The Hon. Ms Jenny Macklin MP
Minister for Disability Reform

Dear The Hon. Ms Macklin MP

I saw your short video on the episode of A Current Affair on 19/3/2012. Your message started “We do recognise that there is a real gap for not just children with autism but children with a whole range of disabilities … ”.

Dear sir/madam

Despite recent correspondence from Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) to the Attorney General (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/375, http://a4.org.au/a4/node/396 and http://a4.org.au/a4/node/438), I just found out today about your draft action plan (see http://www.ag.gov.au/Humanrightsandantidiscrimination/Australiashumanri…).

Feedback on your draft action plan is due today. My organisation does not now have time nor the capacity to develop a comprehensive response.

A4 wrote to the previous Attorney-General (see Open letter ... disappointment over autism discrimination) but our members were not impressed by the response (see Attorney General reply to open letter).

A4 sent a letter about this to the new Attorney-General (see the attachment below). The letter says ...

A4 received the letter (see below) from The Hon Mark Butler MP in response to our letter to the Prime Minister (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/441). The response shows the Minister and his Department:

• prefer to discuss/argue the semantics of terms/phases like "lead agency" and "the remit of" ... rather than address concerns over the mental health of people with autism spectrum disorders (PwASD) and their families/carers.

A4 cannot get the Minister for Mental Health to consider any issues relating to autism/ASD. The Minister for Mental Health repeatedly referred anything to do with autism, even when the major issue was mental health, to FaHCSIA.

So A4 wrote to the Prime Minister (see link below).

The Attorney-General replied (9/8/2011, download here) to A4's open letter (18/6/2011, see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/375).

Our letter clearly identified concern and disappointment "about the ongoing refusal of Governments in Australia to protect people with ASD and their associates from discrimination". The Attorney-General's response dismisses our concern and disappointment saying:

Autism advocates wrote an open letter to the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, to express the deep disappointment of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over the recent Federal Court discrimination decision in Walker v State of Victoria [2011] FCA 258.

In response to our letter in April 2011, A4 received the (completely unsatisfactory and inappropriate) response below from the Ministerial Liaison and Support Section of the Department of Health and Ageing.

This completely missed the point that A4 asked that a submission be considered for the Budget ... the opportunity is now well past.

A4 sent the letter below asking the Minister for Mental Health to include some mental health recommendation in the coming Budget.