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Sadly, this won’t come as a surprise to many of you but today the news has become public that Disability Action will close its doors in two weeks.

“Disability Action has been what’s euphemistically known as ‘defunded’ following an independent review,” Democrat Kate Reynolds said.

“We understand letters are going out to members today and tomorrow.

“Disability Action currently has 250 clients on its books. They’re also getting the bad news by phone this week.

“The real question now is what happens to the $500,000 in funds the Commonwealth provides to SA.

“That money must stay in South Australia and be available to South Australians, and the Minister should be on the phone today to his Federal counterpart to make sure other States don’t get it.

“SA has highest proportion of people with a disability in Australia.

“Under the Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement advocacy is a shared responsibility.

“But this State Government’s contribution has historically been miserly.

“I now want the State Minister, Mr Weatherill, to step in immediately and allocate state funds to a State-based organisation and ensure the services offered by Disability Action continue to be provided by other organisations.

“The Minister should also allocate recurrent state funds to cover unmet advocacy needs,” Ms Reynolds said.

Kate Reynolds
South Australian Democrats
Member of the Legislative Council
Spokesperson on Aboriginal Affairs, Ageing, Children’s Services, Disability Services, Equal Opportunity, Education, Family & Youth Services, Further Education & Training, Gambling, Housing, Local Government, Recreation & Sport, Social Justice (including Refugees), Tourism, Youth & Volunteers.