Media Release

Autism Asperger Advocacy Australia (A4) calls on the Treasurer, Mr Swan, to ignore the Business Council of Australia’s simplistic and morally bankrupt advice on Disability Support Pensions. The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is calling for cuts to disability support.

In a letter to the Treasurer, Bob Buckley, A4’s Convenor, says “the views of the BCA on this issue are not based on facts and are economically unsound. BCA members, Australia’s top 100 companies, should be embarrassed.”

“The number of people with severe and profound disability is growing and they are living longer.

“People with a disability are part of our community. We must share the benefits of our community with them. We must give them a fair go,” Mr Buckley says.

But the BCA wants to further marginalise our most vulnerable citizens. According to Bob Buckley, this is “morally bankrupt”.

“In order to make real progress, major businesses need to improve their corporate cultures to employ far more people with a disability. Their disability may mean they cannot do everything other workers can do, but they often do the work they can do better than other workers,” he said. “With appropriate support, people with a disability can be very cost effective employees”.

The BCA should appreciate that many workers also care for people with a disability. Cutting disability supports affects the workforce and its productivity.

“The Government should just ignore the efforts of the BCA to divert attention away from business as a source of revenue,” Mr Buckley says.