Posts tagged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Cultural divide that locks Indigenous people out of key NDIS supports

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.06.2022 (Hireup): For most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, the NDIS remains riddled with hurdles that make getting on to the scheme and navigating it difficult.

That’s according to Indigenous disability service providers, including Shanelle Beazley, sector development coordinator at Kurranulla Aboriginal Corporation, which services the Sutherland and St. George areas in New South Wales. She says the NDIS requires sufficient evidence to be satisfied the person needs disability support. For most Indigenous people, getting that evidence is the most challenging part of navigating this scheme.

“Most Aboriginal families have sufficient paperwork acknowledging their disability, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or psycho-social disabilities — bi-polar or schizophrenia, but they lack documentation detailing its impact on their everyday lives to satisfy the NDIS,” Beazley adds.

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Aboriginal knowledge could unlock climate solutions

By Neena Bhandari

Cairns [Queensland], December 17, 2014 (IPS) – As a child growing up in Far North Queensland, William Clark Enoch would know the crabs were on the bite when certain trees blossomed, but today at 51 years he is noticing visible changes in his environment such as extreme climatic conditions, frequent storms, soil erosion, salinity in fresh water and ocean acidification.

“The land cannot support us anymore. The flowering cycles are less predictable. We have to now go much further into the sea to catch fish”, said Enoch, whose father was from North Stradbroke Island, home to the Noonuccal, Nughie and Goenpul Aboriginal people.

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