How did the NDIS lose its "social license"?
By Helen Said, Autistic advocate, Melbourne Australia Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme services are about to be cut. Labor leaders say that the NDIS has lost its "social license", but what is this "social license" and how did it get lost? After our longtime Disability Minister, Bill Shorten, retired from parliament, his portfolios were taken over by Mark Butler MP. Health and Disability were placed under the same government minister, supposedly to give Disability more attention. In fact the reverse is the case - combining Health and Disability reinforces the outdated and disempowering Medical Model of Disability**, which contributes to disabled people's invisibility in society and government decision making processes. As long as disability is viewed through the same lens as sickness, disabled people will be seen as unfortunates in need of a cure, rather than a people in need of access and rights. Thus disabled people's social, emotio...