2020-11-03
Doing Canberra remotely, scrutinizing via Senate estimates and observing proceedings of the Disability Royal Commission
By Senator Jordon Steele-John
Things have been slowly returning to some kind of normality in the last couple of months with the Federal parliament beginning regular sitting weeks again, and the Treasurer delivering a federal budget ‒ 6 months late ‒ that largely benefits his big corporate mates and those in our society who are on the highest salaries instead of everyone else who has been doing it really tough since the beginning of 2020. Like I said, relative normal.
Whilst cases have still been high in Victoria and New South Wales, I’ve been heeding my doctor’s advice and not travelling to Canberra. Instead, I’ve been participating in parliament remotely from my office here in Perth. However, I will be returning for the final two sitting weeks of 2020 in the last week of November and first week of December.
Since the Federal Budget, our focus has been on preparing for Senate estimates hearings, which were held over the last two weeks, where we get an opportunity to scrutinise not only the Federal Budget but also the work of Government programs, the Ministers that initiate them, their Departments and bureaucrats.
In particular, we focused on:
- The Disability Royal Commission, especially privacy protections for witnesses;
- The investigation of complaints and new staffing levels for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards commission;
- Gaining more insight into the compensation and support package for Thalidomide survivors that was in the budget;
- Independent Assessment trials for the NDIS;
- Defence spending on new weapons and military technology;
- How the defence force is preparing for the threat of climate change; and
- The Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry.
Outside of Parliament there have been two public hearings of the Disability Royal Commission on the use of chemical restraints ‒ psychotropic medications ‒ on disabled people in Sydney and on the barriers to accessing a safe and inclusive education system. Last Friday, the 30th October, the Royal Commission released its interim report which included a request for an extension by 18 months to September 2022, due to COVID-19 and other delays, particularly in the number of individuals requesting to give their evidence in a private session. This is something the Greens and the disability community have been calling for months and is welcome news.
To re-watch any of my interactions during Senate Estimates or to find out more about the recent public hearings of the Disability Royal Commission, please jump over to my facebook page: facebook.com/JordonSteeleJohn
Header photo: Jordon attending Senate Estimates remotely.