THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 32 #38 Wednesday, February 28, 2018
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
Farewell Wawan – p5
S A I L I N G O N T H E K E E L O V E R T H E WAT E R S O F H U M A N C H A O S A N D E N D E A V O U R S I N C E 1 9 8 6
What did councillors and staff do last Thursday? – p6
Business directory – p29
Cinema reviews Live music by John gig guide Campbell – p36 – p37
RiverStreetBallina Feature pages 18–19
Online in
netdaily
Casino flooded: 100mm of rain in an hour www.echo.net.au/casino-flooded100mm-rain-hour
‘We’re all equal before a wave’ – Laird Hamilton
Byron’s big five-day event of everything surf related was held throughout the town and beaches over February 21 –25. There were plenty of market activities, yoga, freestyle comps, live music and talks and workshops by seasoned professionals. Photo Jeff ‘Waxed And Ready Since 1986’ Dawson
As NDIS rolls out, more workers are needed Paul Bibby
Four years ago, Labor prime minister Julia Gillard choked back tears as she stood in federal parliament to introduce new laws that had the potential to change the lives of millions of Australians. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) represented a tectonic shift, promising to finally give people with a disability the support and care they needed to lead happy, fulfilling lives. It also heralded a complete transformation in the way these services were organised and delivered, re-
placing hundreds of rigid state-based programs with a network of local, non-government services that people could access in their own way. In the ensuing years, the NDIS has been rolled out across the country and in the past 12 months the tide has finally reached the NSW northern rivers. The administrators of the NDIS estimate that 6,000 locals will be enrolled in the scheme by June this year and that by June next year that number will have increased to 7,300. But local disability service managers, workers and carers interviewed by The Echo say the transi-
tion has been anything but smooth. They say that while many more local people with a disability have been able to access services and care in ways they never could before, the region’s disability sector is facing staff shortages, a flawed funding model, and threats to small providers from big companies chasing fast cash.
Workforce issues Promising to revolutionise care and support for people with a disability is one thing; actually doing it is another. Somewhat ironically given the high rates of unemployment in the
region, one of the biggest challenges for the NDIS in the northern rivers is finding enough workers who are willing to make it happen. According to the NDIS Market Position Statement for NSW, the northern rivers will need between 2,500 and 3,100 disability service workers by the end of next financial year to meet demand from the NDIS. There are just 1,300 – barely half the number required. Tony Pooley from National Disability Services, the peak industry body for non-government disability service organisations, says staff shortages are ‘unquestionably a challenge’.
‘It is particularly hard in regional areas such as the northern rivers because there isn’t a large population base to draw on,’ Mr Pooley says. This is a common refrain from the local disability sector. Social Futures, one of the nongovernment organisations leading the NDIS roll-out locally, is optimistic that the demand can be met. ‘Rather than being concerned we are encouraging the regional education providers and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to seize this opportunity to offer more courses to more students, because there continued on page 2
COURTESY BUS WIL BE AVAILABLE L
BYRON BAY SERVICES CLUB
SOUTH END OF JONSON ST, BYRON BAY 6685 6878 WWW.BYRONBAYSERVICESCLUB.COM.AU INFO@BYRONBAYSERVICESCLUB.COM.AU