(Adopted October 2014)
Principles
The Queensland Greens believe that:
1. All people have a right to independence, self-determination and choice in their lives.
2. People who experience physical, intellectual, cognitive and/or psychiatric disability, and their families and carers, have the right to actively participate in all levels of policy, service planning and delivery and evaluation, including their own.
3. Society has a responsibility to accommodate diversity and remove barriers to equitable access for all.
4. It is a responsibility of governments to ensure substantive equality and equal opportunity, and to provide funding to ensure this in all areas.
5. Australians should develop and maintain a culture of support for, understanding of, and respect for people with disabilities.
6. There must be adequate, ongoing, fully indexed funding for high quality, lifetime care and support for people with a disability, which is sufficient to meet their needs, regardless of how or where the person acquired a disability or where they live.
7. Care and support for people with a disability should be accessible, individualised, self-directed and age-appropriate.
8. Society should be free of harassment, abuse, vilification, stigmatisation, discrimination, disadvantage or exploitation on the basis of disability.
Aims
The Queensland Greens will:
1. Enact national standards to protect people with disability, where required, via monitoring, investigative powers and enforcement.
2. Improve coordination of disability transport services to increase utilisation and availability to ensure easy access to health services and community.
3. Ensure adequate and appropriate resources to attain optimal mobility, independence and early intervention to maximise potential and minimise health and mental health problems.
4. Develop health policy to include people with disability, their family support and where appropriate paid disability support personnel.
5. Ensure equality of access to disability services for people with psychiatric disability and accompanying dual disability issues.
6. Ensure continuity of care and access to aged care services for people with a disability as they age.
Employment and Education
7. Strengthen funding for disability advocacy services, community education programs, and the removal of structural barriers to equality of access to education, training and employment.
8. Provide meaningful employment and training opportunities which take into account the specific needs of people with disability.
9. Adequately resource pathways that support school leavers with disability to make the transition from school into meaningful employment, educational and vocational programs or other community-based activities.
10. Support access to specialised employment support services for people with disability who choose to enter the workforce.
Accommodation and Home support
11. Increase funding for appropriate, including age-appropriate, accommodation and support services for people with disability, including flexible accommodation models and supported residential care for very high and complex care needs.
12. Provide increased respite care services and facilities, in-home and emergency support, crisis accommodation and a range of supported accommodation options.
13. Improve access to training, development and personal support to staff working in disability services, and adopt workforce measures to increase the professional mix of staff.
14. Improve pay and conditions and career structures for providers of services for people with disabilities.
15. Improve housing and accommodation so that ease of access to community and transport hubs is considered.
Disability Insurance and benefits
16. Simplify the requirements of applying for benefits, and transfer the cost savings towards providing an increase in direct home based support services.
Carers
17. Provide parents, partners, relatives and friends who act as carers with adequate support.