1800 732 674
She shares her take on the day below:
Yesterday, on a day that was as bleak as the future we are facing under the NDIS reforms, sitting in Parliament House meeting room S2.1, Paul Williamson (Physical Disability Australia Ltd (PDA) President) and I watched the tide of opinion around the NDIS reforms swell into something far greater than a debate. It became a tsunami. For hours, the message had rolled in like relentless waves: yes, we all agreed the NDIS needed to be sustainable, and yes, reform was necessary, but this Bill carried serious consequences and deserved proper consultation before it was forced through. Organisations had poured their concerns into submissions; then some spoke to the committee while others walked the corridors of Parliament House, knocking on doors, making calls, and fighting for change via any opportunity that raised its head.
Then a panel of four people with lived experience took the stage, and everything shifted. Their stories crashed over the room, turning those steady lapping waves into a forceful swell that struck ministers and audience alike with the raw truth of what it means to live with disability, or to care for someone who does.
And then came the tsunami.
Hannah Diviney took her place at the table and spoke with passion, humour, sarcasm, and gravity. With devastating clarity, she swept away the arguments for rushing the Bill through, exposing the potential consequences and placing responsibility squarely where it belonged: on the people prepared to pass this Bill at speed, unaware, or ignorant of, the damage it may cause.
In a room where visitors tiptoed in and out, where every voice was lowered to a whisper, we ignored the risk of being ushered out and clapped as loudly as we could. And in that moment, hope arrived. Because perhaps, just perhaps, consultation will come before the Bill is signed off.
