Disability advocates are calling for more support to help people cope with the health impacts of heatwaves. They've written to the minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Bill Shorten, outlining what's needed for people living with disability during extreme weather.
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00:00 We've been writing to Minister Shorten today about, you know, that heatwaves actually are
00:07 like the biggest killer when it comes to environmental issues and that it overwhelmingly affects
00:13 people with disability.
00:14 We don't think about it that often, but research has shown that like, I think it's over 80%
00:20 of the deaths that are caused by heatwaves in Australia are actually of people with disability,
00:25 which is just catastrophic.
00:26 So as you say, you've written to Bill Shorten, what is it you are seeking for him to do?
00:32 Look, it's really important that in all of our disability kind of settings, in everything
00:37 that we're doing, particularly the NDIS, that we account for the fact that climate change
00:42 is making heat worse.
00:44 And as we know, that there are so many things that we can do to actually protect people
00:48 with disabilities.
00:49 So, for example, making sure that air conditioning is available and that people have the resources
00:55 to be able to pay for it, such as having solar panels on their roofs, etc.
00:59 So for people who are living in public and social housing, what we find at the moment,
01:03 it comes to advocates all the time, is that state governments and the NDIS have a bit
01:08 of a war about who's responsible and people with disability end up stuck in incredibly
01:13 overheated homes with no one taking responsibility.
01:16 So it's really important that the NDIS actually puts in place measures to protect people during
01:22 the heat, to make sure that people have what they need to be able to get out of their house
01:27 when it's hot, but also to manage in their homes.
01:30 So the NDIS, for example, provides subsidies for developers to build accessible housing
01:35 for people with disability.
01:37 We have to make sure that they are heat-proof homes.
01:40 Is it even considered in people's care plans?
01:43 Not right now.
01:45 And I think as we've seen, you know, this particular summer is one of the hottest on
01:48 record.
01:49 It's only going to get worse.
01:51 So we have to kind of accept that this is our reality as climate change progresses.
01:57 And so everything as part of our policy reform, including as part of the NDIS review implementation,
02:04 we have to include measures to affect heat, but also understand that the heat doesn't
02:10 affect people equally.
02:11 For example, I've got a job, so I can afford to take taxis, for example.
02:15 I don't have to rely on unreliable public transport or, you know, stand in the hot sun
02:21 waiting for a bus.
02:22 I can get a cab from one air-conditioned place to another.
02:25 So we need to basically account for the fact that lots of people with disability don't
02:29 have very much money, often don't own their own homes, so can't do things that other people
02:34 take for granted, like putting solar panels to offset the cost of air conditioning, actually
02:39 do the things that will keep them cool, but more than that, will keep them safe from the
02:44 catastrophic impacts of heat.
02:46 The other aspect to this, Elle, is I guess disaster planning.
02:50 You know, we've got threats of bushfires in Tasmania today.
02:54 People with disabilities, are they considered in disaster planning?
02:58 If there's an evacuate order, how that happens, those sorts of things?
03:01 You're speaking about one of the things that I love talking about most, because I live
03:05 in a very bushfire-prone area.
03:08 And I think that lots of people with disability do worry about what will happen during a disaster.
03:13 And I know that lots of our organisations that are part of DANA are doing heaps of work
03:18 in their communities to do that kind of individualised disaster planning.
03:22 But it's not particularly recognised in the NDIS, for example, to actually give people
03:27 the supports they need to plan for a disaster and to connect with their community.
03:32 But one of the other things that we don't often talk about is that lots of people with
03:35 disability are involved in, you know, disaster preparation, but also after disasters, like
03:41 doing information, connecting communities, doing a whole lot of that kind of recovery
03:45 work.
03:46 And I think it's really important, you know, I often talk about us as disabled people as
03:50 being like the best problem solvers in the world, because we exist in a world that isn't
03:54 designed for us.
03:55 And so every time we walk out the door, we're solving problems.
03:58 So having us at the table when we're talking about how we, you know, deal with disasters
04:03 is really good for everyone, because we're really good at solving problems.
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