Hello All
I wanted to inform everyone of my intention not to nominate as an Independent Senate candidate for South Australia in the upcoming 2022 Federal Election. Following my experiences in 2019, I know all too well that you need to be prepared, passionate and full of energy. Whilst the fire still burns, personal commitments at this point of time prevent me from fully dedicating myself to the challenge of changing how we respond to clear instances of abuse and neglect. This issue remains as important today as it did three years ago, as we are once again absurdly cycling through the horrific details brought to light in Royal Commissions into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, into Defence and Veteran Suicide and last year, into Aged Care Quality and Safety which concluded with a range of well meaning but unenforceable recommendations. Whilst the impact of Covid-19 was less severe in terms of fatalities in Australia, the same baffling lack of common sense in our response to another serious health and well being issue was evident in both the implementation of lock-downs and lifting of restrictions (at differing times), the use of quarantining facilities in the centre of our largest cities and the mixed messages and mismanagement of the vaccine rollout at various stages - to name but a few. The current messaging of living with Covid-19 and lifting restrictions whilst case numbers remain at or near highest ever levels in many states risks more preventable deaths in our vulnerable communities - particularly if cases rise further during the election campaign. Where we were once agile (and at times, implementing restrictions for seemingly spurious reasons), we are now seemingly stuck in the mud of lifting restrictions - no matter the consequences.
Fortunately over the last three years, there has been some progress and many advocates undertaking meaningful progress in Disability, Aged Care, Family and Gendered Violence, Indigenous and Child Protection. However, our parliament needs more voices coming from outside the two major parties, to be more truly representative of our community and the outrage that abuse and neglect creates, and to harness this energy into more timely processes and real responses to prevent clear and serious instances of abuse, neglect and injustice. I firmly believe that the case for an independent parliamentarian to act as a tipping point for change by using to privilege to detail clear instances of abuse and neglect remains as vital as ever.
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