handcuffed girl - government response
A4 wrote to the Prime Minister on 29/10/2020 about police handcuffing a young autistic girl at school.
A4 received a letter (link below) than ignores the issues raised.
Advocacy
The following list shows A4's recent advocacy. This list contains both submissions and communications (letters & emails).
FoI response from PM&C
A4 sent a Freedom of Information request to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on 24/11/2020
The Department sent its response on 24/12/2020 - see links to the documents below.
Basically, the documents show how little regard the Government has for members of the community, especially the more vulnerable members of the community. The Government's goal was to provide the most minimal response to issues and concerns raised.
Subject:
Freedom of Information Request - records and responses to contact message form
PMC FOI/2020/274 - Freedom of information
Subject:
Re: FOI/2020/274 - Freedom of information - request for advice concerning your request [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Date:
Tue, 15 Dec 2020 15:28:24 +1100
From:
Bob Buckley (A4 Convenor) <convenor@a4.org.au>
To:
FOI <FOI@pmc.gov.au>
Dear madam/sir
I'm sorry but my email system put the email below into my spam folder. I only found it today when I had a call from your section looking for a response.
belated response from Health representative
A4 wrote to The Hon G. Hunt MP, Minister for Health, on 11/8/2020 about mental health support for autistic Australians. Having not received a reply, A4 wrote again on the 1/11/2020 (see A4's email to the Minister).
A4 received an email on 8/12/2020 (at 6.22pm) that contained a PDF file of a letter (reference MC20-033766) dated 28/9/2020 (see below). It seems to have taken over 2 months to email this letter to A4.
The letter claims:
unanswered question about the Government's war on autistic Australians
Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) received a letter (MC20-161556, 27/11/2020 — see below) from The Hon. Ben Morton MP, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The letter references A4's letter to the Prime Minister on 9/10/2020 (see https://a4.org.au/node/2243).
The letter to the Prime Minister asks one simple question:
What steps will you take to cease the war these Government officials are waging on Autistic Australians?
The letter also highlights A4's unanswered questions policy.
Victorian OPA Position statement: NDIS Independent Assessments
The Office of the Public Advocate stands with the disability advocacy sector in requesting that the NDIA reconsider its proposal to introduce independent assessments.
The NDIA has said independent assessments are to be part of the access process in early 2021. The assessments will at first be used to determine the eligibility of people applying for access to the NDIS as well as to determine reasonable and necessary supports to be included in a participant’s plan.
Interventions for children on the autism spectrum: A synthesis of research evidence
Dear person
Based on your previous interest in our publication the National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism, I am writing to let you know we have just published a new landmark report for families, clinicians, researchers and policy makers, which synthesises the best available high-quality evidence about interventions for children on the autism spectrum aged up to 12 years.
Autism behind bars
Andrew Beasley was quickly losing his cool. It was October 2015, and he was about two years into his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix in New Jersey.
Beasley, then 32, had left his MP3 player on a charging station in the facility’s computer room, but when he went to retrieve it, it was gone. He thought he knew who had it and frantically started to look for the man.
“I’m forgetting politics. I’m forgetting everything. I’m just looking for my MP3 player,” says Beasley, who had been diagnosed with autism two years earlier.
mental health support for autistic Australians - unanswered questions
| Subject: | Fwd: mental health support for autistic Australians |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sun, 1 Nov 2020 07:51:28 +1100 |
| From: | Bob Buckley (A4 Convenor) <convenor@a4.org.au> |
| To: | Minister.Hunt@health.gov.au |
The Hon Greg Hunt MP
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives, Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Minister The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) has not received a response to the email below. This means A4's Unanswered Questions policy comes into effect.
Report - Public hearing 4 - Healthcare for people with cognitive disability
The Disability Royal Commission released a report summarising its public hearing #4 that is about Health care for people with cognitive disability. The DRC includes autistic people among people with cognitive disability.
The report focuses on NSW and describes many poor experiences of autistic people in the health systems. It says:
Experts and advocates also noted the dearth of initiatives to ensure that people with autism can access and receive appropriate health care.