Australia ranks among worst in OECD on needs of disabled

Another first for Australia.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...eeds-of-disabled/story-fn59nokw-1226209606132

 

Going by these boards I thought the US was full of retards!!

 

Yes - that is appalling.

But at least Australia is still not as bad as the USA.

From the same report that Australian data is based on - but for the USA:
Employment rates of people with health problems or disability, at 39%, are very low and falling. In turn, almost one in two of them live in poverty: 48% compared to an OECD average of 22%. This is twice the figure of the general US population. The gap between people with and without disability is larger than in other OECD countries, for both employment and poverty rates.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/1/46462578.pdf


I think you will find that where that Australian article you quote says "THE disabled are more likely to be living in poverty in Australia than any other developed country" - it no longer considers the USA to be a developed country. The poverty and poor health care in the USA means it no longer qualifies.

 

This is definitely one of the areas that Australia fails in.

When I went to Europe for the first time I was amazed by the public transports access for people with disabilities, particularly in England. Some of it is really basic, like in every train they have the line map, with a wheelchair symbol next to every station that has wheelchair access. Brilliant.

My local train station in Melbourne 15 minutes out of the CBD has literally NO access for the disabled. It has about a 30 metre ramp which I suppose you could conceivably push someone in a wheelchair up or down, but they could never do it by themselves it's way too steep. It's too steep even for an electric wheelchair, and not wide enough anyway. And the station has sagged so there is between half a foot and a foot's drop from the train to the platform. I mean it's ridiculous. Most trams have no wheelchair access (Just a few in the city), nor do the majority of train stations or buses.

If I was a disabled person where I live I can't see how I could really get anywhere without taking a taxi. I mean really how the hell are you supposed to get a job when you're immobilized like that? The price of getting a two way taxi every day is going to kill the viability of working in most cases anyway. And the government giving out taxi vouchers is stupid for many reasons, least of which is that taxi's are obscenely expensive.

And ever tried using the subtitles thingy for your TV? Half of it is complete crap, as though a dyslexic 5 year old with English as about their 10th language wrote it.

And it annoys me when there are building works that go out onto the footpath without some kind of warning for the blind. I mean really how hard would it be to put down one of those braille underfoot things like they have on train stations to warn them that there is an obstacle ahead? I remember I was walking down this street that had the Institute for the Blind on it, and this blind man was trying to walk past a building site and his dog was very confused and didn't have a clue what was going on and none of the builders were paying him any attention. I was going to help him out but someone else got there before me. But Grrrr... that (*)(*)(*)(*) pisses me off.

And then of course there's the Aborigines, who let's be honest, probably make up much of that statistic. Well not going to get into that as it will take way too long.

There are loads of other things that (*)(*)(*)(*) me off too, but will refrain from ranting anymore.

The NDIS is great and I support it (even signed a petition about it, and I usually hate petitions), but the article is right that there's a tonne of other things that need to be done as well.

Getting the disabled into the workforce is a win-win scenario. The only issue is that it requires capital investment.

It's nice that the government is set on getting the budget into surplus, but every year that goes by without us doing anything just lets the problem get bigger and bigger.

And it would be nice if someone starting a threat would actually give an opinion, instead of a stupid "one liner" which I can only assume is some silly attempt at "Australia bashing".

 

The situation is probably much the same in the US, Jason. We have our problems over here, you have your problems over there.

 

Not really. The Americans With Disabilities Act is quite strictly enforced here. Australia could take a lesson from us.

 

Can't you read?

Apalling though this statistic is for Australia - the USA is worse:
Employment rates of people with health problems or disability, at 39%, are very low and falling. In turn, almost one in two of them live in poverty: 48% compared to an OECD average of 22%http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/1/46462578.pdf

 

US population: 311,800,000

Australia population: 22,693,000

You do the math. I'd say we're doing quite well on a population ratio basis.

 

And yet you're still better off in Australia than the US.

 

That's true if your an alcoholic or methamphetamine user. Aborigines would tend to disagree with you. So would Indians.

As for me, NE Wisconsin is a paradise compared to the Australian dust bowl.

 

What (*)(*)(*)(*)ing bug crawled up your arse? Enjoying your massive unemployment rate? High rate of loan defaults? Yes, the US is a paradise.

 

Unemployment has dropped slightly. Consumer confidence is up. And yes, the US is a paradise. A well defended paradise. With the most powerful military in the world.

 

What an idiotic thing to decide makes you a paradise. Sounds like denial to me.

 

Sounds like being successful in the greatest country on earth to me.

 

So is this a "my country is better than your country" thread?

 

Not so:

 

This thread is so silly... might as well post a cute pic for all the difference it will make to this thread!!!!



^^ Clearly an Australian Cat. Clearly just living the GOOD LIFE IN OZ. Lol.

 

Do you know what "%" means?

THe USA is doing very poorly on a population ratio basis. THat is why I posted it.

Yes - Australia's record is terrible. No one is arguing with you.

But the USA is worse. Check your own bum for grubs before sniffing elsewhere Champ.

 

Which is the point of this thread. Australia isn't the paradise you make it out to be. Let that bug crawl up your bunger mate.

 

The USA does have better torturers than Australia.

You win there.

You win Mel Gibson!

He's yours! Congratulations.

 

Here's an example of the good life in Oz...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SPjy5RlqFE"]Aussie Drunk Man walk through fence - YouTube[/ame]

 

Hes possibly not drunk but disabled, proud of yourself for posting it?

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE[/ame]

Stupid people gonna be stupid.

 

a matter of opinion , although I always want to visit your country because my Great mothers family went there in 1900 and I have often wondered why !

 

Oh, my, yanky-doodle-dandy is stomping it's widdle feet!!

(and has NFI, of course )