Closure of Kingsdene – disability needs ignored again - 5 November 2009

The closure of Kingsdene, a boarding school for children with a profound disability, is a blow to the rights of people with a disability. As the state’s only facility of this kind, it has provided relief and hope for parents of these children, and has given them opportunities they would not otherwise have had.

“This is another example of the most vulnerable in our society being denied proper care. When already 32 children have been relinquished to the Department of Community Services because their families –despite loving their children – are simply unable to care for them at home, then we clearly have a need for more support services, not fewer,” says Ian Cohen, NSW Greens’ Disability spokesperson.

“Kingsdene boarding school was the only facility of its kind in NSW and was not run by the state. Where will the 21 students of Kingsdene with severe intellectual and physical disabilities go? There is no other similar service.

“The lack of such services shows a failure by this Government to provide for the entire community, which includes children with a disability and their families. Parents of kids with disabilities need the best possible services.

“It is a measure of a civilised society that children are enabled to achieve every opportunity they can avail themselves of. This does not mean a total reliance on their parents who are often left exhausted and stressed but, instead, having contact with other people – having intellectual and physical stimulation.

“ In an affluent state with resources enough to hold a picnic on the Harbour Bridge, why can’t we find the means to look after our most vulnerable citizens?
“Not only should Kingsdene be supported by funding to keep it open, more services like Kingsdene should be available to every child with a profound disability so that loving parents can get the break they deserve and children get the care to which they are entitled.”