Members of the PDCN Board and our Executive Officer Serena Ovens were glad to have the opportunity to meet with the new Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward on several occasions over the past few weeks, to discuss issues related to disability advocacy funding in NSW. Whilst Minister Ward did not give any commitment to continued funding after June 2020, he has advised that he is reviewing the current situation and will continue to meet with us to work on this serious issue.
As a person with disability himself Minister Ward was keen to hear from people with disability. He suggested that people who have concerns about the loss of vital advocacy, information and peak services should write to their local MP, or even request a meeting to talk about how important these services are. Asking your local MP to then make representations to the Minister’s office will enable him to quantify the need.
We see this is a hugely important and will very soon be providing you with an easy way to contact your local MP about advocacy funding, so stay tuned!
