Senator Pauline Hanson doubling down on her comments that children with autism should be segregated in schools shows sheer stubbornness and an inability to comprehend the damage she is causing, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

“Senator Hanson needs to stop commenting on issues she hasn’t got a clue about. She has already done enough damage.

“She needs to apologise for her archaic and damaging remarks that stigmatise children with autism and undermines inclusiveness.

A social services bill introduced into the House of Representatives this morning includes a much broader exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act, meaning people accessing the social safety net with disability can be discriminated against by the Government.

“The damaging proposal to drug test income support recipients is included in the Bill so of course they need to broaden out the exemption which would allow them to do this. It was hinted in Senate estimates but has been confirmed today, and it is broader and more far-reaching than just drug testing.

A Senate Committee report into the Government’s Centrelink Online Compliance Intervention (robo-debt) program has called for it to be put on hold until of the procedural fairness flaws in the program are addressed. The Committee a says the Government should re-assess all debts determined through the use of income averaging and that a redesigned system should include a robust risk assessment process.

It has been a decade today since the Howard Government started the Northern Territory Intervention, the Government should finally concede is it a failure and discontinue funding, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

“A decade of policy that has not delivered outcomes, yet the Government is funding it for another two years. 

“Public funds on a measure that has been evidenced in its evaluations to fail in its objectives. This money could have been spent on wrap-around services and measures that are evidenced to work.

A Senate Committee report that investigated the issues facing the aged care sector in developing its workforce in the face of an ageing population, particularly in regional and remote areas, has been tabled in the Senate.

The Government, ALP and crossbench have voted down an Australian Greens senate motion calling for the cashless welfare card expansion to be abandoned. 

“Before completing the evaluation of the current cashless welfare card trial, the Government has proposed extending and expanding the measure”, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today. 

“Why are they expanding a trial that has not been evaluated for its success in full? This shows that the concept of ‘trialing’ the measure was always farcical, the Government always planned to extend the roll out. 

A senate motion calling on the Government to abandon drug testing income support recipients has been voted down by the Coalition with the help of Labor.

“Labor has today made it clear what they think of drug testing people accessing the social safety net.

“They have been vague around this measure since it was announced but have taken sides with the Government today.

“This motion also gave members of the Government the chance to see sense and abandon this flawed approach.

“It is unbelievable to think that anyone would want more opportunity to discriminate against people with mental ill health, but that’s apparently exactly the case for FamilyVoice.

“I am gobsmacked that this organisation thinks that upsetting a church service is a reason to unbolt protections for people who are struggling. People with mental ill health should not be discriminated against, they need increased supports and understanding.

“This is cruel and further entrenches stereotypes when so many people are working to do the opposite”.  

The Australian Greens welcome the call from 163 community groups for a Royal Commission into violence, abuse  and neglect of people with disability in institutional settings.

Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, who initiated and chaired the senate committee inquiry into the issue, said:

“More and more momentum is building for a Royal Commission into widespread abuses in institutional and residential settings of people with disability. This is not an issue the Government can ignore.

Questioning during estimates has revealed that the number of appeals made about Centrelink debts to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has jumped by nearly 1000 for the first three quarters of this financial year compared with the whole previous financial year.