Disabled Australians ‘snubbed, ignored’ by federal government’s COVID-19 response
Yesterday representatives from some of Australia’s prominent national disability peak advocacy bodies, including People With Disability Australia and First Peoples Disability Network spoke at a public hearing that was overseen by the Senate Select Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic.
They insist that Australians with disabilities haven’t fared well when handling extremely difficult and stressful situations, while many have felt isolated and unable to turn to someone for financial, medical and emotional support.
This comes after PWDA released a survey last month where 91% of respondents have said expenses associated with healthcare, groceries and sanitising and hygiene equipment increased since the federal government implemented strict lockdown measures responding to the pandemic back in March.