news, federal-politics

Disability advocates have lashed out at the federal government Education Minister Simon Birmingham after he thanked his "lucky stars" his children were not disabled. The minister made the comments in Senate estimate hearings on Wednesday night, where he was grilled about education funding for children with a disability. "I look at some friends who have children with varying disabilities and I thank my lucky stars that's not me," Mr Birmingham said. Children with Disability Australia chief executive Stephanie Gotlib said the minister's "deeply offensive" comments sent a damaging message to people with a disability. "They are constantly exposed to significant barriers in education, including constant bullying, and for them to hear that can easily cause harm and further diminish the views that we are trying to stop." She phoned the minister's office on Thursday to voice her concerns. "He is either acknowledging that the education system is causing significant challenges, or is he saying children with a disability themselves are a burden, and aren't a valuable member of a family or community," she said. But a spokeswoman for the minister said the comment was not meant to be offensive and had not been perceived that way at the Senate estimate hearings. It was also revealed that an ambitious initiative to record the prevalence of disabilities in Australian schools, which is meant to inform funding decisions from next year, is still incomplete. Mr Birmingham said the new funding arrangement could result in less money flowing to some jurisdictions from next year. "You shouldn't automatically assume that the new model equals guaranteed new money," Mr Birmingham said. He said the new model could also result in "greater generosity and support" in some areas. Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said the comments were a "betrayal of some of Australia's most vulnerable students". "We already have huge underfunding of disability in schools and further cuts would leave thousands more children without the resources they need to benefit from school and make the most of their ability." While 13.1 per cent of students have a disability, just 5 per cent receive funded support at school.