Policy Submission: South Australia’s Strategic Plan 2010 Community Consultation

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The purpose of our submission is to highlight ways in which South Australia’s Strategic Plan can further promote the active citizenhood (a term coined by the Julia Farr Association to describe people’s active participation in and contribution to community life) of South Australians living with disability.

The Julia Farr Association believes that the present review of South Australia’s Strategic Plan, especially regarding its impact on South Australians living with disability, is timely in the current environment. There is national emphasis on responding to the social and economic barriers people living with disability and other vulnerable citizens experience with the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Disability Care and Support and the Australian Social Inclusion Board’s research into breaking cycles of disadvantage. There is also commitment “to address the barriers that are faced by Australians with disability and promote social inclusion” through the National Disability Strategy. Further, there is international acknowledgement of the social disadvantage that people living with disability experience, and emphasis through the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ratified by the Australian Government in July 2008, that measures are put in place to ensure that people living with disability can fully participate and be included within their society.

The present review of South Australia’s Strategic Plan provides the opportunity to assess ways in which the services and experiences provided within our community can further reflect the rights and needs of people living with disability and explore ways to ensure people living with disability are actively engaged within their community.

Conclusion

The Julia Farr Association asserts that attending to the issues highlighted in this submission, and the resulting target recommendations, will help ensure the updated South Australia’s Strategic Plan promotes “the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability”