Attempts by the Howard Government to deny disability support pensions to thousands of people with a disability was quashed by the Australian Democrats in the Senate last night. Democrats' Disability spokesperson Senator Brian Greig, says his party has delivered on its promise to block the Government's regressive measures, made after the Federal budget was announced in May this year. "The Government was trying to fool Australians by implying that all disability support pensioners were just 'rorters with bad backs'," Senator Greig said. "This ignores the fact that thousands of Australians suffer physical, psychiatric, sensory or cognitive disabilities. "Many struggle to work on a part time basis in order to pay for additional costs such as personal care, aids and equipment, or for simple household tasks which they are unable to do for themselves," Senator Greig said. The McClure Welfare Reform report recommends that people with a disability be paid a participation allowance to offset the costs they incur. "Telling a person with a psychiatric illness to 'use it or lose it' ignores the reality that some people genuinely cannot participate economically during periods of impairment. They need support and assistance to participate," Senator Greig said. "Instead, this Government wants to force people with a disability on to dole queues where they must compete, without assistance, with the seven other unemployed Australians for every job, and when they cannot compete, they face penalties for breaching. "This Bill did nothing to eliminate the employer prejudice that people with a disability encounter every day, it did nothing to encourage an employer to take on a person with a disability and it did nothing to increase the competitiveness of a person with a disability in the open labour market," Senator Greig said. "The Democrats were successful in vetoing this Bill. "The Australian Democrats are now calling on the Government to address the many barriers faced by people with a disability in participating in the workforce, before denying them income support," Senator Greig said. ###