National autism strategy ‘once in a lifetime’ chance
Improving the lives of autistic people and dismantling harmful attitudes barring their participation in society are the goals of a new $42.3m plan, AAP reports.
Australia’s first national autism strategy will be launched today by the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, outlining 22 commitments to boost wellbeing.
Almost $20m across four years will go to a peer support program to provide lived-experience advice for autistic people under an initial two-year action plan to roll out practical measures.
Almost $3m has been earmarked for a study to identify the prevalence of autism in Australia. Social and economic inclusion, diagnosis and services, and health are the key areas the strategy and the first action plan will focus on achieving.
Oversight Council co-chair and autistic person Clare Gibellini, who helped develop the blueprint, said its existence recognised change was needed.
It’s a very significant opportunity to change some of the narrative around autistic people as problems to be solved, continuing a real leadership relationship with the autistic community, and making sure that our voices are heard as we move forward.
Gibellini said the study of autism’s prevalence would provide real data, saying “if we’re not counted, we can’t have good outcomes”.
Women, girls and gender-diverse people were identified by the strategy as facing “substantial disadvantages” due to misconceptions it primarily affected men and boys, leading to under-diagnosis and inadequate support.
Key events
Good morning
Emily Wind
Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. Thanks to Martin for kicking things off for us! I’ll be taking you through our live coverage for most of today.
If you see something that needs attention on the blog, you can always reach out via email: [email protected]. Let’s go.
Police investigating alleged car theft and crash in Sydney
New South Wales police are investigating the theft of a car and a subsequent crash in Sydney’s south-west this morning.
A 48-year-old man was at a car wash in Macquarie Fields at about 3.30am when he was threatened by three people armed with a knife, police said in a statement.
Two of them took his car, as well as his mobile phone and wallet, while a third followed on a scooter.
About 45 minutes later a woman reported she had been involved in a crash at Ambarvale with a car matching the description of the stolen vehicle.
She told police that after the head-on crash two people got out of the other vehicle and left on a scooter. She was treated for chest injuries by paramedics after her car’s airbag was triggered by the impact.
Crime scenes have now been established in both Macquarie Fields and Ambarvale and police have appealed for anyone with dashcam footage of either incident to contact them.
National autism strategy ‘once in a lifetime’ chance
Improving the lives of autistic people and dismantling harmful attitudes barring their participation in society are the goals of a new $42.3m plan, AAP reports.
Australia’s first national autism strategy will be launched today by the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, outlining 22 commitments to boost wellbeing.
Almost $20m across four years will go to a peer support program to provide lived-experience advice for autistic people under an initial two-year action plan to roll out practical measures.
Almost $3m has been earmarked for a study to identify the prevalence of autism in Australia. Social and economic inclusion, diagnosis and services, and health are the key areas the strategy and the first action plan will focus on achieving.
Oversight Council co-chair and autistic person Clare Gibellini, who helped develop the blueprint, said its existence recognised change was needed.
It’s a very significant opportunity to change some of the narrative around autistic people as problems to be solved, continuing a real leadership relationship with the autistic community, and making sure that our voices are heard as we move forward.
Gibellini said the study of autism’s prevalence would provide real data, saying “if we’re not counted, we can’t have good outcomes”.
Women, girls and gender-diverse people were identified by the strategy as facing “substantial disadvantages” due to misconceptions it primarily affected men and boys, leading to under-diagnosis and inadequate support.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you what’s making the news this morning and then it will be Emily Wind taking the helm.
There’s a lot of pre-election sparring going on with Anthony Albanese giving Peter Dutton a spray yesterday. But today he’s down to some practical stuff with Bill Shorten tipped to hand the reins of the national disability insurance scheme to the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, in a small reshuffle prompted by the former Labor leader’s departure before this year’s federal election.
But before she does that she will be launching Australia’s first national autism strategy, containing 22 commitments to boost wellbeing at a cost of $42m over four years. More details coming up.
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has challenged Labor to “have some guts” and keep its promises on environmental issues such as koala habitats and pushing back against mining interests as her party gears up for the federal election campaign. While cost-of-living pressures are likely to dominate the forthcoming federal election, Hanson-Young says it is the Greens’ role to highlight the “elephant in the room”: the climate crisis and the environment.
