2023-03-04
Launching into the new year with the ADHD campaign, Senate estimates, visiting O-days and advocating for Julian Assange, human rights in Iran and lowering the voting age
By Senator Jordon Steele-John
Happy new(ish) year! I’m back in the thick of it after enjoying time in January to rest, recover and recalibrate with family, friends and fresh South-West air. This year is shaping up to be a wonderful year for our movement, and I couldn’t be more excited about what my team and I have been working on so far this year.
Giving attention to our ADHD campaign
Over the past couple of months we’ve made some very exciting progress in our campaign to get Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) covered by Medicare and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)!
Early in February, the Greens’ federal party room approved a proposal I put forward for a parliamentary inquiry into the barriers to accessing ADHD assessment and support services in Australia. There still are a number of milestones to meet ahead of formally establishing the inquiry, but this is the critical first step that clears the path for discussions with the government to get their support. Reform is so desperately needed in this space, as we know from the thousands of first-hand stories the ADHD community shared with me and my team through the survey we conducted last year.
Excitingly, our work was covered by the Saturday Paper in February, which published a piece from me that highlighted some of our key takeaways from the ADHD survey, as well as the 7am podcast where I also spoke about the campaign and what the Greens are calling for in this space. I’ve received some really great feedback about the coverage we’ve received, including from the ADHD community directly.
We’ve since held an online Zoom event with the ADHD community, which was wonderful, and have a number of events still coming up. The campaign is about to ramp up in a serious way, so watch this space!
O-Days in WA
It’s O-Day season! The beginning of the year always features a succession of O-Day events around Perth, which I love. As someone who has only attended uni online (before stepping back for an unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity <side-eye>) it’s the closest I’ve gotten so far to experiencing life on campus.
This month I dropped by O-Day at both Curtin and UWA, where I joined with other Greens including some of our excellent volunteers and WA state MLC Brad Pettitt. I chatted with excited students about to begin their studies, it was great to get out into the community and connect with people, especially young folks. Never a better time to ignite their passion for Green politics, too!
Julian Assange advocacy
While in Canberra in February I met with representatives from the US Embassy to discuss a range of matters. While there, I presented them with letters from WA community members urging the US government to drop its charges against Julian Assange. Julian is a brave dissident who has sought to expose war criminals by publishing the truth – an act of journalism and nothing more.
I hope that presenting these letters on behalf of the community will add to the already immense pressure on the US government to do just that, and it’s really heartening to see public interest in Julian’s situation has not waned. What we really need, however, is for the Albanese Government to ramp up its efforts to ensure the US government drops its farcical charges and Julian is released as soon as possible.
Every time I provide an update about my work on Julian’s case I always hope it’s my last, but until he is released I will continue to advocate vocally on his behalf.
First Estimates of 2023
The first sitting week of the year in February was followed by a week of Senate Estimates, which I leveraged to question the government about some of the biggest issues facing folks in WA.
I asked about their response to the unprecedented floods in the Kimberley, and what kind of emergency management plans they have in place pertaining to disabled people and our specific support needs in times of natural disasters. As we learnt from the flood emergency in the eastern states last year, disabled people are often an afterthought in times of crisis and we need to push the government to provide robust emergency plans that support all of us.
High on the agenda during Estimates was also establishing the response around the public health emergency triggered by Rio Tinto’s loss of a radioactive capsule somewhere in the vast expanse of the Pilbara; and expanding access to the NDIS.
Lowering the voting age
On the first day of Parliament for 2023, my Greens colleague in the House Stephen Bates introduced a bill to lower the voting age to 16. I’ve worked hard on this issue for many years, so I’m really pleased to see Stephen take up the mantle with such enthusiasm.
Right now in most parts of Australia, 16 year olds can consent to sex, pay tax, and choose to leave school. We need to do away with this idea that they’re not mature enough to make decisions about who governs us – particularly because we know young people will be disproportionately impacted by the decisions we make in Parliament today.
It’s now up to the government to vote on whether the bill is debated in the House before it even hits the Senate, but mark my words: it is simply a matter of time before 16 and 17 year olds get the vote.
More work on Iran
During the February sitting week I continued my advocacy work on Iran and the government’s ongoing human rights breaches in that country. I attended and spoke at a rally organised by Solidarity with Iran, a community group working to show solidarity with those bravely defying authorities and demanding basic human rights.
In February the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, of which I’m a member, put out a report that recommends Australia designates Iran’s Islamic Revolutions Guards Corps – the notorious ‘morality police’ – as a terrorist organisation. This group is responsible for the death of Jina ‘Mahsa’ Amini in September, which triggered a wave of protests around the country.
The report makes a range of other recommendations, including the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from our shores, and serves to increase pressure on our government to respond more emphatically to the unacceptable violence perpetrated by the state in Iran.
I’m looking forward to what March holds – with three sitting weeks, I’m sure I’ll have a lot to report back next time. Stay well!
Header Photo: Jordon with disability pride panel with Greens Minister Emma Davidson and disabled advocates