Disability Voices Tasmania is unique in that we are the only cross-disability organisation in Tasmania. Our existence, however, is now under threat.
We serve to hear and amplify the voices of Tasmanians with disabilities throughout the whole of our great state of Tasmania. Our task is massive, yet we make very little funding go a long way.
The sad thing is that although we punch well above our weight and work tirelessly to advocate for people with disabilities in many contexts including government, we are at the moment in a tenuous and worrisome position.
The project funding we do have will run out at the end of June.
We join with other organisations throughout Tasmania to express our grave concern that we have not heard from our federal funding body that our funding application has been successful, enabling our project work to continue.
Despite expressing support for Disability Voices Tasmania, and an initial project which demonstrated the clear need for a cross-disability organisation, the state has not funded us. The Tasmanian disability community needs the state to fund Disability Voices Tasmania, to ensure continuation of the vital advocacy work we do for the most vulnerable across Tasmania.
We also work to ensure that ground we have gained in recent years is not lost.
The high-quality support we give to our community is much in need with 26.8 percent of this state’s population identified as having a disability.
There is also a significant disability reform agenda currently under consideration by state and federal governments, where our input is very much required. We must not allow our service to our people to be lost forever.
All we are asking for is $400,000 over four years to ensure that some of the most disadvantaged in our community have a viable advocacy body.
Tammy Milne is Chair of Disability Voices Tasmania.
