Dusty Wentworth

  Different governments are using different language, but the machinery underneath is becoming remarkably familiar. In Britain, we are told the disability benefits system must become more “affordable”. In America, work requirements are described as “community engagement”. In Australia, tighter control of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is presented as “securing” it for future generations. Different countries. Different slogans. Much the same machinery. Eligibility is narrowed. Assessments become more frequent. Claimants must provide more evidence. Payments are reduced, capped or frozen. Disabled people are divided between a protected minority considered sufficiently severe and everybody else, who must repeatedly prove that their limitations are real. When the same pattern appears across several countries at roughly the same time, dismissing it as coincidence is inadequate. Calling it a single secret global conspiracy would go beyond the evidence. Pretending that these poli...

Who declared open season on disabled people? Because, honestly, that’s what it feels like right now. The government’s latest proposals to “reform” the Motability Scheme — and the toxic, resentful language being thrown around by politicians of all stripes — feel less like sensible policymaking and more like a targeted, personal attack. Unsurprisingly, this has had immediate real-world consequences. The level of abuse I’ve received both online and in public lately has shot through the roof, courtesy of a few bigoted, uneducated individuals who now feel emboldened to shout their opinions in car parks and comment sections alike. Apparently, being disabled has become fair game. Lovely. The New Villains: Disabled People with Suitable Cars If you’ve missed the news, the government is planning to tighten eligibility for the Motability Scheme and remove certain “luxury” vehicles from availability. The unspoken reasoning? Disabled people are apparently having too much fun driving aro...