sexual abuse with letters patent from all states and territories, but the commonwealth paid the $373m cost of the inquiry over five years.
After the royal commission, the states and territories joined the commonwealth and many of the major churches and charities to fund a redress scheme for victims.
Federal Labor first called for a disability royal commission in May 2017.
Shorten wrote to state premiers on 22 February, explaining that if elected Labor would establish a broad inquiry “not just into disability services and the national disability insurance scheme, but also other mainstream services people with disability rely on”, including health, mental health, justice and education.
Shorten said joint letters patent to establish an inquiry would ensure “full cooperation of the states, without any jurisdictional complexities or constraints” but did not suggest states co-fund it.
