Two Years On From the Disability Royal Commission Event Wrap-Up

Thank you so much, Jeramy. Thank you for inviting me for this online session today.
My name is Daniel. Daniel McDonald. My pronouns are he/him. I’m wearing a white coloured T-shirt with a logo on it with some stripes. I have short brown hair. I have blue glasses, brown eyes, and I am Deaf.

So I am a very proud Aboriginal man and an artist, and I use the name Deadly Hand Talk. I’m here today to Welcome you to Country on Gadigal Country.

I would like to pay my respect to all Aboriginal elders, past and present, and I would like to respectfully acknowledge any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters that are joining us here today.  It doesn’t matter which Aboriginal nation that you come from, whether you’re indigenous or not indigenous, we are all brothers and sisters as we joyfully gather here today at this meeting place. 

I think it is only right that we honour the traditional custodians of the lands and waters. 

So today we have a special event to reflect on the two years since the Disability Royal Commission.  So I’d like to express my thanks for inviting me to this event.  And I would like to give you my story from my heart. 

Actually, it is a combination of a story called Equal Time is Now.  So walking along the road, nobody knows who we are.  Nobody knows what we can see.  There can be others around us.  But we can be equal if we are given the opportunity.

Equality doesn’t mean that we start at the same level.  We are all at different levels at the beginning and some of us might need a little bit of a boost to see over the fence.  Look at the different diversity that we have available when you really think about it. 

We have disabilities with our brothers and our sisters.  Most of our families and our friends understand us.  But in government and in the corporate world, we could sometimes do with some nurturing so then we can grow some beautiful flowers. 

No one knows what the time is now.  There’s so much to do.  You think that you might be able to cope or you can’t cope.  There’s always somewhere to go, someone to see. 
You struggle with things, things going on in your mind.  Thinking about all the things that you have to do.  The mind can find calm and strength.  So sit down and think of your power.  Equal time is now. 

From Gadigal land today, remembering the past and the present, acknowledgement, inclusion, understanding, understanding each other, respecting each other.  So please, be safe and enjoy this event today online.  Thank you. 

And thank you for Rhonda for interpreting for me.  And back to you, Jeramy.  And thank you, for you and for PWDA, and I look forward to hearing more about the discussions from today.  Have a fabulous day.  Bye. 

Hello. To give a quick visual description, I have shaggy blonde hair, a little bit fluffy, you would argue. I have blue eyes. I should take a breath, and come down there is a lot of people. Hello, everybody. And I think I will just – dark shirt. I think it is AC/DC. And I will get right into it.

So good afternoon, everyone. Or good morning, depending on where you are. I would like to start by acknowledging the moment that we’re in because it would feel dishonest not to. Hope feels hard to hold right now for many people. Many of us are really tired. Some of us are carrying disappointment, grief or exhaustion and we’re still showing up. So if you’re here today feeling heavy, I want you to know that you’re not alone.

In December of 2022, I sat before the Disability Royal Commission and shared my vision of what an inclusive Australia could look like. At the time that vision felt urgent but it also felt possible. Today I want to return to that vision. Not because everything has progressed the way we hoped but because this forum sits early in the program. I think that it matters that we reanchor ourselves in the ambition of the Royal Commission and the future that it promised.

When I spoke to the Commission I said that inclusion looked different to everybody because everybody is different. This has not changed. To me, inclusion means being able to contribute and participate in society as your authentic self without having to change who you are to be accepted by your community. It means not having to mask, not having to perform, not having to translate yourself constantly just to belong.

Inclusion means access but access with choice. It looks like services offering different ways to engage, whether that’s face-to-face, email, Zoom, whether it’s phones, and, more importantly, it means respecting that people should be able to choose how they engage, rather than being directed to whatever is the easiest and most convenient option for the system that you are in.

Choice is not a luxury. Choice is dignity.

Inclusion means being able to access your rights without having to require constant support or intervention just to get through the door. Because needing support should never be the price of entry to basic human rights.

Inclusion means that the diversity of your neurotype, physical capacity, mental health, race, culture, gender identity, or even age is not treated as a factor that reduces your value, your credibility or your likelihood of being involved or included. It means that we stop organising society around a single default way of being human because there is no single way to be human.

When one neurotype or one identity sets the social norms and those norms are facilitated in ableist ways, everybody is left adapting, masking or being excluded. This isn’t inclusion. This is assimilation. A truly inclusive Australia recognises that difference is not a problem to be managed; it is a reality to be respected.

This is where education becomes critical. Inclusion does not happen accidentally. It requires intention, structure and commitment and education is the vehicle that makes inclusion possible, not awareness, but acceptance.

Inclusion means education is accessible in multiple ways because learning happens in multiple ways. There’s different learning styles, different communication systems, different languages, different cognitive and sensory needs.

Inclusion means the people and positions of authority, educators, leaders, professionals and decision-makers are educated first. Understanding diversity and inclusion safety cannot be optional. It cannot be an add-on or an extra. It must be foundational.

Teachers and educators, in particular, share the environments where people spend most of their lives. This training must be built on protecting diversity and creating spaces where people feel safe to be their authentic selves. Accommodation is not a favour, acceptance is not conditional.

Inclusion also means celebrating differences in communication. It means committing to learning how someone needs to communicate rather than expecting them to learn a style because it’s more widely accepted by most people. That doesn’t make it okay. It means welcoming people when they tell us how they need to be educated, supported or even just included.

Because beneath all our differences there is one thing: Every single person shares, and it is an internal desire to hold value and feel included.

A truly inclusive Australia doesn’t just tell people they matter; it shows them through systems, structures and everyday practice.

I often come back to what I and many other people refer to, the AAA framework. Authenticity, acceptance and autonomy. Authenticity is the right to be who you truly are. Acceptance is being welcomed without conditions. And autonomy is being able to access your rights without constantly needing intervention to do so. It should just be accessible. These aren’t abstract ideals. They protect dignity, they reduce harm, they prevent people from becoming exhausted just trying to exist within a system that was built for others.

Now, I want to be honest about where we are. Some progress has been made since the Disability Royal Commission. Some promises have stalled and some days it feels like we have just gone backwards. That’s how it is. Holding hope can feel exhausting. Especially when you’re also holding on to lived experience, advocacy and the emotional weight that comes with both. Not everyone has the spoons every day and no one should be expected to do this alone.

Holding governments and systems accountable was never meant to be the work of individuals acting in isolation; it is collective work and we are working together. At different times, different people step forward. Others rest. Some support from the ageists, that’s how movements are, how they survive.

Today you are feeling strong. Thank you for stepping forward. Today if you are feeling tired you still belong here whether you are watching the recording or sitting quietly, the fact that you’re here and the fact you still have that opinion matters.

The vision of an inclusive Australia is still worth holding, not because it’s easy but because it is necessary, because value exists in diversity and because people deserve to be their authentic selves and because inclusion, when done properly, is going to make life better for absolutely everybody.

Thank you for coming today. Or however you’re here listening. Thank you so much for being here. And you’re doing amazing.