Western Australians with disabilities have been warned about the State Opposition's policy of no expansion of services, particularly transport and accommodation.
Victorians with disabilities have been angered by disability transport funding cuts announced by the Kennett Government, and the Western Australian Opposition appears set to follow the lead.
The Opposition has reportedly said it plans to 'live within' existing service budgets, indicating a disturbingly low priority for urgently required new disability services.
The position also ignored the backlog of demand for accommodation for people with disabilities, currently in the care of elderly parents. The Opposition had made a vague promise of a review of these accommodation needs, despite such a review having already recently been completed.
Disability Services Minister Eric Ripper said today this reluctance to boost services contrasted sharply with the State Government's commitment.
The Government's disability policy, announced last Saturday, gave specific commitments for service improvements, including a pilot community transport system, and improving the general public transport system to make it more accessible to Western Australians with disabilities.
Extra accommodation would be provided for another 50 Western Australians with disabilities each year, and an extra 200 employment or training places each year would be available for school leavers with disabilities.
The State Government had already implemented expanded travel subsidies for people with disabilities, in a $1 million package.
