Award-winning journalist and disability advocate Zoe Simmons has labelled the federal government’s proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) reforms a “manufactured crisis,” saying the cuts will cause “mass harm” to Australians with disability.
Zoe, a University of Wollongong journalism graduate spoke with UOWTV’s Alumni Stories program, weeks after Health Minister Mark Butler announced major changes to the NDIS aimed at tightening eligibility and reducing cost growth.
Zoe said the government had deliberately framed the reforms using language about fraud and spiralling costs to build public support for cuts.
“That’s exactly what they did. That’s exactly what the media did,” Zoe said.
“So many journalists just straight reported what the government was saying rather than actually being like, hang on, this is PR spin.”
The reforms, announced on April 23, propose removing approximately 160,000 people from the NDIS. Zoe said the consequences would be severe.
“Kicking 160,000 people off it is going to cause mass harm, it’s not going to save money because it’s just going to put costs elsewhere, put people in crisis, put families in crisis,” she said.
Zoe, who lives with chronic illness and identifies as autistic and disabled, said misinformation about NDIS spending had already had real-world consequences for participants.
“I literally get people yelling at me, ‘Oh, NDIS is a scam’,” she said.
They really have manipulated the average person to just hate us and think we’re just a burden, when disabled people deserve to live.”
Zoe graduated from UOW with a Bachelor of Journalism with Distinction in 2017 and has since been published globally, including by the ABC, Mamamia and the New York Post. She called on Australians to sign petitions opposing the reforms.
“If you consider yourself a disabled ally, now is the time,” she said.
Watch to the full Alumni Stories interview with Zoe Simmons above.
