Minister Bill Shorten chats Campaign Strategy with our CPActive Champions
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten visited the Cerebral Palsy Alliance office at Allambie last week, to hear from our CPActive Champions about their Blaze the Trail campaign.
Since the Blaze the Trail campaign launched two years ago, Champions have been making the rounds and meeting with policy makers, including NSW Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Prue Car, and NSW Public Service Commissioner Katharina Lowe – to name just a few.
We know the best advocacy is the kind that is driven by, consults with and amplifies the voice of lived experience. CPActive proves that disability rights campaigns win when they are disability-led!
CPActive Champions Riley Saban, Sophie Geeves, Nicholas Lapsley and Saranna Shultz had the opportunity to meet with Minister Shorten and talk about the Blaze the Trail campaign and gain insight into how we can take our NSW-focussed campaign to the national level and get our campaign objectives met.
Minister Shorten congratulated the Champions and CPActive for all our achievements since the campaign was launched two years ago. You can read our Impact Report, which outlines our wins: https://cpactive.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CPActive-Blaze-the-Trail-Impact-Report_2024.pdf
There was also great discussion about how important it was for education to be inclusive for people with disability, and Champions shared their own experience about barriers they faced as students.
With Minister Shorten’s new role at the University of Canberra around the corner, there was plenty to discuss about how the Minister himself can get involved in achieving our campaign asks and make assessments accessible for students at universities across Australia too.
Blaze the Trail calls for inclusive and accessible pathways from school to work, through:
- Clear, consistent, and enforceable guidelines for support around assessments at school and university for students living with disability
- Pathways for people living with disability to enter the teaching workforce
- A state-wide initiative supporting the development of pathways for students living with disability into large businesses, government departments and community organisations.
Our Champions utilised this opportunity with the Minister to refine the next steps on our campaign journey with lots of great insights gained. We look forward to continuing to work with Minister Shorten in his new role as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra to ensure that all students with disability have a fair go and thrive in their higher-education experience.
It’s never too late to show your support for accessible and inclusive education. Sign the petition today and share it with your network: https://cpactive.org.au/clocks-ticking/